Company News
Apple Reportedly Targeted in $50 Million Ransomware Attack
Apple Inc has reportedly suffered a ransomware attack at the hands of REvil operators. The hackers have revealed that the tech company has until 1 May to pay the ransom or risk losing confidential drawings and gigabytes of personal data. “Our team is negotiating the sale of large quantities of confidential drawings and gigabytes of personal data with several major brands,” says REvil operators. “We recommend that Apple buy back the available data by May 1.” According to The Record, the REvil gang asked for a $50 million ransom demand, similar to the sum they requested from laptop maker Acer last month. Denis Legezo, Senior Security Researcher for Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team, says “REvil ransomware has been known since 2019 and it can both encrypt data and steal it. I...
Tecno Mobile Outsells Samsung Across Africa in 2020
Tecno Mobile has reportedly outsold Samsung in Africa during 2020, confirming its status as the top smartphone brand on the continent – this is according to research from Counterpoint. The Chinese smartphone brand managed to achieve this despite a 6.7% year on year fall in Africa’s smartphone shipments in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IDC (International Data Corporation) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker had already placed the company first in Africa for Q1 to Q3 last year, achieving an overall 4th Global Mobile Phone Ranking. According to the Counterpoint data, Tecno Mobile was responsible for 18% of the total smartphone shipment to Africa last year thanks to the company enjoying a strong second half of the year. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_8a0.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; ...
Samsung Ranked as Worlds No.1 TV Manufacturer
Image sourced from Samsung Samsung has been named the number one TV manufacturer across the world for the 15th consecutive year, according to Omdia. The tech company recorded 31.9% in global TV market share by revenue in Q4 2020 and retained the largest annual category market share by revenue in 2020, at 31.9%. Samsung’s growth across the Visual Display Business is said to reflect a commitment to the most premium at-home viewing experiences, coupled with the fast-growing QLED portfolio, category leadership in the ultra-large screen segment over 75-inches as well as the introduction and expansion of a Lifestyle TV portfolio. “Consumers use screens every day to entertain, connect with loved ones, work, exercise from home and do much more. And we have seen how different lifestyles and ro...
Amazon Set to Open New HQ in South Africa
Image sourced from CNBC Amazon is set to open up its new base of African operations in Cape Town, South Africa. The company is currently based in an office block and has been on the hunt for a bigger base of operations in Cape Town since 2018, reports Business Insider. The new headquarters will be located on a 15-hectare parcel of land that has been approved for development by the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust. The planned mixed-use development – where Amazon is listed as an anchor tenant – is expected to be a significant boost to the Cape Town economy as the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown remains. “The planned mixed-use development will be a significant boost to the economy and the people of Cape Town in the aftermath of the national COVID-19 lockdown. The City has carefully and thor...
South African can Use WhatsApp to Pay SMEs
Image sourced from YoMZanzi Nedbank, Mastercard and Ukheshe have partnered to launch Money Message – a new payment platform that lets small businesses receive secure in-chat payments from their customers via WhatsApp. A first in South Africa, the solution is expected to enable merchants to send an invoice requesting payment from any customer seamlessly through WhatsApp. Their customers in turn can quickly settle payment directly from the platform. “The need for a diverse range of contactless payment methods is more important today than we could have possibly imagined, as we seek to rebuild the economy by giving businesses the ability to transact in a safe and secure way,” says Chipo Mushwana, Executive of Emerging Payments at Nedbank. “In order to support entrepreneurship and sustainable b...
Nutanix Labs Helps Local Computer Science Honours Students Clinch BSG Award
Image sourced from Glassdoor Nutanix, a leader in software for private, hybrid and multicloud computing, recently assisted two Computer Science honours students from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, with the provision of the infrastructure needed to support the completion of their final honours practical. The students, Brooke Stewart and Christina Spanellis, were given access to an Ubuntu Virtual machine with 3 8 Intel Xeon Gold 6254 CPUs @ 3.10GHz. and 32GB RAM from Nutanix Labs on which to run their project titled “Evolving Robot Bodies and Brains – a Computer Science Honours project investigating the impact of a complexity cost and environmental complexity on artificially evolved robots”. Based on the results of their findings and the calibre of their final assig...
Top 10 Most Imitated Companies in 2021 So Far
In a brand phishing attack, cybercriminals try to imitate the official website of a well-known brand by using a similar domain name or URL and web page design to the genuine site. The link to the fake website can be sent to target individuals by email or text message, a user can be redirected during web browsing, or it may be triggered by a fraudulent mobile application. The fake website often contains a form intended to steal users’ credentials, payment details or other personal information. Check Point’s new Brand Phishing Report reveals the most frequently imitated by criminals. Here are the Top 10 phishing brands in Q1 of 2021: /* custom css */ .tdi_3_657.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_657.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Microsoft (related to 39% of all brand...
Safaricom is Testing a Digital Health Passport Programme
Image sourced from Techweez Safaricom has begun testing Afya Moja – a mobile health records system – in partnership with Nakuru County. The initial pilot programme will see over 100,000 people be part of the integrated electronics medical records program. According to TechIsh, Afya Moja is a simple mobile-based Digital Health Passport that receives and securely stores patient information. With the platform, users can access a copy of their health information, and share it with trusted healthcare providers. “So, a doctor can for example, upon receiving consent from a user, have access to their medical background, helping them effectively handle whatever [medical] situation is at hand.” Steve Chege, Chief of Corporate Affairs at Safaricom, says “what we aim to do through Afya Moja, is to mak...
Paratus Appoints New Group CCO
Image sourced from Patriot Paratus has announced the appointment of Martin Cox as its new Group Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). He brings a wealth of experience as a founder shareholder of Neotel and Executive for Strategy, Commercial and M&A at Internet Solutions. Cox will run the commercial operation for Paratus from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he is expected to focus on driving the company’s aggressive growth plans for its expansion in Africa. UK born and educated, Cox is a qualified lawyer and MBA graduate. His work in the international telecommunications sector began in the late ‘90s with a private equity development company that invested in telecom operators in emerging markets. More recently, Cox was responsible for Strategy, Commercial and M&A Internet Solutions (part...
How a Prepaid Electricity Sub-Meter can Assist with Letting Out Properties
As we reached the recent one-year anniversary of South Africans entering the first days of lockdown at the end of March 2020, we remembered how holidays at this time last year were universally cancelled because of fears of the COVID-19 virus. One year on, it is sombre to review the past 12 months, yet we are nonetheless able to start considering new opportunities for family holidays once again. We have observed the increase in domestic travel towards the end of 2020, and with the implementation of Level One restrictions, people are feeling more comfortable about potentially taking a local break. As we approach the 2021 April school holiday season for state schools (which close on Friday 23 April and reopen on Monday 3 May), many of us are preparing for a short break. Statistics have shown ...
Ericsson and Unitel Partner to Expand Telco Network in Angola
Unitel Angola and Ericsson have signed a three-year agreement for the supply of Radio System solutions as well as core solutions and related services. The Radio & 5G ready core expansions are expected to enable Unitel to meet increasing data demands of customers in the Angolan market. The agreement sees the expansion of Ericsson’s Packet Core and User Data Consolidation network and readiness for 5G non-standalone services. Unitel’s Business Support Systems (BSS) will be upgraded and enhanced to enable catalogue-driven charging across its services and prepare itself for the introduction of innovative Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) 5G products and services. Using these solutions, Unitel’s network performance will improve to meet growing end-user expectatio...
Human Insights Company UserTesting Appoints CFO
Image sourced from Mergr UserTesting has announced the appointment of Jon Pexton as its Chief Financial Officer. Pexton is said to bring a strong financial background at both private and public companies and his leadership experience will serve as a strong asset in helping UserTesting continue its global growth. “The UserTesting Human Insight Platform is well-positioned to help companies better understand, empathize and improve their customer’s experience. It is a timely solution as many aspects of life are changing quickly, and becoming more digital. Delivering great experiences is critical for success and differentiation,” says Pexton. “I’m excited to join the leadership team at this pivotal time and help the company continue its global expansion and leadership in this category.” Prior t...
