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Operation In(ter)ception: How a LinkedIn Message can Result in Espionage
Sourced from Republic Title ESET researchers have discovered highly targeted cyberattacks that are notable for using LinkedIn-based spearphishing, employing effective tricks to stay under the radar and apparently having financial gain, in addition to espionage, as a goal. The attacks, which ESET researchers dubbed Operation In(ter)ception based on a related malware sample named “Inception.dll,” took place from September to December 2019. The attacks that ESET researchers investigated started with a LinkedIn message. “The message was a quite believable job offer, seemingly from a well-known company in a relevant sector. Of course, the LinkedIn profile was fake, and the files sent within the communication were malicious,” comments Dominik Breitenbacher, the ESET malware researcher who analyz...
MTN Records 100 Million Active Users Across Africa
Sourced from The Techie Guy Access to the Internet has the power to change lives and bridge inequalities. With this in mind, MTN Group has announced that has reached a significant milestone by recording 100 million active data users on its networks across Africa and the Middle East. “We believe that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life,” says MTN Group president and CEO, Rob Shuter. “We are delighted to have connected 100 million of our customers to the power of the Internet as we have increased data coverage and reduced the cost to communicate across our markets.” MTN has a total base of more than 257 million customers in 21 markets. Growth through scaling data and digital services is central to its strategy. The group is overcoming the barriers to greater mobile inte...
Twitter Addresses Potentially Harmful Data Breach
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy In an email sent to potentially affected clients, Twitter has confirmed that sensitive data regarding their business customers may have been compromised. The company says that some clients billing information was unknowingly stored in their browser’s cache, making it ‘possible’ for others to access. The data in question includes personal email addresses, phone numbers as well as the last four digits of credit card numbers. “We became aware of an incident where if you viewed your billing information on ads.twitter.com or analytics.twitter.com the billing information may have been stored in the browser’s cache,” a Twitter spokesperson said. “As soon as we discovered this was happening, we resolved the issue and communicated to potentially impacted...
FNB Named South Africa’s Best Digital Bank
Sourced from Htxt.Africa First National Bank (FNB) has been voted as the best digital bank in the 2020 SITEisfaction survey. The bank is said to have “dominated overall customer satisfaction metrics on both the Best Mobile Banking and Best Internet Banking categories”. Conducted for 9 consecutive years, the survey benchmarks Internet banking, app and customer experience against that of competitors as well as against previous years’ performance. “Our consistent approach to digital banking has provided customers with an innovative, contextual and agile banking experience. Our banking processes have evolved into one that can operate through challenging market conditions with changing consumer perceptions, sentiment and dynamics. Through this we have delivered platforms that have been pivotal ...
Mobile Data Traffic in Africa to Grow 12 Times by 2025
Sourced from Getty Images. Mobile data traffic in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to grow by 12 times the current figures with total traffic increasing from 0.33 Exabytes (EB) per month to 4EB by 2025. At the same time, average traffic per individual smartphone is expected to reach 7.1GB over this period 5-year period as well. In Sub-Saharan Africa, LTE accounted for around 11% of subscriptions in 2019. Over the forecast period, mobile broadband subscriptions are predicted to have a massive increase, reaching 72% of mobile subscriptions. LTE share will reach around 30% by the end of the forecast period, and LTE subscriptions are set to triple, increasing from 90 million in 2019 to 270 million in 2025. In terms of 5G penetration, discernable volumes of subscriptions are expected by 2022, ex...
Segway to Stop Production of its Iconic Two-Wheeled Scooter
Sourced from Tech Spot. Known as the Segway Human Transporter, these two-wheeled personal electrical scooters were once thought to be a world-changing innovation. Tech luminary Steve Jobs once thought the scooter would be as big of a deal as the PC. Unfortunately, the self-balancing scooter never really gained the traction that was expected after its 2001 launch. The electric-powered scooter relied on a series of tilt and gyroscopic sensors to maintain its balance as riders zipped along at a top speed of up to 16 km per hour. Now, Fast Company on Tuesday reported that the brand’s current owner is retiring the Segway personal transporter line as we know it. Manufacturing at its plant in Bedford, New Hampshire, will cease on July 15, the publication says. With the cease of manufacture, a tot...
Unique Health Platform Could Benefit 800 Million Mobile Subscribers in Africa
Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. “With this platform, we have the possibility of reaching between 600 million and 800 million mobile subscribers in Africa,” says Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), during the virtual launch of the Africa Communication and Information Platform for Health and Economic Action (ACIP) on 23 June 2020. ACIP is a mobile-based tool for two-way information and communication between citizens and governments. It furnishes national and regional COVID task forces with user-generated survey data and actionable health and economic insights that will enable authorities to better analyze pandemic-related problems and implement appropriate responses. Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC says the platform offers a “unique opp...
MTN to Launch its 5G Network Next Week
Sourced from Business Tech MTN South Africa will finally launch its 5G network next week, 30 June 2020, becoming the first of the telecommunications group’s 22 operations to launch the next-generation broadband technology. The pan-African telecom is hosting a live event on its YouTube channel that same day. The event will be hosted by CEO Godfrey Motsa, chief consumer officer Mapula Bodibe and chief technology & information officer Giovanni Chiarelli. [embedded content] At the beginning of the month, MTN began announcing that it would launch 5G networks in major cities across South Africa. The exact locations for these launches have been confidential. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_3b3.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_3b3.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Initially, MTN had been ...
Microsoft Teams Now Available for Personal Use
Sourced from Tech Republic. Microsoft has launched the personal version of Microsoft Teams, as a part of a broader effort by Microsoft to remain relevant with its consumers after a series of moves away from consumer-friendly products. The company is adding new features to the existing Microsoft Teams app that might appeal to a set of people looking to do more than just chat. The Verge writes that this is not meant to be a way to begin to compete with the likes of WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, but simply a repositioning of Teams as more friendly to individuals and their families, and not just meant for corporations or businesses. Sourced from The Verge. Launched initially as a preview for iOS and Android, Microsoft Teams for personal use includes the basics of text chat and video calling,...
5 Steps to Protect Yourself and Employees from Android-Based Cyber Threats
Sourced from International IDEA While nearly 9 in 10 companies not only allow but actually rely on their employees to access critical business apps using their personal devices, according to a recent Fortinet Threat Landscape Report, Android-based malware now represents 14% of all cyber threats. In addition to direct attacks, the number of compromised web sites, email phishing campaigns, and malicious access points continue to grow exponentially, infecting unsuspecting users – regardless of their devices –with spyware, malware, compromised applications, and even ransomware. And whenever a personal device of any of your employees becomes compromised, they can represent an increased risk to your organisation as well. In addition to deploying mobile device management software a...
How COVID-19 has Influenced Online Shopping Habits
Sourced from Innovation Village. All things considered, it’s no surprise that eCommerce has fundamentally changed over the past few months. The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged consumers to switch to online shopping and contactless payment alternatives to abide with social distancing practices and lockdown regulations. Stats released by online payment gateway, PayFast show that Generation Z, aged 18 to 24, is paving the way for innovation in the eCommerce space, with Baby Boomers aged 55 to 64, not far behind. “The eCommerce boom was bound to happen, but COVID-19 definitely accelerated industry growth. We’ve seen adoption rates soar following on from the lockdown, this has occurred across age groups. Habits formed now are going to continue in the future,” says Jonathan Smit, MD and Founder...
South Africa Begins First COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
Sourced from Getty Images The University of Witswatersrand has announced that South Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine trial is set to begin, with participants to be enrolled by the end of the week. “This is a landmark moment for South Africa and Africa at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we enter winter in South Africa and pressure increases on public hospitals, now more than ever we need a vaccine to prevent infection by COVID-19,” Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and Director of the South Africa Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, Shabir Madhi, says in a virtual briefing. This new trial aims to find a vaccine that will prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is the virus that causes COVID-19. “We began screening participants for ...
