Trending
- Kenya, Tanzania braces for torrential floods as Cyclone Hidaya approaches
- EAC monetary affairs committee to discuss single currency progress in Juba talks
- Transport and food prices drive down Kenya’s inflation to 5% in April
- Payment for ransomware attacks increase by 500 per cent in one year
- History beckons as push for Kenya’s President Ruto to address US Congress gathers pace
- IMF’s Sub-Saharan Africa economic forecast shows 1.2 percent GDP growth
- The US Congress proposes extending Agoa to 2041, covering all African countries
- Millions at risk of famine as fuel tax row halts UN aid operations in South Sudan
Tech & Business
- Payment for ransomware attacks is not only impacting large businesses even smaller ones have been hit with 7-figure demand.
- The rate of ransomware attacks falls slightly, but recovery costs hit $2.73 million.
- Despite the soaring ransoms, this year’s survey indicates a slight reduction in the rate of ransomware attacks
The amount organisations are paying to get back their data from cyber criminals has increased by 500 per cent in the past year, a new report by Cybersecurity solutions provider Sophos has revealed.
Sophos, in its annual “State of Ransomware 2024” survey, says this has seen organizations that paid the ransom report an average payment of $2 million, up from $400,000 in 2023, with ransoms being just one part of the cost.
Excluding ransoms, the survey found the average cost of recovery reached $2.73 million, an increase of almost $1 million since the $1.82 million that Sophos reported in 2023. …
- TikTok Community Guidelines will see introduction of stricter For You eligibility standards.
- Video sharing entity says this code emphasizes responsible behavior on and off the platform
- According to the recently released Reuters Institute Digital News report 2023 survey, Kenya leads in world TikTok usage.
Popular video sharing platform TikTok, has unveiled significant updates to its Community Guidelines and introduced new features aimed at supporting creators and maintaining a safe environment for users. The platform’s Community Guidelines, which outline rules and standards for all users, have been updated to provide greater clarity and transparency.
These updates, set to take effect in a few weeks, include refined definitions for policies on hate speech and health misinformation. Additionally, TikTok has detailed how it moderates features like Search, LIVE, and the For You feed to ensure a positive user experience.
One of the key updates is the introduction of stricter For You eligibility standards. …
- Market size of Africa’s digital economy could reach $712 billion by 2050.
- In 2022 only 36 percent of the African population had access to broadband internet.
- Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are streamlining adoption of 5G services.
Africa is on the verge of an economic revolution. From the north to the southern part of the Saharan desert, nations are striving to eliminate poverty and gain a strong foothold in global markets.
In the same vein, the continent is banking on the potential held by the digital economy. Reports ping the sector to higher standards, including a report from non-profit Endeavor predicting that the market size of Africa’s digital economy could reach $712 billion by 2050.
The growth is propelled by the massive engagement of the continent’s younger population, rising smartphone adoption and increasing internet penetration.
Read also: World Bank backs Smart Africa’s Digital Academy with $20M grant
Digital economy in
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- Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) has embarked on a sensitisation programme targeting insurance companies to integrate them into the upgraded Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP)
- KenTrade’s newly upgraded platform is aimed at enhancing maritime trade efficiency
- It will also ensure faster processing of documents and claims, thus leading to a reduction in the cost of doing business and a subsequent improvement in service delivery standards
Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) has embarked on a sensitisation programme targeting insurance companies to integrate them into the upgraded Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP) to enhance maritime trade efficiency.
KenTrade ICT Director Anne Waweru said the integration of insurance companies’ systems with TFP will ensure a seamless submission of the marine cargo certificate to regulatory agencies.
It will also ensure faster processing of documents and claims, thus leading to a reduction in the cost of doing business and a subsequent improvement in service delivery standards.
“This …
Sky.Garden raised US$4 million in a Series A round of fundraising last year, bringing its total VC funding to US$5.2 million. Since 2017, the startup has had hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises sell through its online marketplace. The firm guarantees “end-to-end” order fulfilment and earns an 8% commission on every sale made through its platform.
It’s a concept that was arguably best popularised by Amazon, albeit the e-commerce behemoth’s success in executing it has been partly due to massive economies of scale, which have given it more diversification and allowed it to balance falls in some areas against expansions in others.
Despite the fact that SkyGarden is rich with merchants and customers in Kenya, the company is substantially smaller, with only 46 employees, according to LinkedIn statistics.…
IPv4 was the first version of IP to be used, and despite having been officially released in 1983, it is still the most widely used version to identify devices on a given network.
According to the CA report, with the imminent exhaustion of IPv4 address space, the length of IP addresses was increased from 32 bits to 128 bits, creating almost 340 undecillion addresses. The two address sets are not compatible, implying data sent using IPv4 address cannot be delivered to a recipient using IPv6 addresses.
The IPv6 was developed and standardized, as the next-generation Internet Protocol in 1996, with initial assignments for use in 1999, had the main goal of massively increasing the number of IP addresses available. Over the past year, major content providers and access networks have started offering IPv6 services to ordinary Internet users.…
- A TransUnion report shows that the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts from Kenya in the year’s second quarter (Q2) decreased by -27 per cent compared to the same period last year
- The rate of suspected digital fraud attempts originating from Kenya declined across half of the industries tracked
- TransUnion observed the largest declines from Kenya-based transactions in communities, which include online forums and dating at -70 per cent, telecommunications at -42 per cent and insurance at -20 per cent
A new report now shows that the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts from Kenya in the year’s second quarter (Q2) decreased by -27 per cent compared to the same period last year. The performance was against a -14 per cent decline shown globally.
According to TransUnion’s quarterly fraud analysis, the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts originating from Kenya declined across half of the industries tracked.
The rate of …
South Sudan and Djibouti have signed an MoU to lay fibre optic cable from Djibouti to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, via Ethiopia. Djibouti’s fibre optic is not the first telecommunications infrastructure that South Sudan is connecting to. In January 2020, Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT) announced the installation of a 200km fibre backbone to connect the Uganda border to Juba.
Authorities believe additional data capacity will enable the country to successfully implement its digital transformation strategy by making broadband internet connectivity more affordable. South Sudanese officials said the agreement would ensure that region is connected to the international community and reduce the high cost of the internet.
South Sudan’s Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services said South Sudanese and Djibouti government officials would establish a technical committee to oversee the project.…
The project emphasises that young people are starting businesses, which is essential to meeting our lofty employment goals.
Through a public-private partnership model, the alliance aims to assist the creation of national institutions that will scale up financial and technical support for young entrepreneurs and increase their capabilities.
The African Development Bank created the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank as a unique value proposition that integrates and anchors work to create African entrepreneurship ecosystems.
The bank will coordinate the necessary financial and non-financial parties and partners through this project to fulfil their responsibilities for supporting young entrepreneurs through mentoring, training, experience and knowledge exchange, and other means.…
