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
…
The Bootcamp will be divided between a two-week hackathon and a six-week learning phase. Participants must create decentralised projects on the Polygon Blockchain to compete for significant cash and mentoring awards.
More than 2,000 developers from five African nations—Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and Rwanda—will attend the Bootcamp, collaborating alongside many developer groups in Africa, including GDG Nairobi. Certificates will be given to each participant.
According to Shodipo Ayomide, Global Head of Developer Advocacy at Polygon Technology, one of the several financial obstacles in Africa is cross-country money transfer.…
Online payment solutions are immensely beneficial for their users, both customers and merchants alike. Online payments help reach global customers, reduce the cost of transactions and provide payment security (compared to cash payments). They create a more pleasant experience for the users who need not rush to banks and malls to buy or pay for their needs.
Pan-African fintech giant Flutterwave has kept its promise about Google Pay, as users of the global payment service can now use it for transactions with merchants on Flutterwave’s stores.
Google Pay was designed to enable users’ safe, seamless, contactless payments. It uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to facilitate fund transfers for retailers in physical stores. Users can also save their card details into the Google Wallet service and make online or in-app payments.…
Partnerships have largely driven technology innovation and global collaborations among tech companies, and Alibaba Cloud is not slowing down in committing itself to such partnerships.
System integrator Business Connexion (BCX) has announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intellectual backbone of the Alibaba Group, to bring the best-in-class cloud technologies to local businesses in South Africa to drive local digitalization.
- System integrator Business Connexion (BCX) has announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud
- The two parties sealed an exclusive distribution contract to grant BCX exclusive rights and authority to distribute Alibaba Cloud’s products and services in the country.
According to Selina Yuan, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence International President, “Partners have always been a key focus for Alibaba Cloud, and we are committed to providing them with strong support for our ongoing co-creation and value-add – both technologically and commercially – to further empower our customers.”
According to …
CyborgIntell Africa says it will work closely with financial institutions and other enterprises to help them rapidly develop, deploy and operationalize AI applications at scale.
A statement says the CyborgIntell platform addresses the key challenges companies face in the data science/machine learning lifecycle – from data selection and modelling, and operationalizing AI, to managing risk and governance.
“AI is a powerful and transformative technology, yet many companies across the world find it difficult to unlock its full potential. More than a third (36%) of organizations take more than 90 days to deploy data science machine learning (ML) projects, while the failure rate of such initiatives is estimated to be 85% across industries,” said McLachlan, CyborgIntell managing director.…
The agreement allows Liquid to leverage the Ka-band capabilities of the Eutelsat Konnect satellite to provide broadband Internet services to businesses in Uganda, South Sudan, and the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Liquid becomes the first ground gateway provider for Eutelsat Konnect in Sub-Saharan Africa, broadening broadband coverage and creating new business opportunities in Africa. It is Eutelsat’s long-standing partner.
Under a long-term contract that was renewed and extended in 2021, it operates the Ku-band resources of the EUTELSAT 7B satellite to provide VSAT services in sub-Saharan Africa.…
FastConnect will be offered at current Africa Data Centre (ADC) facilities all over the continent for Liquid Cloud’s co-located clients in addition to organizations using Liquid CloudConnect as a service. An organization’s on-premises applications and Oracle Cloud Fusion Applications will be connected through this solution, improving the user experience. Businesses may move massive volumes of data safely, economically, and effectively with FastConnect via Liquid CloudConnect.
Whether on-premises or co-located through ADC facilities around the continent, Liquid will assist its customers in achieving simplicity, enterprise-class security, and seamless operations.
In July, Liquid also launched its first Cyber Security Fusion Centre in Johannesburg in a bid to eliminate silos and enhance threat visibility leading to deeper collaboration across teams and increased cyber resiliency.…
