AfICTA e-Newsletter (December 15th, 2019)

Newsletter Subscription                        Join AfICTA

AfICTA e-NEWSLETTER 

15/December/19 Vol 79

7th AfICTA Summit Emphasizes Opportunities the Digital Economy Brings

The 7th AfICTA Summit was hosted by KAD Consortium (Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd, Axiom Consulting Ltd and Dotengee Enterprise) on 29th November, 2019 @ the Pavilion, beside International Conference Center, Abuja and the theme was Digital Economy: Securing eCommerce and Minimizing DNS Abuse.

@ the Summit, Nigeria Digital Economy Diagnostics say with improvements in digital connectivity, digital skills, digital financial services and other core areas of digital development, Nigeria can fully unleash new economic opportunities, create jobs and transform people’s lives. 

According to one of the organizers of the 7th Summit, Mr. Tola Sogbesan, CEO Axiom...  read more

The 14th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF 2019) took place in Berlin, Germany, from 25 to 29 November 2019, within the framework of the overarching theme: One World. One Net. One Vision. 

During the course of five days, 3,679 delegates participated in-person in 200 sessions. Berlin welcomed participants from 161 different countries. 53% of these were the first-time comers and 42% of them were female.

AfICTA - Africa ICT Alliance also organized its #293 workshop titlled Unlocking the Digital Potentials of the Developing and Least Developed Countries on November 28, 2019 and the  report is here

Approximately 3,000 people participated online. 111 different countries were represented...  read more

MainOne’s Submarine Cable, Ready for Service in Cote d’Ivoire

MainOne today announces its submarine cable in Cote d’Ivoire is live and ready for service. The project, notable for being the first commercial cable system in service to deploy spectrum sharing capabilities, will offer capabilities to deepen infrastructure sharing and lower the cost of delivering broadband services to the region. 

MainOne’s entry into the Cote d’Ivoire market will facilitate world-class infrastructure availability and accessibility that meets market needs at any time. The network will ensure its customers continue to enjoy maximum uptime performance and reduced latency as the company increases bandwidth... read more

I Invented the World Wide Web. Here’s How We Can Fix It.

My parents were mathematicians. My mother helped code one of the first stored-program computers — the Manchester Mark 1. They taught me that when you program a computer, what you can do is limited only by your imagination. That excitement for experimentation and change helped me build the World Wide Web. 

I had hoped that 30 years from its creation, we would be using the web foremost for the purpose of serving humanity. Projects like Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap and the world of open source software are the kinds of constructive tools that I hoped would flow from the web... read more

Launching the Contract for the Web

Last year, the inventor of the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, called for governments, companies and citizens from across the world to take action to protect the web as a force for good. 

Today, we stand together to launch the result of that call: a new Contract for the Web. 

Experts and citizens have come together — bringing a diverse range of experiences and perspectives — to build a global plan of action to make our online world safe and empowering for everyone... read more

What’s next in our fight for the #WebWeWant

The web’s power to be a force for good is under threat, and we are all grappling for the right solutions. Governments struggle to pass laws that keep pace with fast-changing technology. Companies promise to respect users’ rights, but then make decisions that prioritize short-term profit and harm consumers and society. Our human rights are at risk.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We have the power to overcome these threats and fight for the web we want — but only if we roll up our sleeves and get to work creating tangible solutions that can forge real change...  read more

Sener looks to expand generating capacity at solar power

Spanish-based technology and engineering company, Sener, together with its partners, has invested billions of rands in the Ilanga concentrated solar power 1 (CSP1) project,which provides solar-generated thermal electricity to around 100 000 South African households. 

Billed SA’s first 100% black-owned solar plant, the Ilanga CSP1 is located in Karoshoek, about 20km east of Upington, and contributes100MW of on-demand sustainable and reliable power supply through the national grid.

The project entered into commercial operation last November as part of government’s. ... read more

2020 Tech Trends to Watch-out for

In 2020, the drive towards a cashless society will result in increased debt for consumers, and the increasing popularity of drones will replace fireworks. 

These are some of the predictionspublished by Nesta, the global innovation foundation, in its annual predictions report for 2020. 

Last year, Nesta predicted the rise of deepfakes as a political tool and 2019 has seen repeated controversies over the use of faked video. 

In 2020, the foundation forecasts the... read more

Govt Sites Down as Load-shedding Knocks out SITA Data Centre

The State IT Agency (SITA) has revealed its network is down, impacting the availability of a “few” government department Web sites that it hosts. 

SITA says this is the result of an incident at around 2am this morning when the municipal power feed to its Centurion building was lost, causing its data centre to go offline.

The agency goes on to say its data centres contain a high concentration of high impact systems that support public services. 

SITA hosts everything from larg...  read more

Kaspersky Releases 2019 Cyber Threat Statistics

The number of unique malicious objects detected by Kaspersky in 2019 rose by 14% compared to last year. 

Other threats, such as backdoors and banking Trojans detected in-lab, also grew, while the presence of miners dropped by more than a half.

These trends have demonstrated a shift in the type of threats used by attackers, who search for more effective ways to target users, according to the Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2019 Statistics report. 

The growth in unique malicious objects detected by Kaspersky’s Web antivirus solutions... read more

What Tech Brings to Healthcare in Africa and Beyond

Aperfect storm is brewing in the healthcare sector. What trends are driving the adoption of technology in healthcare? Why has technology adoption in this sector been slower than other sectors? How are these trends and technologies applicable to our continent? Opposing forces 

Escalating costs across the spectrum of care are driving the need for healthcare providers to be more efficient, absorb increased healthcare funding risk and implement more effective and sustainable models of care. 

Information management and communication technologies have the. .. read more

e-Government dept threatens to halt Gauteng Broadband Network

The Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN) is under threat of being halted as new controversies have emerged about the ambitious provincial connectivity project.

The project is again in the spotlight after revelations that phase two of GBN is saddled with an alleged R1 billion bill in wasteful expenditure.

The State IT Agency (SITA) is being accused of awarding the tender at higher fee than the amounted budget for the project by the department. 

The department says it requested SITA. .. read more

Cybersecurity Trends 2020: Technology is getting smarter – are we?

A tumultuous 2019 is steadily but surely wrapping up. Before we all step into the New Year full of hopes and expectations, we take a step back to look at what the year ahead may have in store.

The past year has seen an increase in the adoption of up-and-coming technologies at a rapid pace. Everyday items are getting smarter and more connected. So much so that companies are incorporating them into buildings to increase their operating efficiency and saving millions. Even cities are racing to implement smart solutions so they ...  read more

Regulator Says TELKOM, AIRTEL Merger On Course

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) says it is reviewing the Airtel, Telkom Kenya merger, distancing itself from suggestions by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission that the deal has been put on hold once again.

The EACC initially waded into the proposed transaction, saying it would not continue until allegations of corruption are investigated.

The agency later wrote to the CAK and other regulators on October 15, saying it did not object to the merger. EACC Director of Legal Services David Too, however, last month walked back the agency’s. ..  read more

E-commerce will strengthen Egypt's banks in 2020

Banks in Egypt are expected to fare better than their regional peers and competitors in 2020 as they capitalise on e-commerce opportunities.

Global ratings agency Moody's said on Monday that the outlook for most banks across Africa has "changed to negative from stable" owing to weakening operating conditions.

The agency added that "Egyptian, Moroccan, Mauritian and Kenyan banks will be more resilient" starting 2020. 

Other analysts say FinTech and e-commerce will underpin the resilience by banks. ..  read more

Africa Found Wanting on Cyber Crime Preparedness

That's one of the biggest takeaways from the 2019 KnowBe4 African Cyber Security Report which surveyed over 800 respondents across SA, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritius and Botswana.

KnowBe4 is an integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform.

According to the report, 65% of respondents across all eight countries are concerned about cyber crime. However, KnowBe4 says they are vulnerable, as they are not aware of what they don't know.. .  read more

Is Outsourcing the Solution to SA's Cybercrime Scourge?

South Africa is the only country showing equal data leak score due to internal and external violations (38%), which means that a company has to protect both from external and internal security threats equally.

This is according to Sergey Ozhegov, chief executive officer of risk management solution firm SearchInform, which recently launched an information security outsourcing services for companies that face the problem of corporate fraud and data leakage. 

Ozhegov says the global cyber security market size stood at US$131.3-billion in 2018 and is projected to reach US$289.8-billion by 2026.. ..  read more

Safaricom Goes toe-to-toe with Banks

Safaricom plans to roll out a savings plan on its mobile money service, M-Pesa that will enable its customers to save money and earn an annual interest.

The platform, named Mali (which is Swahili for wealth), is still in testing phase and the company has not yet confirmed a date for official launch.

Once rolled out, customers must be registered for three months or more to access the service and will be able to earn 10% interest per annum, which will accrue daily. The savings limit has been set between KES100 (US$1) and KES70,000 (US$700), there is also a 15% withholding tax. ..  read more

Alphabet's Loon Gets Regulatory Nod in Uganda

The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has approved Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Loon LLC's planned deployment of balloons to provide internet access in that country.

The balloons are designed to facilitate more widespread access to telecommunications (voice and data) and 4G/LTE, especially for users in remote regions that are not served mobile networks.

Loon LLC's sojourn in Uganda began late August 2018 when the company initiated discussions with officials to deploy its solutions... read more