tech news
Millicom Sells Operations in Tanzania and Ghana
Millicom has signed agreements for the sale of its operations in Tanzania and for its stake in the AirtelTigo joint venture in Ghana. Once closed, the transactions will complete Millicom’s multi-year plan to divest its African operations and focus on its Latin American markets. In Tanzania, Millicom has agreed to sell its entire operations to a consortium led by Axian, a pan-African group that was part of the consortium that acquired Millicom’s operations in Senegal in 2018. In Ghana, Millicom along with its joint venture partner, Bharti Airtel Limited, have signed a definitive agreement for the transfer of AirtelTigo to the Government of Ghana. Millicom will take a $25 million charge as a result of this agreement. “Today Tigo is a leading provider of broadband services to consumers, busin...
Showmax Reveals Reduced Mobile Plan Prices Across Africa
Showmax has revealed that African mobile subscribers could pay up to 20% less each month. “We believe this change will be appreciated by our mobile customers as will the decision not to increase any of our other prices,” says MultiChoice Group CEO for Connected Video, Yolisa Phahle. “We have our most exciting slate of Showmax Originals this year and look forward to more of our subscribers enjoying our proudly African stories”. Here’s a quick look at how the mobile plans will now be priced /* custom css */ .tdi_3_e69.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_e69.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Showmax Showmax Mobile WAS Showmax Mobile NOW Showmax Pro Showmax Pro Mobile South Africa R99 R49 R39 R449 R225 Kenya KSh 790 KSh 380 KSh 300 KSh 2100 KSh 1050...
5 Ways Cybercriminal Gangs Use Ransomware
Over the past few years, the methods cybercriminals use to distribute ransomware has changed dramatically. While a few years ago, they would spread encrypted files on a large scale, today, their ransomware attacks have become more focused. Now, fraudsters examine the target in detail and research each target, looking for additional leverage. Infamous ransomware gangs behave like fully-fledged online service providers, using traditional marketing techniques. And according to Kaspersky, Internet users can see five clear examples of this transformation by looking at Darkside ransomware gang: 1. Darkside actively establishes contact with the press On their website, there’s a semblance of a press centre set up to enable journalists to ask questions and receive first-hand information and learn a...
Over 80% of Businesses Expect to Work Remotely, According to Research
One year after the global remote work revolution, the shift to work from home (WFH) and work from anywhere (WFA) is already resulting in profound effects on businesses’ digital transformation as well as data security concerns. According to Lenovo’s new Future of Work and Digital Transformation study, a vast majority of businesses (83%) expect to work remote at least half the time, whereas 60% of employees not only agree but are happy to do so. Most employees (83%) want a hybrid work model post-COVID, which businesses say are more than happy to accommodate because they know it’s a way to drive employee engagement and attract new talent. Enabling remote work has meant a change in digital adoption, with increased usage of personal devices for work; wider adoption of collaboration cloud and so...
Facebook is Exploring New Audio Apps
Facebook is said to be working on a series of audio tools for users, reports Recode. A spokesperson from the social media company says that “we’ve been connecting people through audio and video technologies for many years, and are always exploring new ways to improve that experience for people”. According to the Vox publication, Facebook’s audio plans include: An audio-only version of Rooms, a videoconferencing product it launched a year ago, when the pandemic spurred massive adoption of Zoom. A Clubhouse-like product that will let groups of people listen to and interact with speakers on a virtual “stage.” A product that will let Facebook users record brief voice messages and post them in their newsfeeds, like they currently can do with text, pictures, and videos. A podcast disco...
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...
Dell Unveils the New Inspiron Laptop Lineup
Dell has unveiled its new lineup of Inspiron laptops – including the 13, 14 & 15-inch devices as well as the Inspiron 16 Plus. According to Dell, these laptops have been designed with a work-from-anywhere lifestyle in mind. They feature a nearly borderless display, expansive keyboard, larger keycaps and spacious touchpad to make it easier for viewing and smoother to navigate content. And to ensure users look their best while streaming online, Dell has included an HD webcam in the new line up with Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR) hardware solution for quality video streaming. Inspiron 13, 14 & 15 /* custom css */ .tdi_3_878.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_878.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Every Inspiron from the 13-inch to 15-inch features easy-to-use technolog...
South African Businesses Adopted Hybrid Cloud at An Increasing Rate In 2020
Image sourced from Glassdoor Nutanix, a leader in private cloud, hybrid, and multicloud computing, has released the local data from its third global Enterprise Cloud Index survey, showing how South African companies compare with the rest of the globe regarding their hybrid cloud adoption in 2020. South African organisations are still transitioning to a hybrid cloud infrastructure, and for most organisations, these transitions do not happen overnight. Legacy applications may justify keeping older infrastructure for a time or require re-platforming skills that organisations may not have access to. According to the report, 50% of South Africa organisations run either private cloud-only or a non-integrated mix of private, public, and traditional infrastructure models. Key Findings includ...
How Companies Should Deal with the Threat of Cybercrime
Sourced from International IDEA Cybercrime is on the rise and South African C-suites would do well to ensure that they have up-to-date and appropriately resourced strategies to deal with its threat. The pandemic showed us that while land and sea borders can be shut, in the digital village this is not possible, and more importantly, in many instances, it is unclear where these attacks originate. The definition of cybercrime perhaps holds the key to who should take it seriously. Cybercrime is defined as criminal activities that are carried out by means of a computer or the internet. Anyone who uses a computer that is connected to the internet should have a cybercrime strategy in place. No matter where you are in the world, if you let your guard down you are at risk. Everyone needs to be resp...
Calls for Safaricom to Share Telco Infrastructure by Kenya Competition Authority
Image sourced from Techweez The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has approached Parliament with new laws that would require the country’s telco’s – mainly Safaricom – to share their private infrastructure on a commercial basis. “The authority’s view is that ab initio infrastructure provisions in the sector should have been separated from the mobile network operators. Primarily regulations should have been developed to ensure that third parties provide the infrastructure. Unfortunately, this did not happen,” says CAK Director-General, Francis Wang’ombe Kariuki. “It is with this reality that we opine regulations should be promulgated and enforced in regard to infrastructure sharing on a commercial basis and in case of dispute, the sector regulator [Communications Authority of Kenya] may ...
3 Cybersecurity Challenges Triggered by COVID-19 Lockdown
The global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the everyday operations of businesses and as a result, the cyber risk still remains a grave concern as many business practices have been compromised. The ZA Central Registry organisation, which is the administrator of South Africa’s .za domain name, recently warned that South Africa is a global target for international fraudsters and cybersecurity measures are more important now than ever before. “It is essential for businesses to be aware of the nature of these cybercrimes and technology countermeasures to protect their businesses, especially when considering the cybersecurity challenges that have occurred during lockdown”, says Riaan de Villiers, Cybersecurity Expert and Business Analyst at LAWtrust. Here’s a Quick Look at the Top 3 Cybersecurity Ch...
Unpacking the Economic Impact of COVID 19 on SMBs in South Africa
One in two small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in South Africa has yet to see revenues recover to pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest edition of Facebook’s Global State of Small Business Report. 50% of operational South African SMBs on Facebook reported that their sales in February were lower than the equivalent month last year. Some 74% reported that they were operational or engaging in any revenue-generating activities, while 8% of operational SMBs on Facebook expected challenges related to cash flow and 20% expected challenges related to demand or a lack of customers in the next few months. Continuing trends observed throughout the pandemic: Women-owned South African businesses have been hit especially hard. Some 71% of women-led SMBs (vs. 77% of men-led SMBs) on Facebook ...
