Global Tech - Afrikan Heroes

Binance Boosts its Global Law Enforcement Training Program to Meet Growing Demand

October 2, 2022

Binance, the global blockchain ecosystem behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, today formally announced its Global Law Enforcement Training Program which has grown exponentially since the expansion of the investigations team in the last year. The program—the industry’s first coordinated effort across the globe—was created by Binance to help law enforcement and prosecutors detect financial and cybercrimes and to assist in the prosecution of bad actors.

“As more regulators, public law enforcement agencies and private sector stakeholders look closely at crypto, we are seeing an increased demand for training to help educate on and combat crypto crimes,” said Tigran Gambaryan, Global Head of Intelligence and Investigations at Binance. “To meet that demand, we have bolstered our team to conduct more training and work hand-in-hand with regulators across the globe.”

Over the past year, the Binance Investigations team has conducted and participated in more than 30 anti-cyber and financial crimes workshops with law enforcement in various countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Philippines, Sweden, South Korea, the UK among others.

The training program is led by leaders from the Binance Investigations team made up of security experts and former law enforcement agents, including world-renowned experts having helped take down some of the world’s largest crypto criminal platforms, including Silkroad and Hydra.

The full day training program includes in-person workshops on the concepts of blockchain and crypto assets. The curriculum also includes insight on the evolving legal and regulatory environment. Binance’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies and the investigative methods developed by the company to detect and prevent potential frauds are also discussed in detail.

As a result of its robust compliance and AML programs, Binance recently secured approvals and registration in France, Italy and Spain, among others, making the exchange one of the few crypto companies to accomplish this within G7 countries.

“Protecting users is our number one priority at Binance. We work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to track and trace suspected accounts and fraudulent activities, contributing to the fight against terrorism financing, ransomware, human trafficking, child pornography and financial crimes,” said Gambaryan, a former special agent (https://bit.ly/3Cmd7oP) of the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Cyber Crimes Unit.

Since November 2021, the Binance Investigations team has responded to more than 27,000 law enforcement requests with an average of three days response time which is faster than any traditional financial institution. “Binance is known among law enforcement to have a fast response system, unmatched by any traditional financial institution,” said Gambaryan.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Apple Says It Has Fixed iPhone 14 Pro Camera Bug

September 26, 2022

Apple said it has released a software update aimed at fixing bugs found in early iPhone 14 units, including a problem that made the device’s camera shake when used with some apps.

The update, known as iOS 16.0.2, resolves an issue that made the camera vibrate and take blurry photos when users were in third-party apps like TikTok and Instagram. Customers took to social media after the new iPhones launched last Friday to complain about the bug, which affected Pro and Pro Max models.

The software update also fixes a problem that made some displays turn black during device setup, an issue that presented a copy-and-paste approval prompt more frequently than necessary, and glitches that caused the VoiceOver feature and displays on older iPhones to become unresponsive.

The software update marks the second so far for the iPhone 14, which had a fix last week related to FaceTime. The company is planning another update, iOS 16.1, for next month — to accompany the initial iPadOS 16 release and to enable the launch of iPhone 14 satellite connectivity for emergency texting in November.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Binance Takes Crypto Education Tour Across Francophone Africa

September 22, 2022

A leading global blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, Binance, has launched a crypto education tour across 5 countries in French-speaking Africa as part of its mission to drive blockchain adoption and enable greater financial accessibility in the region.

On September 10 2022, Binance kicked off the first meetup of the tour in Cotonou, Benin with a goal to empower crypto newbies and enthusiasts in the region with the right knowledge about blockchain technology and how to use it as a tool for financial freedom.

The Benin meetup was an offline educational event introducing people to the world of cryptocurrency, as well as the Binance Ecosystem. There were about 400 attendees with keen interests in blockchain technology.

Attendees also participated in engaging games like an NFT quiz, with 250+ winners receiving NFTs. The remainder of the tour will be held in:

Togo: September 24, 2022

Côte D’Ivoire: October 8, 2022

Cameroon: October 22, 2022

Burkina Faso: October 9, 2022

Binance continues to be at the forefront of blockchain education through its offline meetups which have been instrumental in democratising and deepening cryptocurrency adoption and accessibility in Francophone Africa.

Just last month, the company launched a crypto education hub in Yaoundé, Cameroon to provide resources and training for young people across Francophone Africa. Taking their mission a step further, the Francophone meetups demonstrate the blockchain giant’s continued commitment to providing avenues for offline connections, learning, and sharing of experiences in the crypto space.

“It is clear that Francophone Africa has limitless potential to be a key player in the blockchain revolution and we are committed to providing more people with access to the necessary information and tools to use digital assets and blockchain. Community is a vital part of blockchain and by bringing together like-minded people to learn and grow in the space, the future of blockchain in Francophone Africa is inevitably prosperous,” said Carine Dikambi, Francophone Africa Lead at Binance.

The importance of these education initiatives cannot be overemphasized for the region. This is especially because making payments across country lines is pretty difficult for Africans. Cryptocurrency simplifies all this by innovating and simplifying remittances, cross-border transfers or settlements for users.

These innovations are an engine of growth for crypto adoption in Francophone Africa and Africa as a whole as they offer a borderless way for Africans to participate in the crypto market today.

With the growth in general user interest, education and even media interest, crypto has the potential to foster innovation, financial inclusion and economic competitiveness for Francophone Africa.

What to expect from the upcoming meetups:

Learn the basics of blockchain.

Discover how others are using crypto in their everyday lives and how to store value with crypto and earn on your crypto balances.

Understand real-world applications of the blockchain.

Understand crypto trading and how it works in simple terms.

If you are in Francophone Africa and are interested in learning about blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, use this link to register.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/billets-binance-meetup-tour-francophone-407399732567.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

iPhone14: It Has Qualcomm Modem That Talks to Satellites

September 19, 2022

It has been revealed that Apple’s iPhone 14 models contain a Qualcomm chip that can talk to satellites, according to an analysis of the phone by iFixit.

Apple’s iPhone 14 models contain a Qualcomm chip that can talk to satellites, but have additional custom-designed Apple components used in the phone’s biggest new feature, according to an analysis of the phone by iFixit and an Apple statement.

iFixit, a San Luis Obispo, California-based firm that disassembles iPhones and other consumer electronics to assess how easily they can be repaired, took apart an iPhone 14 Pro Max model on Friday, revealing a Qualcomm X65 modem chip.

The Qualcomm chip provides 5G connectivity for cellular networks but is also capable of using what is called band N53, the frequency band used by satellites from Globalstar.

Globalstar earlier this month announced a deal in which Apple will take up to 85% of Globalstar’s satellite network capacity to enable Apple’s new emergency messaging feature.

One of the major new features is the ability to connect to satellites to send emergency messages when there is no Wi-Fi or cellular data connection.

Apple said earlier this month that the iPhone 14 models contain new hardware that makes possible the emergency message service, which Apple plans to turn on with a software update coming in November. Apple did not give details about the satellite-specific hardware.

The chip provides 5G connectivity for cellular networks but is also capable of using what is called band N5

In a statement on Saturday, Apple said there is additional proprietary hardware and software in the iPhone 14 for the new messaging feature.

“iPhone 14 includes custom radio frequency components, and new software designed entirely by Apple, that together enable Emergency SOS via satellite on new iPhone 14 models,” Apple said in the statement.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Group Launches New ICT Skills Registry Launched in South Africa

September 16, 2022

Three South African based industry bodies have launched an online ICT Skills Registry aimed at helping younger job seekers find employment in the technology sector.

Three industry bodies, including the Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa), have launched an online ICT Skills Registry aimed at helping younger job seekers find employment in the technology sector.

The initiative, which is also supported by the Wireless Access Providers Association and the Wireless Applications Service Providers’ Association, is a searchable database that “contains the profiles and skill sets of candidates seeking a career path in the ICT industry”.

“The Skills Registry is an ICT sector-based initiative aligned with the national skills development programme, and is primarily designed to provide an entry point for younger job seekers to obtain skills development through internship or learnership programmes,” Ispa said in a statement on Thursday.

Registered candidates can upload their CVs, provide a motivation outlining their aptitude and experience, and go through a questionnaire to select their ICT skills and interests, Ispa said.

Companies wanting to provide internships, learnerships or full-time employment opportunities will be able to search the database by specific ICT application or job description, and also by geographic location, to find suitable candidates.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Solid8 Technologies’ Global Vendors Bring Cybersecurity to South Africa

September 12, 2022

Solid8 Technologies, one of the easily recognizable names in value-adding distributorship, is bringing the best global cybersecurity software, vendors and expertise that solve important security challenges and increase cyber resilience across the domains of data security, identity governance, network security, OT security and threat intelligence to Africa. The products are;

Ava cloud-native video security which connects the dots to proactively and rapidly investigate events, safeguard people and assets with proactive surveillance, all on an open cloud video management platform.

Solid8 Technologies ceo Michael Lofthouse — Solid8 Technologies CEO, Michael Lofthouse

Comforte AG creates tokens of structured data. Applications can process tokenized data, eliminating the exposure of sensitive information while preserving the business logic. With powerful structured data privacy, data security and automation technology, organisations can be more agile and meet their compliance needs, secure their own applications and products, and embrace SaaS, cloud and cloud-native strategies

DocAuthority gives companies clear insights into their unstructured data. Automatically index and catalogue unstructured files and documents to define the data you have, what it contains, where it resides and who has access to it, allowing you to concentrate on your day job.

Military-grade network detection and response, IronNet gives you the advantage needed to defend and stop threats when organisations collaborate and share intelligence. Collective Defense offers a new approach to defending as a community to stop threats together in real time.

Qush’s machine learning and policy engine allows you to understand context, recognise behavioural patterns and identify incidents. Discover insider risks, educate your people, enforce policies and prevent data loss with Qush.

Zero-trust identity realised: Saviynt Enterprise Identity Cloud has a microservices architecture and cloud solution providing leading identity governance administration, application access governance and hybrid cloud privileged access management from a single pane of glass.

Skybox Security gives you complete visibility of your attack surface. Skybox’s Posture Management Platform aggregates and normalises millions of data points and creates a digital twin of your entire hybrid multi-cloud and OT networks. It’s cyber hygiene taken to the next level with a risk-based context aware approach to prevent breaches, discover vulnerabilities and prioritise your efforts.

Attack Path Management from XM Cyber proactively closes security gaps. Stop slowing down the progression of the attackers. It’s time to stop them… Illuminate and eliminate the attack paths leading to your crown jewels.

With all our vendors, Solid8 brings best-in-class cybersecurity to the local market.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

From Telco to TechCo: MTN Group Announces Two New Executive Appointments

September 9, 2022

Africa’s largest telecoms company, MTN Group, today announced a review of its executive structure as the company gears up to deliver on its Ambition 2025 strategy to transform from a Telco to a TechCo.

In line with this strategic shift, the company has appointed Ernst Fonternel into the role of Chief Consumer Officer and Divyesh Joshi into the role of Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer. Both appointments were recruited internally and are effective 1 October.

The new executive structure also sees the introduction of two new roles including that of Chief Commercial Operations Officer and Chief Risk Officer. Active recruiting for these positions is currently underway.

“The current top-tier structure has been optimal to enable us to evolve and grow the business to where we are today. However, in pursuit of Ambition 2025, the current structure needed to be optimised to adequately support our strategic ambition,” says MTN SA CEO, Charles Molapisi.

“I am pleased to announce the appointments of Ernst and Divyesh, both of whom are internal appointments who bring a wealth of knowledge to these roles.”

Fonternel, an industry veteran according to the company, has served for well over 20 years in the telecommunication industry, most of which has been at MTN SA.

He has strong commercial depth with a solid understanding of the SA mobile business models and distributors and currently leads the Digital and Online portfolios as Chief Digital officer within the MTN SA business.

Fonternel previously served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at MTN Zambia during 2009 to 2012, successfully growing market share and revenue for that business.

He also held the position of CMO in MTN Uganda, where he helped to reposition MTN as the provider of choice in the Ugandan market. He holds a B. Comm. (Accountancy) qualification from the University of Johannesburg.

Having spent many years in the business serving in various leadership roles within the finance business, including acting as interim MTN SA CFO during 2020 Joshi is a dynamic and highly experienced leader with deep understanding of the telco industry.

He has a strong track record of building and integrating finance functions, solving complex business problems through strong business partnering, leading the delivery of significant business transactions, and providing key financial insights to support commercial decision making.

Joshi currently holds the position of General Manager responsible for Finance Digital Transformation and is a qualified CA (SA) and holds a M.Comm (Taxation) from the University of Pretoria.

Molapisi explains that these appointments and the recruitment for the new roles are designed to deliver agile ways of work to simplify cross-functional interfaces, enhancing our focus on key and new revenue streams, and better aligning commercial and support functions and focused sales and distribution structures.

The introduction of the Chief Commercial Operations Officer provides an elevated focus on Brand and Marketing, Customer Service Operations, Sales and Distribution, Regional Operations and Digital Online.

As telcos move towards delayering and greater verticalisation of business units, the risk function requires particular industry depth. The risk function requires a thorough telco consideration from finance, pricing, commercial partnerships, network, and IT perspective.

We’ve also considered how we can improve our speed to market with fewer layers and evolution of our platform-play as we deliver on Ambition 2025. Finally, we looked at how we can best drive transformation through convergence in the Network and IT environments.

“The fast-paced world of telecommunications and technology requires an agile, responsive, and pioneering leadership approach. To this end, our focus has been on defining, designing, and shaping a future-fit leadership model for MTN SA, leveraging the extensive experience and expertise within the senior leadership team,” concludes Molapisi.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Tim Cook Credits Steve Jobs With Fostering Apple’s Culture of Privacy

September 8, 2022

THE Apple CEO Tim Cook has credited Steve Jobs with making privacy a top priority at the company and said he largely still runs the tech giant in the manner of its late co-founder.

Speaking at a Code Conference panel on Wednesday about Jobs’s legacy, said Apple has tried to ensure that privacy doesn’t get lost in a surveillance-driven world.

“I think he saw that and saw that well, and I have every reason to believe he would have put up good arguments and good fights along the way,” Cook said during the talk, alongside former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs.

What is not good is vacuuming up people’s data when it’s not on an informed basis.

The discussion, led by journalist Kara Swisher, followed a major product launch event on Wednesday morning, when the company unveiled new iPhones, AirPods and smartwatches. Privacy was a theme of that presentation as well, with Apple saying it would protect sensitive user information, such as women’s health data.

Apple has drawn outcry in the past year for tightening its rules about advertising in apps — a move social media companies have said has hurt their revenue.

Cook said at the Code event that “digital advertising is not a bad thing”.

“What is not good is vacuuming up people’s data” when it’s not on an informed basis, he said. “We try to put the user in the driver seat there to own their data.”

Cook — who became CEO in 2011, the year Jobs died — said the company still holds his predecessor’s traditional weekly 9am Monday meeting with all of the top executives. “The company is still run in many ways as Steve did,” said Cook, 61.

Speaking about the ‘Body of work’, Ive, who left Apple to start his own design firm in 2019, said Jobs’s focus was never selling more units. “I’ve never met somebody so curious and so inquisitive,” Ive said.

Powell Jobs, the founder of the Emerson Collective and Jobs’s widow, recalled his push to simplify Apple after his time away from the company. At the time, he reduced the number of offerings to just four main product lines.

“He was very concerned about the business,” she said. “He often talked about leaving behind a body of work, like an artist does.”

Jobs believed that you get a better answer by debating, “sometimes taking a position he didn’t even believe, just to get the discussion flowing”, Cook said. He was one in “a gazillion”.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Liquid Networks Launches DDoS Secure to Protect African Businesses from Attacks

September 6, 2022

The pan-African technology group, Cassava Technologies, through its subsidiary Liquid Networks, has announced the launch of its Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Secure offering to its customers. The solution is designed to proactively mitigate attacks by scrubbing traffic and blocking known attackers or malicious traffic.

“Cyber Attacks are at an all-time high; cyber security threats cost the African GDP almost a whopping US$4.1 billion in 2021. And, DDoS are on top of the cyber security attacks; the staggering cost to our GDP is proof enough that no business can afford to be without a layer of protection against them. While DDoS attacks have evolved over the years, our offering is equally sophisticated. With traffic scrubbed at one of our four scrubbing centres, customers can focus on their core business requirements while keeping them safe from DDoS attacks,” says Ahmad Mokhles, CEO of Liquid Networks.

The service is being offered to all potential Internet & IP transit clients and provided to all existing customers in regions where Liquid has operations across Africa access to a proactive protection service. With DDoS Secure, clients can have peace of mind, knowing that their business’s reputation, income, and network are protected. The service also offers them the potential for growth and partnerships through DDoS compliance.

While protecting clients’ networks and operations, DDoS Secure also gives them a line of sight about attempted attacks through post-incident reports on all mitigations completed. In addition, with the recent launch of Liquid’s Next-Gen Cyber Security Fusion Centre, the organisation will be able to monitor all online activity live and deter an attack before it reaches your network.

“With this measure in place, there will be higher visibility of potential attacks, and we will be able to mitigate threats and proactively secure businesses automatically. In addition, we can now manage and protect our customers in real-time. Yet, another achievement as Liquid Cyber Security introduces a solution that brings the world’s best practices in protecting against DDoS attacks,” concluded Mohkles.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

What Twitter is Not Telling Users About The New Long-Awaited Edit Button

September 4, 2022

Contrary to general expectations by Twitter users globally, the long awaited edit menu will still not be universally launched as it will first be accessed by paid subscribers before going free.

Edited tweets will have an icon and timestamp to display when the post was last edited. Users will be able to click on the label of an edited tweet to view the edit history and previous versions of the post.

Twitter has experimented with versions of an edit button. Subscribers of Twitter Blue, the company’s paid subscription product, currently have access to a feature that holds tweets for up to one minute, allowing users to review the tweet and “undo” it before the post is published.

Twitter has been testing a widely requested edit button, a feature that will be rolled out to paid subscribers in the coming weeks. But there are some things users need to know before they get carried away in excitement over the new development.

Twitter is internally testing a widely requested edit button, a feature that will be rolled out to paid subscribers in the coming weeks, the social media company said this week.

Twitter Blue is currently only available in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which appears to mean that most of the world will have to wait longer before getting the ability to edit tweets.

For years, Twitter users have demanded the ability to edit their tweets after publishing in order to fix errors like typos. Those requests have led to jokes online that Twitter would rather introduce any other product, such as newsletters, before giving users their top-requested feature.

Soon, those demands will be met. Users will be able to edit their tweets “a few times” within 30 minutes of publication, Twitter said in a blog post.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry