Ethereum, the world’s most used cryptocurrency blockchain network, passed a milestone test ahead of a highly anticipated technical upgrade without any major glitches.
Developers ran the latest software for the upgrade known as the Merge on Ropsten, which is one of the oldest so-called testnets of the network. The testnets are used by developers to find potential bugs and glitches before moving their applications to the blockchain. While the Merge has been carried out on other testnets earlier this year, Ropsten was seen as providing the most realistic technical environment and the best estimate for the outcome of the final process.
cryptocurrency
The first post-Merge block of transactions was finalised around 12pm New York time, which means the Merge on the testnet was complete, said Tim Beiko, a computer scientist who coordinates ethereum developers.
The network is stable, but there are some minor (known + expected) issues we are looking into
“The network is stable, but there are some minor (known + expected) issues we are looking into,” Beiko said in a message. “Overall, though, things are looking good.”
While the Merge has faced multiple delays in the past few years, ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said recently that it can take place as soon as August. The upgrade will enable the network to move from the proof-of-work consensus mechanism, where miners use powerful computers to authenticate and order transactions to secure ethereum, to proof-of-stake. Holders of the network’s native token ether will perform the same tasks after the switch.
Investors have considered the revamp as a bullish signal for the network and its token as the switch is seen as reducing ethereum’s carbon footprint by 99% and addressing concerns from environmentalist groups. It will also slow issuance of new tokens, which some observers say could give a boost to the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value after bitcoin.
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
Mr Price Cellular, the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) launched by Mr Price Group in 2017, has shown stunning growth in the past year, topping R1-billion in revenue for the first time.
The Durban-headquartered retail group’s telecommunications segment grew revenue by 34.4% in the past year, to R1.2-billion, far outstripping the growth of the country’s established mobile operators.
“Mr Price Cellular, launched in 2017, has reported exponential growth since inception and is now available in 374 stores with promising growth opportunities, most notably the roll-out of standalone stores,” the group said in its financial results for the 52 weeks ended 2 April 2022, published on Thursday.
The retail group’s telecommunications segment grew revenue by 34.4% in the past year
“Cellular handsets and accessories gained 130 basis points of market share, according to Growth for Knowledge (190 basis points including Powercell in Power Fashion), a significant gain considering the disruption caused by global supply-chain challenges and the civil unrest during the period,” it added.
And it’s not only in cellular where Mr Price is excelling.
The group said online sales jumped 48.2% in the past year, against high growth in the previous year of 64.1%, taking e-commerce sales to 2.9% of total retail sales (2.3% excluding acquisitions).
“The group maintained its high customer engagement levels, which were best reflected by its online traffic market share increasing 70 basis points to 13.3%, the second highest behind Takealot among omnichannel and pure-play retailers.”
Overall, Mr Price Group reported full-year headline earnings per share up 20.1% (and more than a quarter on a directly comparable basis). Retail sales grew by 26%. The group opened 130 new stores, acquired seven others and reopened 96 of 111 stores that had been affected by last July’s riots in KwaZulu-Natal.
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
Finest tech startups in South Africa which were founded during the pandemic stand to win more than $161,000 if they are able to convince a panel of judges that they should remain part of the next phase of the AlphaCode Incubate programme.
Five of the eight startups which just completed a three-month programme were selected to receive R500,000 ($32 265,25) grant funding each, an additional six months of mentorship and expert execution support.
Dominique Collett, senior investment executive at Rand Merchant Investments and the head of AlphaCode
“What was remarkable about this cohort is that there are seven female founders across the eight startups, several of which have run successful businesses prior to these startups which we know makes for more successful entrepreneurs,” Amina Patterson, head of operations at AlphaCode, said.
“Women are grossly underrepresented in the startup ecosystem globally. Representation matters and by having a diverse AlphaCode team and selection panel, we have an inclusive and diverse cohort. Female founders are eager to engage and contribute to the startup sector and it helps when they are given the platforms to truly be heard, acknowledged and appreciated,” Patterson said.
“Another point to highlight is that every year the businesses focus on getting to know their customers, solving their customer problems and getting traction, but this cohort blew the lights out. I believe the pandemic forced the founders to work extra hard getting to know their customers and they had to be incredibly resourceful, resilient and creative in how they validated their products with customers,” she said.
In addition, these startups will be able to apply for seed capital from AlphaCode’s fund that invests in early-stage startups.
The five promising businesses selected include:
Fintech Abela – a mobile payments platform that allows the underserved to make and receive payments. Tom David and Amery Winter are co-founders.
Legaltech BriefCo – a legal cost consultancy leveraging technology to digitise and automate the preparation of bills of costs and oppositions. Catherine-Jane Paulse, Yusha Davidson, Carlton Ngwenya and Dhanyal Davidson are co-founders.
Fintech Sizanani – a stokvel management platform providing the first Whatsapp stokvel solution. Founders are Makabongwe Gambushe, Sinqobile Mashalaba and Thandolwethu Hlongwane.
Datatech Vocalysd – transforming conversations into actionable insights by leveraging AI for call monitoring, analysis and reporting. Kelly Hoffman is the founder.
Healthtech Welo – on-site healthcare services, home medicine delivery and pathology services for individuals and corporates. Founded by Zanele Matome.
“We are in the seventh year of this programme and it was clear this year how the standard has been raised. At Demo Day we were so blown away by the talent of the entrepreneurs that RMI awarded an additional budget for a fifth business to move forward to the next phase. Our initial intention was four. We will also offer mentorship to the three businesses that didn’t make it to the next round because they are so promising,” Dominique Collett, head of AlphaCode and a Rand Merchant Investments Holdings (RMI) executive said.
Almost 170 tech businesses initially applied for AlphaCode’s Incubate programme which aims to grow innovative tech-enabled startups and find the next OUTsurance or Discovery. Only eight were selected to participate in the initial three-month programme that provided funding, guidance from performance coaches and a panel of advisory experts, access to AlphaCode’s co-working space, and opportunities to apply for further early-stage investment.
The panel of judges included Collett and Abu Cassim from AlphaCode as well as Per Lagerstrom, CEO and co-founder of Mavens and YellowSpot, an entrepreneur and angel investor Raj Wanniappa, founder and MD of Agile Venture Holdings. All have previously invested in startups.
The AlphaCode Incubate programme has disbursed R36.7-million ($2.4-million) in funding to 50 tech-enabled startups over the past seven years. It is viewed as South Africa’s most prestigious fintech startup initiative.
AlphaCode Incubate awards entrepreneurial packages to South Africa’s most promising financial services startups through AlphaCode with the support of Rand Merchant Investments.
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
One of the most difficult challenges in finance is how to price crypto assets. Bonds pay interest. Stocks pay dividends. What exactly do crypto assets pay? Well, other people value them, too, but what does that depend upon? How can crypto valuations be connected to something real?
The executive summary of my current thinking goes something like this: the value of crypto assets comes from a few core uses — plus, and this is crucial, how much investors value the volatility of crypto assets. It is this latter feature which explains much of the day-to-day price shifts of crypto.
Cryptos
Start with the core uses. Some of these are already established, others are more speculative. One well-founded core use is that you can use crypto assets to pay off your blackmailer or data thief. (Crypto proponents hate this example, but when it comes to a core use, it is the closest thing crypto has to a “sure thing”.) Whether this is socially desirable is another matter, but it is privately beneficial to hold some crypto in order to pay ransoms.
Much of the primary value of crypto assets is from their price volatility, which is part of their appeal
Other core uses could involve crypto assets as “digital gold”, crypto assets in gaming environments, crypto assets in the metaverse, crypto assets as a means of paying off “smart contracts”, and crypto assets as underpinning decentralised finance, or DeFi. These uses vary in their degree of acceptance and their likelihood of success, but all of them are possibilities.
Crypto prices are in part a moving bet on how much the demand for crypto will increase to satisfy these varied uses. For my purposes it suffices that some core demands exist, and so the value of more useful crypto assets will not fall to zero. What I am most interested in is which forces might operate on top of these relatively well-understood factors.
Much of the primary value of crypto assets is from their price volatility, which is part of their appeal. I raised this possibility some while ago, tongue in cheek, but upon further reflection it seems to me an actually useful (albeit counterintuitive) way of thinking about crypto assets. The general idea of price volatility as a value dates at least as far back as Fischer Black, one of the founders of options price theory.¹
In standard economic theory, investors are risk averse, meaning they prefer more stable consumption patterns to less stable ones. That is usually true, but it does not mean investors always prefer more stable investment prices — a crucial distinction.
Consider this hypothetical: you are given an envelope containing US$1. You are then offered the opportunity to exchange it for an envelope which contains either twice the money (that is, $2) or half the money (50c), each with 50% probability. In essence, you are accepting some exchange-rate volatility.
Most people will find this bet a pretty good one. The new expected value of your envelope is (0.5x$2) + (0.5x$0.50), or $1.25. That is a higher expected value than your original dollar.
If you are perched at the margin of subsistence, this bet might seem too risky. But for most investors, who have some level of wealth, it is an improvement in prospects, though with some additional risk.
Bitcoin and other crypto assets are essentially offering you a form of this bet. To be sure, this 50-50 bet does not exactly describe the price dynamics of crypto assets. But it is one way of illustrating that crypto prices, relative to the dollar, will either go up a lot or down a lot. The bet helps show that some investors might welcome price volatility — or, if you wish, call it exchange-rate volatility. And with even wilder swings in value, there is more extreme price volatility, which can be even more appealing.
So, when bitcoin and other crypto assets come along, they are a new source of expected gain — precisely due to their price volatility. It is like being invited into a casino where the odds favour you rather than the house! You won’t always win, but a lot of people will want to keep playing.
The conventional wisdom is that people fell in love with crypto because it rose so quickly for so long, and surely that is a big part of the story. But even a crypto asset that is equally likely to fall as to rise in value is a highly attractive asset, at least from the perspective of expected pecuniary returns.
That is the basic hypothesis, anyway. But there are some counterintuitive complications, the first of which is that you cannot take the volatility value of crypto as a given.
Say, for instance, that over time more people see that holding some crypto is a good investment. That boosts demand and raises the price of crypto assets, which makes crypto prices more stable, as knowledge spreads of the benefits of holding crypto.
As crypto prices become more stable, the volatility benefits from crypto diminish. After a while, when investors see lower price volatility, they will be less interested in crypto. They will sell, creating downward pressure on prices.
As investors repeatedly experience these swings in value, they might understand them better. They might take them for granted
But the story does not end there. Then the volatility game starts up again. As the price is falling, investors will wonder: exactly how much has crypto volatility fallen? How much do other investors mind? Exactly what kind of process is driving these developments?
All of those questions will reintroduce some additional volatility in the market, and in turn boost the demand for crypto once again. A game of seesaw will set in, with no obvious resting point.
The market will cycle back and forth. There is no particular reason to think this process will converge on a single “proper price” for crypto — thus matching the price patterns for major crypto assets such as bitcoin and ether.
Over the longer run, there might also be a downward trend in the volatility of crypto prices. As investors repeatedly experience these swings in value, they might understand them better. They might take them for granted. They might even become a little bored by them. All these factors could make the demand for crypto more stable, thereby lowering the volatility value of crypto and in the longer run lowering the prices of the major crypto assets.
There is another factor that could lower the volatility value of crypto assets. Consider again the core uses of crypto, starting with ransom payments and ending with DeFi. Whatever you think of that menu of options, over time its value will become better understood and more certain. So the price volatility resulting from “changing estimates of the value of the core uses” will at some point go down. That, too, will make the volatility premium on crypto lower, and may lower crypto values in the process.
Not straightforward
That is another reason why the strategy of buying more crypto now is not straightforward: even if crypto proves itself beyond a shadow of a doubt, and commands a broad social consensus, its long-term value could end up lower because much of its volatility premium might disappear.
This theory also explains why so many distinct crypto assets have proliferated. Network effects might have been expected to lead to one or two dominant crypto assets, and as certainty about crypto uses increases that is probably what will happen. But in this Wild West phase of crypto, investors are looking for volatility. If there is a new crypto asset with at least one core use, and lots of volatility, investors may find it appealing. They won’t just stick with bitcoin. That said, if those initial core uses don’t pan out (and they usually do not), the market may indeed end up with a few major dominant crypto assets — after a lot of experimentation with even more volatile assets.
At this point, you might be wondering whether, from a social point of view, this analysis damns crypto. Holding crypto might (under some circumstances) be a good investment decision, but does that create value for broader society? Or is it just a vacuum pump, boosting wealth for its holders and sucking wealth away from others?
Upon some reflection, crypto looks better than it appears. First, in the short run, most crypto wealth isn’t spent. Some people simply enjoy the feeling of greater wealth and protection. By the time they and their heirs spend all this wealth, crypto prices might be much lower.
Second, the same questions can be asked more broadly about exchange-rate speculation. Its social value is uncertain, yet given the difficulties of maintaining fixed or pegged exchange rates, a lot of it isn’t going away. But maybe the volatility premium of crypto will diminish, just as for most normal currencies exchange-rate movements are small relative to total value. Exchange-rate volatility is something the world has managed to live with, and perhaps the same will eventually be true for crypto volatility.
Calm rather than hysterical analysis of crypto, and predictable regulatory treatment of crypto, can help bring about more mature crypto markets. That in turn could lower the volatility premium on crypto as well as the price. Unfortunately, so far neither of those developments is immediately in the offing — but I am optimistic that, over time, they will be.
The bottom line: even risk-averse investors can seek out some volatile price movements. This means that the future of crypto assets will be more persistent than many people expect, and will not require those assets to become more stable or fully satisfy a long list of practical uses. That said, when greater stability does eventually come, crypto will lose some of its lustre — and future prices may disappoint some of crypto’s most ardent advocates.
Tyler Cowen, a renowned economist, author and blogger
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
The CEO of Meta has said that the metaverse project will bleed a lot of money and that some products will not be ready for 15 years. Zuckerberg told shareholders that he spent $10-billion on the idea of a virtual world in 2021 alone.
“We want to get the hardware to be as affordable as possible for everyone, and make sure the digital economy grows,” Zuckerberg said.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
Meta currently has 10,000 employees working on the metaverse and wants to hire an additional 10,000 to work on the project.
The giant company also announced that it is holding up on hiring, so the plans to push this project forward might be delayed further.
Zuckerberg reportedly rejected other shareholders’ proposals during the meeting on Wednesday too. One made a proposal for Meta to commission a report and hold a shareholder vote on whether the “continued implementation” of the metaverse was “prudent and appropriate.”
Former and current employees said Zuckerberg is not interested in anything other than the metaverse but yet lacks a coherent strategy to carry the project through.
Other shareholders suggested making changes to Meta’s use of concealment clauses in employment contracts related to harassment and discrimination, the publication of an independent human rights impact assessment, and full disclosure of its lobbying and public policy activity.
In the metaverse, users travel across a virtual world that mimics aspects of the physical world using such technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), AI, social media, and digital currency.
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
Bybit’s World Series of Trading (WSOT) has been blazing a trail in competitive digital assets trading, and this year is no exception with registrations set to open on May 26, 2022. Players will compete in the world’s largest crypto trading tournament for a share of the record-breaking prize pool consisting of up to 8 million USDT, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other perks and giveaways. To champion crypto as a force for empowerment for girls’ education, through the flagship event, Bybit will be donating $400,000 in Bitcoin to UNICEF.
Breaking down the barrier between virtual and physical sports this year, WSOT returns with an exciting arena to pitch participants in an adrenaline-filled race against gaming athletes from some of the world’s most formidable esports organizations. Competing on skills, speed and split-second judgment, the star guests will navigate the crypto sphere with traders from around the world, making WSOT 2022 the platform for crypto lovers to challenge world champions in esports.
Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit
“WSOT this year is all about racing to the next level,” said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit. “We want to encourage gamers, traders, and teams to join us in a spirit of competition and distinguish themselves at the world’s greatest crypto trading tournament. We also want to use this opportunity to amplify the positive impact of crypto: improving financial literacy and financial inclusion, and putting wealth back in the hands of the common people.”
Bybit’s WSOT was pioneered by the cryptocurrency exchange to recognize traders who could achieve the best profit/loss ratio regardless of the investment amount. Last year, WSOT 2021 saw 35,000 participants who unlocked a record $4.09 million of the prize pool and 1,339 NFT awards. Team players from 136 eligible regions formed or joined 196 troops in the main event, with the top team making 20x in earnings. Nearly 20,000 solo players took part in the individual competition, where the winner delivered a profit and loss ratio of 7,265.94%.
Doubling the prize pool to up to 8 million USDT for three tracks — Solo Race, Squad Race and Speed Zone Loot, WSOT 2022 is set to captivate crypto lovers worldwide.
“The global WSOT community has unlocked a total of over $5 million in prizes in the past two years. And we are presenting an $8-million prize pool this year to share our passion for crypto with as many people as possible,” Zhou said. “WSOT embodies what Bybit is all about: providing an honest, fair, level playing field for traders to capitalize on their talent. We built this ultra-fast platform trusted by the world’s most competitive traders and loved by crypto beginners, because we believe that in the new world of the digital economy everyone should have equal opportunities and the ability to capture wealth with the power of technology.”
Public registration for WSOT 2022 is open globally where Bybit services are available on June 10. While the trading contest period is from June 27 to July 17, 2022, participants can expect a series of perks, task-based and bonus rewards, fee waivers and lucky draws throughout the summer.
With Bybit’s significant market depth and best-in-class liquidity, participants can look forward to going further in trades and enjoy maximum profitability to rank higher on the leaderboards. Additionally, Bybit’s 24/7 multilingual customer support is available to ensure participants get the support they need and have a timely solution to their trading challenges along the way.
Through participating in WSOT, participants will be supporting UNICEF’s work to ensure all children have access to quality digital education. Bybit is committed to furthering its partnership with UNICEF Aotearoa New Zealand to empower girls’ education in East Asia and the Pacific with another BTC donation equivalent to $400,000 at WSOT 2022, or 5% of the prize pool plus contributions from Bybit.
The donation is dedicated to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 towards “inclusive and equitable quality education” via UNICEF efforts. It helps fund, among other initiatives, digital education for girls in the region by making science and technology education within reach for marginalized groups with innovative education solutions.
“In order to overcome global challenges and ensure a level playing field for future generations, we must bridge the gender digital divide and support the further education of girls,” Zhou said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to use our platform and resources to support UNICEF’s efforts to ensure all children have access to quality education, especially the most vulnerable groups.”
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
Global short video platform, TikTok is said to be conducting tests so users can play games on its video-sharing app. The test running is presently taking place in Vietnam, and part of plans for a major push into gaming, four people familiar with the matter said. Featuring games on its platform would boost advertising revenue as well as the amount of time users spend on the app — one of the world’s most popular with more than a billion monthly active users.
Boasting a tech-savvy population with 70% of its citizens under the age of 35, Vietnam is an attractive market for social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Google.
We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations…
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, plans to roll out gaming more widely in Southeast Asia, the people said. That move could come as early as the third quarter, said two of them. The sources declined to be identified as the information has yet to be publicly disclosed.
A TikTok representative said the company has tested bringing HTML5 games to its app through tie-ups with third-party game developers and studios such as Zynga, but declined to comment on its plans for Vietnam or its broader gaming ambitions.
“We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community,” the representative said in an e-mailed statement.
It’s not known what TikTok’s plans are for rolling out gaming features in other markets. Although TikTok users can watch games being streamed, in most regions they are not able to play games within the TikTok app.
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
Micro chips maker Broadcom has entered into talks with VMware to acquire cloud service provider VMware. Negotiations between Broadcom and VMware are ongoing and a deal is not imminent, the sources said. The deal terms under discussion could not be learned.
The acquisition would further diversify Broadcom’s business away from semiconductors and into enterprise software, following its US$18.9-billion acquisition of CA Technologies and its $10.7-billion purchase of Symantec’s security division in the last four years.
Bloomberg News first reported the deal late on Sunday. Broadcom and VMware did not immediately respond to requests for comment. As of Friday’s market close, the market capitalisation of VMware was $40.3-billion.
Michael Dell is VMware’s biggest investor with a 40% stake as a result of Dell Technologies having spun out VMWare to its shareholders last year, according to Refinitiv data.
Private equity firm Silver Lake, which has previously invested in Broadcom, is VMware’s second largest shareholder with a 10% stake, Refinitiv data shows.
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
YouTube has announced a stellar lineup of artists hailing from five countries, who will be performing at this year’s Africa Day Concert. Like previous editions, the Africa Day Concert which is in its third year will be hosted by superstar Idris Elba. The annual concert is a musical homage to Africa, showcasing the vibrant African music stars who are making headlines across the world.
Alex Okosi, Managing Director at YouTube EMEA.
The concert seeks to bring Africans, the Diaspora, and people from across the world together to celebrate a continent that is home to more than 1.5 billion people and is spawning new ways of artistic expression. This year’s concert will feature artists from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, South Africa, and Congo who are set to perform. The concert will be streamed exclusively on YouTube at 19:00 CAT / 18:00 WAT on the 25th of May, 2022.
“YouTube as a platform has been a mainline for connecting African artists to people all around the world and the Africa Day Concert is an opportunity to reaffirm YouTube’s support for African artists as they showcase the vibrant sounds and culture that makes Africa truly unique”, says Alex Okosi, Managing Director at YouTube EMEA.
The highly anticipated concert will showcase musical performances that will be streamed to a global audience. From Nigeria, talented music artists, D’banj, Davido, CKay, Yemi Alade, Reekado Banks, and Mayorkun will be performing at the virtual concert this year. Also performing from the West African region is popular Sierra Leonean recording and performing artist, Drizilik.
Also set to perform at the Africa Day Concert are singer-songwriter and poet, Busiswa Gqulu, and singer and dancer, Kamo Mpela; both from South Africa. They are known for hit songs, SBWL and Nkulunkulu respectively. Tanzanian singer, songwriter, and WCB (Wasafi Classic Baby) artist, Zuchu will be performing her hit songs at the concert while Congolese singer-songwriter, Innoss’B, and the Naomi Campbell crooner round out the lineup of artists performing this year at the Africa Day Concert.
The concert is aimed at commemorating the foundation of the Organisation of Africa Unity on the 25th of May 1963 by using music as a platform to showcase African culture.
People who wish to join the live stream of the Africa Day Concert may visit YouTube.
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
A leading cybersecurity company Trellix, has confirmed the existence of a China-based threat actor known as Mustang Panda alleged to have been targeting South African telecommunications, banks, and job seekers through fake recruitment sites. According to data gathered by Trellix, there has been a consistent surge in threats during the first quarter of 2022, which it says is not unusual around the time, considering the fact that it’s right around holidays.
The nature of these cybercrimes has, however, been very alarming, according to the cybersecurity company. Trellix revealed during its cyber intelligence briefing for South Africa on Wednesday that cybercriminals have been especially active during 2022.
John Fokker, head of cyber investigations and principal engineer at Trellix
Among these cybercriminals, the most dominating is the group Mustang Panda which sometimes goes by the names “RedDelta” or “Bronze President”.
“Mustang Panda is quite prolific in South Africa for the last three months,” said Carlo Bolzonello, South Africa country lead for Trellix, during Wednesday’s briefing.
“From a South African perspective, they’ve been very active in the last three months around the banking and wealth management sector,” he added.
John Fokker, head of cyber investigations and principal engineer at Trellix, alleged that Mustang Panda is believed to support the Chinese government.
“In the past, especially in Europe, there was a big debate around 5G and about replacing 5G technology with specific Chinese-built technology at the core. And from a security perspective, this was a big debate,” Fokker said.
Fokker said they observed that Mustang Panda was targeting telecommunications sectors in countries where this debate was big.
“And how they actually did it… they did actually have a fake career site, so we assume they posed as recruiters trying to recruit individuals with technical knowledge within the telecommunications sector and persuade them to open a file and then infect their computer,” Fokker explained.
Bolzonello added that although the attacks on the South African telecommunications sector have only been realised recently they were also witnessed during the big debate around 5G technology.
“Mustang Panda is there to collect data, stick around, and exfiltrate data out and that data could be used for numerous different things,” said Bolzonello.
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
