Tanzania Fights Malaria With Drones, Facebook Is Rebranding, and EU to Launch Crypto

Africa

Tanzanian researchers use drones to fight malaria

Researchers are using drone technology to fight mosquitoes on rice fields in Zanzibar, it has been reported. The pilot programme involves spraying the rice fields with a silicone-based liquid called Aquatain AMF. This will help prevent the mosquito larvae from attaching themselves to water surfaces, thereby stopping the malaria cycle before it even begins. “By controlling them right at the source we hope to have an impact ultimately on the transmission of malaria,” Bart Knols of the Radboud University, The Netherlands, said. The silicone-based liquid has an advantage over pesticides because it doesn’t interfere with the water oxygenation process. Rice fields are typical breeding grounds for malaria-causing Anopheles mosquitoes.

KNUST students develop emergency response app

Tek Devisal, a group of students at Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, has developed an emergency response app, Citi News Room has reported. The application allows users to send a GPS location of accident sites to relevant authorities. This would allow easy and fast response to emergency situations around the country. “Looking at security issues like kidnapping, armed robbery and anything about our safety. It is designed to improve our safety because it will be linked with our security agencies,” Stephen Boakye Frimpong, team leader of Tek Devisal said. The group is currently working on an offline version while preparing to present their application to the police service.

The Americas

Facebook rebrands to FACEBOOK

Facebook is rebranding its company in an attempt to separate the company from the services it offers, it has been reported. The new logo is in capital letters with rounded edges and will appear on the company’s apps like Instagram and WhatsApp. In addition, the logo will appear in different colours to match each application’s colour scheme. This means that, the logo will be green on WhatsApp, for example. “We wanted the brand to connect thoughtfully with the world and the people in it. These changes will take effect in the coming weeks as the company rolls out its new colour schemes and custom font. If the plan is to deflect Elizabeth Warren’s intention of breaking up tech companies she considers too powerful, it hasn’t succeeded. The presidential hopeful said on the rebrand that, “Facebook can rebrand all they want, but they can’t hide the fact that they are too big and powerful. It’s time to break up Big Tech.”

Apple and TikTok refuse to testify to Congress

Both TikTok and Apple have refused to testify to the US Congress over their alleged ties to China, it has been reported. The hearing was meant to understand the relationship between US-based technology firms and Beijing in order to ascertain whether or not there were national security threats involved. “I’ve invited Apple and TikTok [US] to testify on Tuesday about their business in and with China and the risks to American consumers. So far, they are both refusing. Something to hide?” Republican senator Josh Hawley who organised the session tweeted. Apple refused to comment, while TikTok said it couldn’t provide a suitable delegate within short notice. “Unfortunately, on short notice we were unable to provide a witness who would be able to contribute to a substantive discussion,” TikTok said. US politicians have described ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, as a potential counterintelligence threat that should not be ignored.

Asia

US and Taiwan hold cyber-war exercise

US and Taiwan are having a week-long simulated cyber-warfare as part of moves to make Taiwan more resilient to cyberattacks, the BBC has reported. The programme dubbed, Cyber Offensive and Defensive Exercises (Code), is being organised by local authorities together with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) which represents American interests in the country. As part of the drill, Taiwanese officials will be faced with a series of phishing texts and emails which will try to exploit vulnerabilities in the Taiwanese security systems. Taiwan has said most of the hacking attempts have come from mainland China. “Dealing with such attacks is like fighting a battle every day,” an official from Taiwan said. Taiwanese government officials suffer approximately 30 million attacks each month. “However, irrespective of the originating country, strengthening cyber-security is increasingly a top priority for any government or private sector company,” Veerle Nouwens of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies said.

Indian court asked to probe WhatsApp over hacking claims

K.N. Govindacharya, an activist in India, has filed a petition asking India’s top court to probe WhatsApp over allegations of spyware attacks on user phones, Reuters has reported. The petition claims a spyware exploited vulnerabilities in WhatsApp in order to spy on users. The petition was filed after Facebook sued Israeli surveillance company, NSO Group, for helping individuals hack into the phones of more than 1,000 users across four continents through its Pegasus spyware. The victims of the hacks included journalists, political dissidents, and military officials. Govindacharya also wants perjury proceedings against Facebook and WhatsApp for deceiving the public that user data were encrypted. 121 of the victims were said to be based in India. This is the latest scrutiny of Facebook and WhatsApp after receiving backlash over fake news. WhatsApp is also facing accusations of violating data localisation laws, thereby delaying its rollout of payment solutions to India’s 400 million users.

Europe

EU to launch cryptocurrency to counter Facebook’s Libra

An EU draft document has advised the European Central Bank to consider issuing its own digital currency, Reuters has reported. Facebook’s decision to launch its own digital currency came under attack, with France and Germany very vocal about its effects on monetary policies. The draft document has encouraged the EU to develop a comprehensive regulatory system that bans projects considered too risky. “The ECB and other EU central banks could usefully explore the opportunities as well as challenges of issuing central bank digital currencies including by considering concrete steps to this effect,” the document explained. While Libra is a digital coin, it is also a stablecoin because it’s backed by traditional money. Members of G7, however, have called for a halt in developing stablecoins until their risk factors have been addressed. At its most ambitious state, the ECB crypto could remove all financial intermediaries by allowing consumers to deposit their digital coins directly with the ECB. While this could cut down costs, it is likely to draw opposition from banks.

Scotland police to find missing girls using facial recognition software

Scotland police have unveiled a new drone system to be used in the search for missing and vulnerable persons, it has been reported. The drones will be able to identify persons from up to 150 metres away, it has been revealed. “There’s a very highly-powered optical camera which can allow us to see things quite clearly from a good height. Also, there’s a thermal imaging sensor that detects heat,” Insp Nicholas Whyte said of the new technology. The remotely-piloted aircraft system (RPAS) is the result of a collaboration between the police, University of the West of Scotland, and Thales. The data that an RPAS drone gathers is processed in real-time. It is able to detect a person, animal, or a vehicle within a fast-paced environment.