Australian Political Parties Hacked, Ghana NCA Revokes License of Kasapa Telecom & Germany Ponders Blockchain Technology

Africa

Uber to pay VAT in Egypt

Uber has agreed to pay VAT on its services in Egypt in a move that could thaw tense relationship with the country’s local taxi groups, Reuters has reported. Abdul Azeem Hussein, head of the Egyptian Tax Authority made this announcement, saying it would apply to other ride-hailing apps as well. Egyptian taxi drivers had filed a lawsuit against Careem and Uber for registering as an internet company and a call centre respectively while offering taxi services in private cars. Disputes with local taxi operators has forced Uber to quit countries like Hungary and Denmark. Egypt is its largest market in the middle east, with 4 million users in the past five years.

NCA revokes license of Expresso

Ghana’s National Communications Authority, NCA, has revoked the operating license of Kasapa Telecoms Limited, operators of Expresso, it has been reported. Formerly working as Celltel, the 028 operator had been in clear breach of its contract. Expresso had failed to meet its financial obligations to other telecom operators and also switched its network off without any notice. Though its license was due to expire in December 2019, breaches of its licensing conditions led to a first termination in 2018. The recent announcement means that Expresso will not have its license renewed at the end of 2019. Customers have been urged to port to other networks as a result.

Asia

Australia’s political parties hit by state hackers

Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has revealed that a ‘sophisticated state’ had attacked the nation’s main political parties, the BBC is reporting. The cyber-attack, which also targeted parliament’s servers, happened two weeks ago. There was no evidence of electoral interference and the prime minister has refused to name the source of the attack. This has not stopped others speculating that China or Russia might be behind said cyber-attack. The Australian Cyber Security Centre said it was still unclear if information was stolen.

Alibaba behind popular Communist party app

Alibaba has been revealed to be behind Chinese government propaganda app, Xuexi Qiangguo, according to sources close to Reuters. The app has overtaken former heavyweights WeChat and Douyin, as the most popular app on Apple’s China app store with 43.7 million downloads. Sources say the app was developed by a team called “Y Projects Business Units”, and is the latest in a string of concerns raised over Chinese tech giants and their relationships with Beijing. Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, is a known Communist Party member. The app features short videos, government news stories, and quizzes. Local government officials have charged party members to download the app, leading to its popularity on the app store.

Europe

UK MPs demand strict regulations for Facebook

UK MPs are demanding stricter regulations for Facebook in a bid to curb the dissemination of fake news, it is being reported. The parliamentarians fear false stories coming from foreign powers could put UK’s democracy at risk after Mark Zuckerberg failed to show leadership against fake news. MPs want a shift in the balance of power between social media platforms and the people that use them. In a report authored by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of parliament, the committee demanded a code of ethics for tech companies. They also demand that tech companies be taxed in order to fund the activities of new regulator set up to oversee them.

Germany ponders over blockchain potential

Germany is in consultation with industry players on the potential of blockchain technology, Reuters is reporting. Berlin is already a blockchain hub with close to 170 startups involved with the distributed ledger technology. Industry players from the automobile industry, pharmaceuticals, and public sector administrators are looking to tap into blockchain to transform their processes. The government is soliciting recommendations from experts ahead of a summer strategy submission.

Hackers are trying to infiltrate EU think tanks

Microsoft has said that a group of hackers have been trying to infiltrate European think tanks and non-profit organisations ahead of elections this year. “At Microsoft, we’ve seen recent activity targeting democratic institutions in Europe as part of the work our Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) and Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) carry out every day to protect all of our customers,” Microsoft said in a blog post. These hackers are said to target organisations working on topics that have to do with public policy, electoral integrity, among others. Workers of these institutions are normally attacked using spearphishing techniques which trick workers into providing their login credentials. Some of the cyber attacks that Microsoft was able to thwart include attacks on the Aspen Institute in Europe, The German Marshall Fund, and German Council on Foreign Relations.

Americas

Risks in SpaceX and Boeing designs threaten US space program

A NASA warning to both SpaceX and Boeing on their astronaut launch systems could affect the America’s bids to reintroduce its human spaceflight program slated for this year, it has been reported. Boeing and SpaceX are receiving $4.2 billion and $2.6 billion respectively to build the capsule launch systems that would return human astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil for the first time since 2011. In its 2018 annual report though, NASA cited four “key risk items” in the designs presented by both companies. People close to the report cite a further 30-35 technical issues for the two companies as well. “There are serious challenges to the current launch schedules for both SpaceX and Boeing,” it was stated in the report.

Samsung launches its $2,000 5G folding phone

Samsung has unveiled a top of the range $2,000 folding phone in a bid to usurp the market and revive demand amid slumping sales, Reuters has reported. The Galaxy Fold goes on sale in April, and comes with the faster 5G network. The device has the looks of a conventional smartphone, but users can open it like a book to reveal notebook with a 7.3in display size. Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone maker and controls nearly 20% of global sales.

Google didn’t tell users about microphone in Nest Secure

Google said it made in an error in not disclosing that devices in its home security system had in-built microphones, it has been reported. The product description of the devices had not originally included a microphone specification, though an updated product page now mentions that.
“The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs,” Google said in a statement.

WhatsApp security bug allows users to bypass privacy controls

A security bug in WhatsApp is allowing users to sidestep privacy controls on iPhone, Reuters has reported. The new privacy tools require iPhone users to use either Face ID or Touch ID to open the Facebook-owned app. However, users are able to ‘share’ files through the WhatsApp button without using either of the security controls. Verification can be set at interval so that users will need to use facial or fingerprint recognition to log back into the app. Unfortunately, many users realised the authentication worked only when they selected “immediately.”