MTN Nigeria Receives License For Financial Services, Facebook Faces Scrutiny in UK, and Russia Denies Internet Access to OneWeb

Africa

Ghana increases ‘Talk Tax’ to 9%

The Government of Ghana has increased the Communications Service Tax (CST) from 6% to 9%. The increment was announced by the Minister of Finance during the Mid-year budget review.” Government proposes to increase the tax to nine percent to develop the foundation for the creation of a viable technology ecosystem in the country,” Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said. Revenue from the tax would be used to tackle cybercrime. A portion of the ‘Talk Tax’ is used to fund the activities of the National Youth Employment. The Communications Service Tax was introduced in 2008 as a levy on voice calls. In 2018, the CST earned the government GHC 420 million.

Drug dealer bought quadrillions of Zimbabwean bank notes on the dark web

A dark web trader used the proceeds of illegal activities to buy quadrillions of Zimbabwean bank notes according to media reports. Richard Castro, the criminal behind the purchase, allegedly bought 100 quadrillion Zimbabwean bank notes in 2018. The money allegedly came from his trade in opioids which he sold on AlphaBay and Dream Markets on the Tor network. After the markets were taken down, Castro continued to sell the drugs via an encrypted email. He received payments in Bitcoin. Castro was apprehended when he unknowingly transacted business with a police officer working undercover.

MTN Nigeria receives financial services license

MTN Nigeria subsidiary, Yello Digital Financial Services Limited (YDFS), has received a full super agent license from the Nigerian Central Bank to provide financial services. This was part of the country’s efforts at extending banking access to millions of under-served persons. “Through the network established by YDFS, MTN is in a position to broaden the availability of financial services for the under-served across the country. This marks a very important first step in leveraging our infrastructure to scale our Fintech initiatives,” Ferdi Moolman, CEO of MTN Nigeria, said. The CEO confirmed that MTN Nigeria was in the process of acquiring a Payment Service Bank License which would enable the company provide more services to the under-served communities.

Europe

Russia denies internet access to OneWeb

Russia has denied internet access to OneWeb’s satellites according to reports on BBC. OneWeb is trying to provide worldwide access to the internet by launching 650 satellites into orbit. When it requested a specific band of frequencies in Russia, though, the State Commission for Radio denied it access. The UK-headquartered company was blocked in 2017 from offering internet services in Russia as the Federal Security Service (FSB) feared it could be used for espionage. “[Satellite internet] presents an existential strategic threat to their trying to limit internet activity within their boundaries,” Prof Christopher Newman at Northumbria University said.

UK MPs scrutinize Facebook evidence on Cambridge Analytica

British Members of Parliament are demanding answers to contradictory evidence regarding Facebook’s knowledge of the activities of Cambridge Analytica, a BBC report has said. Facebook had told MPs they only knew about the breach in December 2015 after a Guardian investigation. However, it has been revealed that Facebook had known about it at least three months earlier when staff flagged Cambridge Analytica as a “sketchy (to say the least) data modelling company that has penetrated our market deeply.” The MPs would also like to know why Facebook took no action until 2018. Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee said “We request a response on whether the SEC complaint is accurate that employees did raise concerns about Cambridge Analytica before December 2015.” MPs want an answer from Facebook by mid-August.

The Americas

Capital One hacker arrested

The hacker who stole the personal data of 106 million persons in US and Canada from Capital One has been arrested, the BBC has reported. The perpetrator, Paige Thompson allegedly boasted about his exploits online, leading to his arrest on Monday. The breach of Capital One led to the theft of names, phone numbers, and addresses of clients. Capital One, which issues credit cards to clients said no credit card number was stolen during the breach. However, bank account numbers and social security numbers had also been compromised during the time.

US senators want to ban Snapchat ‘Snapstreaks’

US Senator Josh Hawley has introduced a bill to curb social media addiction by banning the Snapstreak feature of Snapstreak, Reuters has reported. The bill, Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (SMART) Act, seeks to ban deceptive and addictive social media techniques. When passed, the bill will also ban infinite scroll and autoplay features. Snapchat’s Snapstreak encourages users to send photos to others at least once every 24 hours. Snapchat continuously shows the number of days a user has sent a picture to another user, which critics say pushes teenage users to become addictive to the app. Snapchat has over 200 million users.

Asia

China jails cyber-dissident

China has sentenced award-winning cyber-dissident, Huang Qi to 12 years in jail, BBC has reported. He was sentenced for allegedly leaking government secrets to foreigners. The court ruling said Huang would be denied his political rights for 4 years and would have to pay close to $3,000 in fines. He has been in detention for the past 3 years since his arrest. Huang Qi founded 64 Tianwang that covers protests and alleged human rights abuses. The website is blocked on mainland China. “This decision is equivalent to a death sentence, considering Huang Qi’s health has already deteriorated from a decade spent in harsh confinement,” Christophe Deloire of Reporters Without Borders said about Huang’s sentence.

Facebook uncovers influence campaign tied to Saudi government

Facebook says it has uncovered and dismantled an influence campaign involving 350 fake accounts tied to members of the Saudi government, a Reuters report said. The fake accounts had a combined audience of about 1.4 million followers, it said. “For this operation, our investigators were able to confirm that the individuals behind this are associated with the government of Saudi Arabia,” Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said concerning the situation. The accounts portrayed to represent news outlets in UAE, Palestine, Qatar, and Egypt, spending more than $100,000 in adverts on Facebook and Instagram. Most of the content was in Arabic and created to spread information on regional and political news. Some of the content was focused on spreading positive stories about Mohammed Bin Salman and the Saudi regime’s efforts in Yemen. The Saudi government has denied any knowledge of any such influence campaign. “The government of Saudi Arabia has no knowledge of the mentioned accounts and does not know on what basis they were linked to it,” the Center for International Communication, the government’s media office, told Reuters.