Tag: headlines

European Union privacy officials asks Facebook told to stop exploiting WhatsApp data

WhatsApp launches end-to-end encryption on messages for all its users

European Union privacy chiefs said Facebook must stop processing user data from its WhatsApp messaging service while they are investigating the privacy policy changes the company announced in August. The Article 29 Working Party, made up of privacy chiefs from across the 28-nation EU, told Facebook it had “serious concerns” about the sharing of WhatsApp users’ data for purposes that were not included in the terms of service and privacy policy when existing users signed up to the service, according to a statement e-mailed on Friday. European privacy watchdogs don’t…

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Deloitte gravitate investment in the Internet of Things

Google

The Internet of Things (IoT) has rapidly assumed the status of a business mega-trend. While some forward-thinking businesses, government agencies and other organisations have already taken the first steps in implementing IoT components, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data available. Deloitte has invested substantially in its IoT capacity in order to support businesses in their transition. A recent Deloitte Digital event on IoT was attended by senior executives across industry sectors, highlighting the demand for knowledge regarding IoT deployment. The event focused on real…

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Brookings Study estimates cost of internet shutdowns in 2015 at $2.4 billion

Staff Writer
Banking Crisis

Whenever there’s a shutdown of internet access or restrictions placed on an app, we shake our heads disapprovingly because we know it’s a fundamentally bad idea to do that. But what exactly is the cost of those shutdowns? A new study from the Brookings Institution suggests well over $2 billion over the last year. The study, by Brookings analyst Darrell West, is a very rough estimate of these costs. We’re talking back-of-napkin rough — well, assuming you were sitting at the bar with MIT and World Bank economists. Essentially, West…

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U.S. Federal bank regulators outline new cyber security standards to stem attacks

crypto-ransomware

U.S. bank regulators on Wednesday outlined cyber security standards meant to protect financial markets and consumers from online attacks against the nation’s leading financial firms. Leading banks will be expected to use the most sophisticated anti-hacking tools on the market and to be able to recover from any attack within two hours, said officials briefing reporters on the plan. The rules, which will be finalized after industry input, is meant to raise cyber security to a top priority for corporate executives and boards, according to the banking agencies. Banks with…

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Internet companies petrified after hackers release code behind one of the most powerful online attacks

Google

Internet companies are bracing for more trouble after hackers released the code behind one of the most powerful online attacks ever, which harnessed as many as one million internet-connected devices to knock a blogger offline. The malicious software takes advantage of weak security on video recorders, routers and other internet-connected devices, taking control of the systems and forming them into a collection of attacking machines, called a “botnet.” It can then disable a victim’s internet servers by flooding them with an overwhelming amount of internet traffic. The botnet code was…

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Oracle acquires Palerra to upgrade Cloud Security

Staff Writer
banking security

Oracle has just concluded the agreement to acquire Palerra last Sept. 18. The move is expected to bolster the company’s push to expand its Identity Cloud Service, which is touted as a next-generation security and identity platform for the cloud. Both companies did not provide any details about the recent acquisition, particularly the cost involved. However, one should remember that Palerra has raised $25 million in funding last year. This figure should provide some insight regarding its value. “Together, Oracle and Palerra will help accelerate cloud adoption securely by providing…

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Zuckerberg “deeply disappointed” by the Internet.org, SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explosion

Staff Writer

Earlier today, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad for no apparent reason. While we’re still trying to learn more about what happened, we already know that the company was doing a test, and an anomaly created a big mess. Fortunately, all personnel were clear of the launch pad. But this incident is going to affect Facebook’s Internet.org effort in a significant way as a satellite was also destroyed in the process. While insurance companies are going to pay out for today’s failure, the SpaceX rocket was…

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Nigerians Take The Lead In Mobile Online Shopping

Staff Writer
Online Shopping

When compared with other countries in the continent, Nigerians take the lead when it comes to mobile online shopping, local retailers or foreign notwithstanding. A research conducted by Ipsos in Nigeria indicates that this trend is not likely to wane anytime soon. Nigerians love mobile commerce. The research conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Paypal shows that Nigerians are the keenest shoppers on the African continent. 72% of these shoppers use their smartphones to shop. This places Nigeria after China(86%) and India (82%) when ranked according to incidences of shopping…

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New Kaspersky Report Indicates That Crypto-Ransomware Attacks Are On The Increase

Staff Writer
crypto-ransomware

Kaspersky Lab has released a new report whose findings indicate that crypto-ransomware attacks are on the increase and will not end anytime soon. Ransomware is a type of malware that, upon infecting a device, blocks access to it or to some or all of the information stored on it. In order to unlock either the device or the data, the user is required to pay a ransom, usually in bitcoins or another widely used e-currency. The Kaspersky Lab report covers the evolution of the threat over the last two years. The…

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The First Interactive Digital Learning Centre (IDC) In Africa Has Been Launched in South Africa

Staff Writer
IDC

The first Interactive Digital Learning centre (IDC) in Africa has been launched in Tshwane, South Africa, ItNewsAfrica reports. EON Reality, a Virtual Reality based knowledge transfer for industry, education and edutainment is behind the Interactive Digital Centre.  The Chairman of EON reality, Dan Lejerskar, said that: “We’re extremely excited to partner with the City of Tshwane and build an IDC in South Africa…We fervently believe that knowledge is a human right and this aligns perfectly with Tshwane’s goal for greater income equality, creating jobs, and improving educational opportunities.” This IDC will…

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