Africa’s trusted ID verification leader, Smile ID, celebrates 200m ID verification checks
Smile ID’s KYC solutions include document verification, biometric authentication and biometric KYC.
Science/Tech
2024 IITPSA President’s Awards winners named
Nomonde White-Ndlovu, CIO of Bidvest, and Cinga Nyangintsimbi, founder and MD of Batsamayi Software Development, are among the 2024 winners.
SecOps becomes crucial in hybrid cloud world
SecOps emphasises the importance of continuous monitoring, incident response and automation to secure IT environments more effectively, says Mark Chadwick, cloud solutions architecture director at Huawei Cloud SA.
Commvault unveils Clumio Backtrack: Providing near instant recovery of massive datasets stored in Amazon S3
The solution provides near instant recovery of massive datasets stored in Amazon S3.
Amnesty for illegal electricity users with prepaid meters in South Africa
Eskom is encouraging South Africans with prepaid meters who don’t pay for electricity come forward and do the right thing.
Bitcoin rally leaves altcoins in the dust
The shadow of the 2021 crypto bubble still hangs over much of the sector.
Why a trustworthy data centre is critical during Black Friday
As retailers and financial services providers gear up for one of the busiest shopping events of the year—Black Friday.
SA government top target for cyber criminals
Government, education, and finance sectors are the most affected by cyberattacks, according to Check Point.
Microsoft faces wide-ranging US antitrust probe
The US Federal Trade Commission has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft.
Revived SAA draws attention of banks
South Africa’s state airline is being approached by banks keen to discuss lending the carrier money.
FlySafair international flights unlikely to face disruptions this December holiday
Travellers booked on FlySafair’s international flights can continue their plans with confidence, as the ongoing judicial process is expected to extend beyond the December holiday season.
What’s going on with fluoride? – podcast
The conversation about fluoride’s health benefits has exploded recently after a US federal toxicology report, court ruling and independent scientific review all called for updated risk-benefit analysis. Ian Sample hears from Catherine Carstairs, professor of history at the University of Guelph in Canada, about how attitudes to fluoridation have evolved, and Oliver Jones, professor of...
Questions over Gauteng’s “self-destructing” number plates
The Gauteng province’s new number plates could help combat crime, but the question remains at what cost it will come to law-abiding citizens.
Denmark Will Plant 1 Billion Trees, Convert 10% Farmland Into Forest
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Danish lawmakers on Monday agreed on a deal to plant 1 billion trees and convert 10% of farmland into forest and natural habitats over the next two decades in an effort to reduce fertilizer usage. The government called the agreement “the biggest change to the Danish landscape in over 100 years.” Under the agreement, 43 billion...
Senators Say TSA’s Facial Recognition Program Is Out of Control
A bipartisan group of 12 senators has urged the TSA inspector general to investigate the agency’s use of facial recognition technology, citing concerns over privacy, civil liberties, and its expansion to over 430 airports without sufficient safeguards or proven effectiveness. Gizmodo reports: “This technology will soon be in use at hundreds of major and mid-size airports without an independent...
Data Broker Leaves 600K+ Sensitive Files Exposed Online
A security researcher discovered an unprotected database belonging to SL Data Services containing over 600,000 sensitive files, including criminal histories and background checks with names, addresses, and social media accounts. The Register reports: We don’t know how long the personal information was openly accessible. Infosec specialist Jeremiah Fowler says he found the Amazon S3 bucket in...
Google Opens AI Campus In London
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer inaugurated London’s first Google-funded AI Campus in Camden, aiming to equip young people with AI and machine learning skills. Reuters reports: The center, based in Camden, an area which Starmer represents in parliament and which is also home to Google’s future offices in Kings Cross, has already started a two-year pilot project for local students. An first...
Tornado Cash Sanctions Overturned By US Appeals Court
A U.S. federal appeals court ruled that sanctions against Tornado Cash, a crypto transaction anonymization service, must be abandoned, stating that its immutable smart contracts do not constitute “property” under U.S. law and that the Treasury overstepped its authority. The ruling is available here (PDF). CoinDesk reports: The decision answers a controversial privacy debate on whether the...
Doctors hail first breakthrough in asthma and COPD treatment in 50 years
Results of trial of benralizumab injection could be ‘gamechanger’ for millions of people around the world
Doctors are hailing a new way to treat serious asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease attacks that marks the first breakthrough for 50 years and could be a “gamechanger” for patients.
A trial found offering patients an injection was more effective than the current care of steroid...
The World’s First Unkillable UEFI Bootkit For Linux
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Over the past decade, a new class of infections has threatened Windows users. By infecting the firmware that runs immediately before the operating system loads, these UEFI bootkits continue to run even when the hard drive is replaced or reformatted. Now the same type of chip-dwelling malware has been found in the wild for backdooring Linux...
F.T.C. Launches Antitrust Investigation Into Microsoft
Regulators are demanding information from the company on its cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity products.