South Africa has the legislative foundation to respond to nation-scale cyberattacks but the practical capacity has yet to be realised. A wave of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks earlier this week disrupted connectivity across more than half a dozen South African hosting providers and internet specialists, including 1-grid, Xneelo, Network Platforms, Host Africa and Domains.co.za. Tens…
South Africa is becoming a prominent target for global cyber attacks due to perceived weaknesses in its cyber security defences, with Cloud Security Alliance’s Ayanda Peta calling for consistent basic cyber practices. A lot still needs to be done to improve South African organisations’ cyber security posture. This is the observation of Ayanda Peta, president…
There are both risks and opportunities presented by the rise of finfluencers. (Image source: 123RF) The rapid rise of financial influencers, or “finfluencers”, across South Africa’s social media platforms is a double-edged sword – representing both unprecedented opportunities for financial inclusion and significant risks related to misinformation. This was the sentiment shared by regulators and…
No, helping strangers use their smartphones will not expose you to ‘AI biometric identity fraud’ IN SHORT: Warnings that strangers asking for help using a smartphone may actually be scammers conducting “AI biometric identity fraud” are just scaremongering. Even if well-intentioned, these warnings misrepresent how biometric security and impersonation scams actually work. “STOP HELPING STRANGERS…
Nvidia H100 chips inside a server room at the Yotta Data Services Pvt. data center, in Navi Mumbai, India, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. authorities announced Tuesday that they have shut down yet another China-linked smuggling network that trafficked or attempted to traffic more than $160 million…
A new report from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection (CEAP) warns that the current UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) systematically neglect animal welfare and health — a gap undermining progress on human health, environmental protection and social equity. Despite growing international support for a One Health…
The illegal trade in giant African harvester ants endangers local biodiversity and could spread invasive species in destination countries. Four men were convicted in May for attempting to smuggle 5 440 giant African harvester ants from Kenya to Europe and Asia. The suspects (from Belgium, Vietnam and Kenya) were ordered to pay US$7 700 each…
A draft report by the Office of the Tax Ombudsman has found that the mechanisms put in place by the South African Revenue Service to assist taxpayers who fall victim to eFiling profile hijacking are inadequate and ineffective. According to the report, which was released on Wednesday, tax practitioners are more susceptible to eFiling profile…
In the days since the assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk, institutions from airlines to schools have moved quickly to discipline employees accused of celebrating or mocking his death, a reflection of the charged atmosphere surrounding the killing. On the right, some have called for the aggressive punishment of anyone seen condoning his assassination. Former…
Hawken McEwan, director of risk and compliance at nCino KYC Africa. South African businesses are under growing pressure to improve financial crime detection as regulators tighten enforcement ahead of the country’s October 2025 deadline to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist. “Red flags are almost always there – but too often missed,” says…
