Tech

Mastercard teams up with Ghana Cybersecurity agency in fight against fraud

Published

12 months ago

June 2, 2023

Global payment platform, Mastercard has entered into a partnership with the Ghana Cyber Security Authority (CSA) in a bid to fight cyber fraud in the West African country.

The partnership which was sealed with the first-ever Fraud and Cyber Security Forum in Ghana, held during the week, and brought together key players in the Ghanaian tech ecosystem, including financial institutions, regulators and fintech, who examined the latest fraud trends and address crucial aspects of cybersecurity in Ghana.

The forum covered the latest attack methods utilized by cyber criminals, the assets they target, and the motivation behind such attacks, with a specific focus on the financial services sector.

Mastercard Country Director for Ghana, Bossman Kwapong, in his keynote address, said with the increased adoption of digital services, new payment flows, and connected supply chains, cyber risk was one of the top risks faced by organizations.

“It is essential that this risk is well understood and managed by organizations to protect themselves and their customers,” he said.

“The threat of cybercrime is also growing, with identity theft, ransomware, and phishing attacks becoming more common.

“Mastercard recognizes the seriousness of these threats and places a high priority on fraud prevention and cybersecurity in all the countries where it operates, including Ghana.

“We must help businesses prepare for cyber-attacks and decrease financial risk by identifying data breaches, assessing cyber threats, and acting on insights.

“As the digital economy grows, so do the intentions of cyber criminals who are ready to exploit weak links. Our partnership with the Cyber Security Authority of Ghana, is a significant step towards ensuring the safety and security of our partners and customers,” Kwapong said.

Related Topics:Cybersecurity Featured fraud Ghana MasterCard Partnership

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Tech

Cut to undersea cable causes internet disruptions across East, Southern Africa

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Internet services across East and Southern Africa have suffered outages following undersea submarine cable cuts on Sunday.

According to the Group CTIO at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Ben Roberts, in a post on X on Monday, the faults have been reported in the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the Seacom cables.

Though details of the fibre cut are still unclear, Roberts said three crucial submarine cables in the Red Sea, the Seacom, EIG, and AAE1, suffered cuts and remain unrepaired, leading to the widespread outage.

“We have experienced an outage on one of the undersea cables that deliver internet traffic in and out of the country,” Roberts said.

“We have since activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep you connected as we await the full restoration of the cable. You may, however, experience reduced internet speeds,” he added.

Four of the nine subsea cables that connect countries like South Africa to the rest of the world were reported as damaged due to incidents on either side of the continent.

In Kenya, this latest outage seems to have affected service providers like Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya. Safaricom said has since activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep users connected, according to reports.

Other East African countries affected by the cut are Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda.

This is the second time Africa has experienced a major fibre cut this year. In March, a suspected underwater rock slid off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire resulting in several submarine cables being offline which affected over 13 West African countries with greater impacts felt in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.

The affected cables included Africa Coast to Europe (ACE),
SAT-3 – Submarine Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable, WACS – West Africa Cable System and MainOne.

Tech

Oracle to increase research, development investments in Morocco

Published

4 days ago

May 11, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Global IT vendor, Oracle, has announced plans to expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities in Morocco by growing its local workforce to 1,000 information technology (IT) professionals.

Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, who made the announcement on Friday, said the investment in the North African country will accelerate the development of Oracle’s cutting-edge technologies that help solve customer challenges worldwide.

“Oracle’s R&D center in Casablanca has already played a critical role in creating technical breakthroughs, enhancing cybersecurity, and delivering impactful new AI capabilities,” said Catz.

“By expanding our R&D presence in Morocco, we can further tap its deep talent pool to accelerate development of solutions that help our global customers grow their businesses and win in their industries,” he added.

Ms. Ghita Mezzour, Morocco’s Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform who signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of the government, said:

“This ambitious project falls within the strategic and comprehensive Royal Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI who called on encouraging Moroccan youth innovation and creativity.

“At this cutting-edge center, young Moroccans will be at the forefront of designing and developing innovative solutions, covering the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and cybersecurity.

“These solutions will be deployed on a global scale, thus strengthening Morocco’s positioning as a regional digital hub.”

Oracle’s expansion follows the opening of its Morocco Development Center facility at Casanearshore Park in Casablanca, where researchers use Oracle’s cloud, AI, and machine learning technologies to tackle the most pressing challenges facing business, science, and the public sector.