Cybercriminals using IoT devices to spread malware attacks

A Symantec report has revealed that cybercriminal networks are taking advantage of security shortcomings in Internet of Things (IoT) devices to spread malware and create zombie networks, or botnets, without the knowledge of their device owners.
Symantec’s Security Response team discovered that cybercriminals are hijacking home networks and everyday consumer connected devices to help carry out Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on more profitable targets, usually large companies.
A DDoS attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.
More than half of all IoT attacks originate from China and the US, based on the location of IP addresses to launch malware attacks.
High numbers of attacks are also emanating from Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam.

5G to reach 690m connections, 300m handset shipments

In a pair of related reports released by Strategic Analytics (SA), the reality of 5G evolution is analysed.
One report concluded significant work is needed to marry the appeal of a unified early 5G standard with the longer term need to support diverse market requirements. Leading operators such as NTT DoCoMo, SK Telecom, Verizon, AT&T and more cautious European operators are plotting very different 5G paths.
The other report predicts 5G commercial handset sales will begin in 2020 and exceed 300 million by 2025.
Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, Guang Yang, comments “5G network plans have developed

Smartwatch shipments to hit 20.1m by year-end

Global smartwatch shipment is expected to reach 20.1 million units at the end of 2016, a new forecast by the International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed.
According to IDC worldwide quarterly wearable device tracker, smartwatch shipment in 2016 will see an increase of 3.9 per cent from the 19.4 million units shipped in 2015.

Samsung complies with CPC’s directive on recall of Galaxy Note 7 devices

Samsung Electronics West Africa Limited has complied with the ultimatum given to it by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), requiring it to give a status report on the global recall of Galaxy Note 7 in Nigeria, following reports of explosion of dozens of the device while charging.
It would be recalled that the council had given the company a seven-day ultimatum for it to provide information on the full status of its compliance with the global directive on the recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
A statement by the CPC on Tuesday morning said the company disclosed that the device was yet to be launched in Nigeria, and had announced its readiness to provide voluntary exchange to consumers, who may have purchased it elsewhere in the world and brought it into Nigeria.
CPC said the status report which it got said, “customers who already have Galaxy Note 7 devices, Samsung will voluntarily exchange their current device with a new one over the coming weeks,” adding that “customers who have this device should submit it to Samsung authorized Service

Senate probes MTN over $13bn transfer

The Nigerian Senate is probing Africa’s biggest telecoms company MTN for alleged illegal transfer of $13.92 billion out of the country.
Senators Tuesday agreed to begin the investigation and then the members who resumed this week after a long holiday adjourned plenary till Thursday.
MTN declined to comment on the Senate decision.
With 62 million subscribers, Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market.
A motion
MTN shares were down by 4.20 per cent, at 2.46pm (13:46 GMT) on Tuesday.
The cash transfer allegation was made in a motion submitted to the Upper House by Senator Dino Melaye, which said $13.92 billion had been repatriated “illegally” out of Nigeria by MTN through its bankers between 2006 and 2016.

Germany blocks WhatsApp data transfers to Facebook

German data protection authorities on Tuesday said they had blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data from its subsidiary WhatsApp, citing privacy concerns.
Facebook and WhatsApp promised in the wake of the Silicon Valley giant’s 2014 acquisition of the messaging app that they would not share data, Hamburg’s Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Johannes Caspar recalled in a statement.
He added that Facebook would be required to delete any data already received from WhatsApp in Germany.
“It has to be (the users’) decision whether they want to connect their account with Facebook,” Caspar said. “Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance.”
WhatsApp announced in August that it would begin sharing data with Facebook, in a bid to allow better targeted advertising and fight spam on the platform.
Currently, users of the instant messenger must opt out of sending information to Facebook through WhatsApp’s settings on their smartphone.

Nigeria’s broadband penetration reaches 21 per cent

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Umar Danbatta, says the Nigeria Broadband Penetration has reached 20.95 per cent.
Mr. Danbatta said this on Monday in Abuja while presenting the first progress report of the eight point agenda he unveiled to the media in 2015.
According to him, broadband is a flagship of the eight point agenda he unveiled in Kano and Lagos.
“The active mobile broadband penetration released by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development shows that Nigeria has reached a penetration of 20.95 per cent.
“On the percentage of internet penetration, the country has reached a milestone of 47.44 per cent, second to South Africa in the continent,” he said.
Mr. Danbatta said the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development was set up by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO in 2010.
He said the provision of the National Broadband Plan that had a set target of 30 per cent penetration from 2013 to 2018, also accentuated emphasis on broadband penetration.

Researchers restore first ever computer music recording

New Zealand researchers said Monday they have restored the first recording of computer-generated music, created in 1951 on a gigantic contraption built by British genius Alan Turing.
The aural artefact, which paved the way for everything from synthesizers to modern electronica, opens with a staunchly conservative tune — the British national anthem “God Save the King”.
Researchers at the University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch said it showed Turing — best known as the father of computing who broke the WWII Enigma code — was also a musical innovator.
“Alan Turing’s pioneering work in the late 1940s on transforming the computer into a musical instrument has been largely overlooked,” they said.
The recording was made 65 years ago by a BBC outside-broadcast unit at the Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester, northern England.