Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

According to data revealed by Ransomwhere, hackers behind ransomware attacks have raked in about $33 million worth of Bitcoin since the start of the year. This amount can rise dramatically should Russian-speaking cybercrime syndicate REvil receive the $70 million it demanded from some 200 US companies hit by a massive ransomware attack earlier…

Alphabet’s Google has agreed to buy payments business Pring from backers including fintech firm Metaps Inc as the U.S. tech giant pushes into Japan’s rapidly growing market for cashless services. The startup’s three top shareholders – Metaps, software company Miroku Jyoho Service Co Ltd, and Nippon Gas Co – announced on Tuesday they would…

Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart said on Monday it has raised $3.6 billion in a funding round led by GIC, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and its biggest shareholder Walmart, valuing the online retailer at $37.6 billion post-money as it continues to expand and advance its network in the country. Walmart Inc. was founded…

Microsoft on Monday announced that it’s buying a San Francisco-based cybersecurity startup RiskIQ that provides threat intelligence and cloud-based software as a service for organizations to help companies better protect themselves as ransomware and other cyber-attacks become increasingly disruptive. Microsoft said the acquisition will help its customers address the unique risks created…

Nintendo, which is often associated with being a toymaker, is teaming up with, of all companies, luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer to celebrate the Italian plumbers 35th anniversary. The two companies revealed their collaboration on an upcoming Super Mario-themed watch in a psychedelic teaser posted on Twitter early Friday morning and more will…

Microsoft’s latest security vulnerability could have a lingering impact both on consumers and businesses at a time when many around the world are already on high alert for disruptive cyber attacks. Researchers at security firm Sangfor recently found a Windows vulnerability, called PrintNightmare, that could allow hackers to remotely gain access to…

Cape Town-based startup, iNNOHEALTH has announced an undisclosed seven-figure investment from a Hong Kong-based VC and this investment will go to expanding the startup’s doctor-led app, MyPocketHealth, launching later this year for the national user base. The AI-enabled healthtech offering is set to position iNNOHEALTH at the forefront of digital healthcare in SA,…

Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Thursday said that it had instructed banks to freeze the accounts of media entertainment firm MultiChoice Africa and its Nigerian subsidiary for breaching agreements and denying access to their records for auditing. The firms are part of South African-headquartered MultiChoice Group, which provides television…

TikTok videos aren’t what you would call long, but sometimes you might want to skip a few seconds ahead — especially now that the videos can be up to three minutes long. Or you may have a favorite moment that you want to replay, over and over and over. Either way,…

The European Commission on Thursday fined German carmakers Volkswagen (VW) and BMW a total of 875 million euros ($1 billion) for colluding to curb the use of emissions cleaning technology they had developed. The case, separate from the so-called ‘Dieselgate’ scandal over software designed to cheat on vehicle emissions tests,…

Thirty-seven U.S. state and district attorneys general sued Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday, alleging that it bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android-powered mobile devices. The litigation aimed at the Play Store online shop for apps and other digital content…

South Africa-based digital recycling platform Kudoti was announced as one of five winners of Nestlé’s 2021 Creating Shared Value (CSV) Prize, for innovative recycling impact through technology. For over 10 years, the CSV Prize has identified multiple initiatives solving critical global environmental and social issues. This year’s event, in partnership with NPO, Ashoka,…

Microsoft has unveiled a new cloud-based business management solution, Dynamics 365 Business Central, to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Africa and the Middle East to streamline their operations. Dynamics 365 Business Central will support the SMBs to connect their financials, sales, service, and operations to streamline business processes…

The Pentagon scrapped a $10 billion cloud-computing contract awarded in 2019 to Microsoft Corp. after several years of wrangling between the government and some of the biggest U.S. tech companies over the deal, indicating it plans to divide the work between Microsoft and rival Amazon.com Inc. instead. “With the shifting…

The Nintendo Switch family of systems is about to gain a new member, after months of speculation and rumors, Nintendo has announced a new version of its Nintendo Switch console is coming this fall. The Nintendo Switch (OLED model) will go on sale Oct. 8. Priced at $350, the system is similar in many ways…

Software giant Microsoft is urging Windows users to immediately install an update on their personal computers (PCs) after security researchers found a serious vulnerability in the operating system, and this security flaw, known as PrintNightmare, affects the Windows Print Spooler service was revealed last week after security researchers accidentally published proof-of-concept…

Former US President Donald Trump, who has complained about censorship from most major social media platforms announced a class-action lawsuit Wednesday against tech giants Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, along with their respective CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai. The suit is being filed by America First Policy Institute, a…

Antivirus software creator John McAfee was last month found dead in his cell in Spain after reportedly committing suicide, hours after the country’s national court approved his extradition to the United States, where he was wanted on tax-related criminal charges that carried a prison sentence of up to 30 years. Just as…

As more South Africans work from home, shop online and the economy shifts to digital channels, the threat of cyberattacks has become a growing reality since the Experian cyberattack, leading South African tech provider of a secure B2B data collaboration platform for deep insights, without compromising personal privacy Omnisient has announced the…

Cybersecurity teams are working feverishly to stem the impact of the single biggest global ransomware attack that played out over the Fourth of July weekend on record, with some details emerging about how the Russia-linked hacker gang ‘REvil’ behind it breached the company whose software was the conduit. The gang now says…