The South Gauteng High Court has found that parts of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information (RICA) Act are unconstitutional. In April 2017, media group amaBhungane filed an application in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of the act. This, after it emerged that journalist Sam Sole’s communications were intercepted …
Android smartphones in South Africa are the second-most targeted for banking malware, as malicious software attacks in general saw double-digit increases in the country, new research has revealed. South Africa saw malware attacks increase by 22% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, according to Kaspersky Lab, which held its annual Cyber Security Weekend in …
The CEO of the .ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA), Vika Mpisane, has been suspended. ZADNA is a not-for-profit organisation that manages and regulates the .ZA namespace, including domains like co.za, net.za, org.za, and web.za. Motlatjo Ralefatane, the chairperson of ZADNA’s board, confirmed the suspension of the CEO. Reports MyBroadband ZA Sources have stated there are …
A new report from Research ICT Africa shows that only 53% of South Africans use the Internet. This is compared to 73% in Columbia and 86% in Argentina. The report, with the title “Lagging ICT adoption in SA”, added that South Africa is still ahead of other African countries, though. South Africa’s mobile phone penetration …
The low number of skills in the ICT sector is not unique to South Africa but the country could be doing a lot better than its counterparts in Africa if its government prioritised investment in ICT skills. That is according to the latest findings of the annual Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) ICT Skills …
The association has criticised Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) for placing intervention on the back burner, despite South Africa being one of the world’s least competitive mobile data spaces. “According to the latest StatsSA General Household Survey, the exclusive use of cellphones was most common in the most economically marginalised provinces of Mpumalanga (95%), Limpopo …
US Taxi E-hailing service Uber is experiencing a country-wide outage this morning. Drivers are unable to connect to the platform and passengers cannot hail a cab through the app. A message when opening the app says: “We are experiencing a brief disruption which is making it difficult for drivers to use the app. We’re sorry …
According to a south African’ internet blog, The Draft Online Regulation Policy proposed by the Film and Publication Board (FPB) is far-reaching and absolute in its censorship, with little clarity on practical implementation. This is according to commentators on a recent Carte Blanche insert about the Internet censorship which will accompany the bill. The FPB published …
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF, a new Internet law could be implemented in South Africa. The Draft Online Regulation Policy recently issued by the Film and Publication Board (FPB) of South Africa is such a regulation. It’s as if the fabled prude Mrs. Grundy had been brought forward from the 18th century, stumbled …
The Right2Know Campaign has issued a statement in response to the South African Film & Publication Board’s (FPB) recent draft policy proposing to regulate online content in the country, rejecting the plan as “unnecessary censorship” and “unconstitutional”. The policy claims that regulation of online content is the prerogative of the FPB, as a purported means …