Kenya Insights

Category: Sci & Tech

  • How AI Failure At Abuja Airport Aided Kenyan Binance Executive Escape From Nigeria

    How AI Failure At Abuja Airport Aided Kenyan Binance Executive Escape From Nigeria

    While the controversy over the recent embarrassing escape from custody of an executive of the cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, Nadeem Anjarwalla in Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikwe International airport rages on, key players across the country’s aviation sector have described the development as confirmation of the lack of synergy amongst security agents at the airports.

    Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for Binance in Africa, was reported to have fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport through the Abuja airport to escape trial and prosecution. He holds both UK and Kenyan citizenship.

    Many stakeholders who reacted to the news condemned the lapses in Nigeria’s security system and intelligence which they argued made it seamless for the Binance official from perfecting his escape.

    Reports from Nigerian publication citing anonymous source, queried how a passenger could go through many uniformed personnel at the airport to not only process his papers but comfortably travel through the airport unnoticed.

    Commenting on the controversy, the Chief Executive Officer at Selective Security International Ltd, a private firm, Mr Ayo Obilana described the escape of the Binance executive as unacceptable.

    According to Obilana: “I rate the efficiency of the securitymen in charge of airport immigration and state security as unacceptably poor on controversial escape of Mr Anjarwala if he passed through them.

    “It’s not about porosity this time but about human error and failure which definitely points in one direction of either systemic failure or compromise. I believe his name should have been put on watchlist in the data base of the two security agencies. There are other possibilities, however, the matter should be thoroughly investigated and thereafter, the tasking authorities should take appropriate steps for redress or mitigation. I hope the airport has a functional CCTV system and if it has, the fugitive’s movements through the airport can be easily tracked including those who aided his escape.”

    Equally, the Managing Director of another security agency, Centurion Security Services and a onetime military commandant of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu, retired, likened the escape of the Binance official to what happened with the escape of the now known popular underwear bomber, Farouk Abdulmutalab through the Lagos airport in 2009.

    His words “Security begins with intelligence which is more than 60% of the Airport Security Defence Layers. If they get intelligence early and it is appropriately shared, what we saw happened last week would not have happened. What happened last week with the escaped man is not different from what happened with the Abdulmutalab escape in December 25, 2009 even when the father warned the National Intelligence Agent and the US Embassy about the irregular behaviour of his son.

    While arguing that the airline that boarded the Binance official can only be blamed if it was informed earlier that the man was on the watch list or no-fly list.

    “The airport government security agencies on the Aviation Security Defence Layers too appeared not to have any information about the man. What I can tell you from the experience of the Abdulmutalab case and his escape through the Avsec Defence Layers is the disconnect between the government security agencies in their line of duties. Starting with the intelligent agency to the border security agencies which include the immigration, DSS, Avsec/Airlines through the NCAA, etc.”

    Other stakeholders who spoke on the controversy further took a swipe at the crop of security personnel manning the different airports who they accused of just sitting at their duty posts idly.

    “Our airports are the only airports where security personnel sit instead of on their feet moving around. The Binance official can still come back to Nigeria and make another return same way as he escaped without being detected. The level of corruption in the airport security system particularly with immigration and State security protocols is unimaginable.

    The key players also faulted the type of multiple security checks at the international airports which they said does not exist at any known airport in the world. “What obtains at our international airports is indeed shameful and some of us have tirelessly and repeatedly pointed same out to the tasking authority for corrective action but to no avail.”

  • AI Outperforms Doctors In Clinical Analysis, Report Says

    AI Outperforms Doctors In Clinical Analysis, Report Says

    The battle of wits and fears that artificial intelligence would outrun the human intelligence continue to spark debate.

    In a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have revealed that artificial intelligence (AI) may have better clinical reasoning capabilities compared to human physicians.

    The study compared the performance of a large language model (LLM), specifically ChatGPT-4, against internal medicine residents and physicians at two academic medical centres.

    Lead author Dr Adam Rodman, an internal medicine physician and investigator at BIDMC, highlighted the significance of the findings, stating, “It’s a surprising finding that these things are capable of showing the equivalent or better reasoning than people throughout the evolution of clinical case.”

    Physicians compete against AI

    The study used a validated tool called the revised-IDEA (r-IDEA) score to assess clinical reasoning. Physicians and the AI model were tasked with working through 20 clinical cases, each comprising four sequential stages of diagnostic reasoning: triage data collection, system review, physical examination, and diagnostic testing/imaging.

    Results revealed that the LLM achieved the highest median r-IDEA score, outperforming physicians and residents. While diagnostic accuracy and correct clinical reasoning were similar between humans and the AI model, the researchers noted that the LLM exhibited more incorrect reasoning.

    AI in medical decision making

    This highlights the potential of AI as a complementary tool rather than a replacement for human expertise in healthcare.

    Dr Stephanie Cabral, a third-year internal medicine resident at BIDMC and co-author of the study, emphasised the potential role of AI in improving patient-physician interactions and reducing inefficiencies in healthcare delivery. “Even now, they could be useful as a checkpoint, helping us make sure we don’t miss something” she stated. “My ultimate hope is that AI will improve the patient-physician interaction by reducing some of the inefficiencies we currently have and allow us to focus more on the conversation we’re having with our patients.”

    The findings suggest that AI could significantly impact clinical practice by increasing healthcare providers’ diagnostic and reasoning capabilities.

    Further research is still needed to determine the optimal integration of AI into medical decision-making processes.

    Could AI improve the healthcare system?

    While the study marks a significant advancement in AI-driven healthcare, the researchers acknowledge potential conflicts of interest, including grant funding and employment affiliations with various organisations.

    As AI continues to evolve, its role in healthcare decision-making will likely expand, offering new opportunities to improve patient outcomes and streamline clinical workflows. With careful integration and validation, AI may become a valuable partner in pursuing better healthcare delivery.

  • Woman Chats With Her Dead Mother Using AI

    Woman Chats With Her Dead Mother Using AI

    After her mother’s death, Sirine Malas was desperate for an outlet for her grief. “When you’re weak, you accept anything,” she says.

    The actress was separated from her mother Najah after fleeing Syria, their home country, to move to Germany in 2015. In Berlin, Sirine gave birth to her first child — a daughter called Ischtar — and she wanted more than anything for her mother to meet her. But before they had chance, tragedy struck.

    Najah died unexpectedly from kidney failure in 2018 at the age of 82. “She was a guiding force in my life,” Sirine says of her mother. “She taught me how to love myself.”

    “The whole thing was cruel because it happened suddenly. I really, really wanted her to meet my daughter and I wanted to have that last reunion. The grief was unbearable, says Sirine.

    “You just want any outlet,” she adds. “For all those emotions… if you leave it there, it just starts killing you, it starts choking you. I wanted that last chance (to speak to her).”

    After four years of struggling to process her loss, Sirine turned to Project December, an AI tool that claims to “simulate the dead”.

    Users fill in a short online form with information about the person they’ve lost, including their age, relationship to the user and a quote from the person.

    The responses are then fed into an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT2, an early version of the large language model behind ChatGPT. This generates a profile based on the user’s memory of the deceased person.

    Such models are typically trained on a vast array of books, articles and text from all over the internet to generate responses to questions in a manner similar to a word prediction tool. The responses are not based on factual accuracy.

    At a cost of $10 (about Sh1,300), users can message the chatbot for about an hour.

    For Sirine, the results of using the chatbot were “spooky”.

    “There were moments that I felt were very real,” she says. “There were also moments where I thought anyone could have answered that this way.”

    Imitating her mother, the messages from the chatbot referred to Sirine by her pet name – which she had included in the online form – asked if she was eating well, and told her that she was watching her.

    “I am a bit of a spiritual person and I felt that this is a vehicle,” Sirine says.

    Project December has more than 3,000 users, the majority of whom have used it to imitate a deceased loved one in conversation.

    Jason Rohrer, the founder of the service, says users are typically people who have dealt with the sudden loss of a loved one.

    -Sky News

  • Google Agrees To Delete Users Data From Incognito Tracking

    Google Agrees To Delete Users Data From Incognito Tracking

    Google has agreed to delete billions of records and submit to some restrictions on its power to track users, under the terms of a proposed legal settlement.

    The deal aims to resolve a class action lawsuit brought in the US in 2020, which had accused the tech giant of invading people’s privacy by collecting user data even when they were browsing in “private mode”.

    The suit had sought $5bn in damages.

    Google is supporting the deal, though it disputes the claims.

    It has already made changes in response to the lawsuit.

    The data deletion will also apply outside of the United States.

    In January, shortly after the two sides announced plans to settle the case, the company updated its disclosures to make it clear that it still tracked user data even when users opted to search privately or using its “Incognito” setting.

    That mode provides some increased privacy because it does not save the browsing activity to the machine being used.

    That same month, the firm said it was starting to trial a feature that would automatically block third-party cookies, which help track user activity, for all Google Chrome users.

    It had made that block automatic for Incognito users shortly after the lawsuit was filed in 2020 and has agreed to ensure that limit is in place for five years, according to the terms of the settlement deal, filed on Monday in federal court in San Francisco.

    On Monday, Google also agreed to delete “hundreds of billions” of private browsing data records it had collected, the court filing said.

    “We are pleased to settle this lawsuit, which we always believed was meritless,” Google spokesman Jorge Castaneda said in a statement, noting that the company would not be paying any damages.

    “We are happy to delete old technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization.”

    Google is still facing lawsuits from individuals over privacy violations, which could lead to financial penalties.

    Lawyer David Boies of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, who represented users in the fight, called the deal an “historic step in requiring honesty and accountability from dominant technology companies”.

    The lawsuit had claimed that despite its suggestions to the contrary, Google had tracked users’ activity even when they set the Google Chrome browser to “Incognito” mode and other browsers to “private mode”.

    The legal battle revealed documents in which Google employees described Incognito as “effectively a lie” and “a confusing mess”, according to Monday’s court filing.

    Last year, Judge Yvonne Rogers rejected Google’s bid to have the case dismissed, saying she could not agree that users consented to allowing Google to collect information on their browsing activity.

    The deal will now go to the court for approval.

    The settlement comes as big tech firms are facing increased scrutiny of their practices in the US and beyond.

    In the US, Google and its parent company Alphabet are facing two separate monopoly cases brought by the federal government.

    It has also recently settled a number of other suits.

    It paid nearly $400m (£318m) in 2022 to settle claims brought by US states that it tracked the location of users who had opted out of location services on their devices.

    In December 2023, it also agreed to a $700m (£557m) settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought by a group of US states that had accused it of quashing competition to its Play Store on Android devices.

    (BBC)

  • TikTok Signs With African Union Amid Data Safety Concerns

    TikTok Signs With African Union Amid Data Safety Concerns

    The African Union (AU) and TikTok, the leading platform for short-form mobile videos, are excited to announce the #SaferTogether Campaign.

    This initiative empowers African youth with the knowledge and tools to navigate the digital world safely.

    Launched at the recent TikTok Safer Internet Summit in Ghana, the campaign targets not just young people, but also parents and educators.

    Ms. Prudence Nonkululeko Ngwenya, Director of the Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate, lauded the partnership as a vital step towards empowering Africa’s youth and safeguarding their digital futures.

    “The #SaferTogether campaign is in line with the AU’s ongoing efforts to promote and advocate for not only safe online experiences for young people in Africa, but also their mental well-being through the 1 Million Next Level Initiative.

    While access to internet can help children and young people stay connected, improve their digital literacy, and diversify their livelihoods, it is crucial that they are provided with a safe environment to reap the benefits of digital platforms”, she stated.

    This partnership, leveraging both in-app strategies and on-the-ground initiatives, seeks to inform and empower communities about digital safety, aligning with the AUC’s priority on child safety online and the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa.

    The campaign includes a wide array of in-app activities, such as educational video content, hashtag challenges, endorsements by content creators, and notifications. Furthermore, the joint initiative will provide “Digital Safety Toolkits” to support educators and guardians in tackling key digital safety topics, available through a dedicated microsite on TikTok, offering an engaging guide for fostering safer online behaviors.

    Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Government Relations & Public Policy Director, TikTok, Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighted this collaboration’s strategic nature: “Our partnership with the AU Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate reinforces TikTok’s deep commitment to the diverse tapestry of markets across Africa.

    “Through initiatives like our ambassador program, educational workshops, and the development of comprehensive safety toolkits, we are committed to nurturing a digitally safe environment for all.”

    Together, the AU and TikTok are committed to creating a more inclusive and safer digital space for Africa’s youth.

    This partnership will empower young people with the tools and confidence to navigate the online world with wisdom and safety.

  • FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced To 25 Years In Jail For Crypto Fraud

    FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced To 25 Years In Jail For Crypto Fraud

    FTX’s founder and former CEO Samuel Bankman-Fried on Thursday was sentenced to 25 years in prison in fraud and conspiracy case that saw the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange platform and a related hedge fund.

    “I was the CEO of FTX and I was responsible,” Bankman-Fried told at Manhattan federal court in New York, adding: “It haunts me every day,” according to media reports.

    Bankman-Fried, 32, faced multiple charges involving the implosion of FTX, which was once the world’s third-largest crypto trading platform by daily volume, and its relation to hedge fund Alameda Research’s trading accounts.

    The charges included wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and against lenders to Alameda Research, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud against FTX investors, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

    Although Bankman-Fried argued that there was “no loss” at FTX, Judge Lewis Kaplan revealed Thursday that he found total loss of the fraud more than $550 million.

    Judge Kaplan also ordered a forfeiture of $11.2 billion.

    After its implosion in late 2022, FTX recovered $7.3 billion in cash and assets, according to the company’s attorney in April 2023.

    Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts in November by jury who held him responsible for approximately $10 billion of customer deposits that went missing in 2022.

  • Crypto: Kenya Stands Firm Amid Pressure From The US To Lift Ban On WorldCoin

    Crypto: Kenya Stands Firm Amid Pressure From The US To Lift Ban On WorldCoin

    Kenya has rejected a push by the United States of America (USA) to allow the operations of cryptocurrency project WorldCoin to resume in the country.

    Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki told MPs  that the US government has been pressuring the Kenyan government to lift the suspension it imposed in August 2023 on the activities of WorldCoin.

    Appearing before MPs, Kindiki however clarified the government will not lift the suspension until all the data protection laws are adhered to

    He said: “The United States has been pushing the government on the issues of WorldCoin, but we have remained adamant and firm.”

    He added: “They (US) think that they (WorldCoin) still have a case to set up their activities here. We have remained adamant and the decision we took will remain. We are not going to review the suspension. The status quo remains as is.”

    Appearing before the Public Petitions Committee, Kindiki said that the government will ensure Kenyans are protected from issues touching on cybercrime.

    Interpol intervention

    The sentiments by Kindiki come hardly months after he revealed that the government had sought the intervention of Interpol to crack down on those behind Worldcoin activities after it emerged that there is a direct link between the activities of cryptocurrency to funding money laundering, and financing of terrorism.

    Kindiki, speaking in September last year, explained that the owners of WorldCoin started operating in Kenya under the guise that they were offering educational programmes on cryptocurrency.

    He explained it was not until the end of July 2022 when it emerged that the two US companies behind WorldCoin were engaged in the business of collecting sensitive biometric data from Kenyans by scanning their Irises in exchange for cryptocurrency inducement equivalent to Sh7,000 per individual.

    Citizens detained

    However, he clarified the government released Worldcoin American citizens who had initially been detained after the US government intervened and promised the Kenyan government of their availability whenever they are needed.

    Following the move, he announced that he had suspended all WorldCoin activities until concerned government agencies ascertain that the app is free of any risks.

    He said. “The Government has suspended forthwith activities of WorldCoin and any other entity that may be similarly engaging Kenyans until relevant public agencies certify the absence of any risks to the general public whatsoever.”

    He added: “Appropriate action will be taken on any natural or juristic person who furthers, aids, abets or otherwise engages in or is connected with the activities afore described.”

    At the time the Capital Markets Authority had also cautioned the public, saying World coin is not regulated in Kenya.

     “WorldCoin related products including crypto tokens and their derivatives are not investment products within the scope of the Capital  Markets Authority and hence not the regulatory purview of CMA,” the regulator said.

    The WorldCoin project gave each signup a digital ID that, according to the idea, will assist online users identify between real people and Artificial Intelligence (AI) programmes.

    According to the creator, eye-scanning will be essential in a future where it will be harder to tell humans from robots as a result of an increase in AI technology.

    The project was suspended just days after the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner issued a warning against it, advising Kenyans to exercise greater caution and make sure they are properly informed prior to revealing any personal or sensitive information.

  • US Sues Apple For Monopolizing Smartphone Market

    US Sues Apple For Monopolizing Smartphone Market

    The US has filed a landmark lawsuit against Apple which accuses the tech giant of monopolising the smartphone market and crushing competition.

    In the lawsuit, the justice department alleges the company used its control of the iPhone to illegally limit competitors and consumer options.

    The complaint accuses it of squashing the growth of new apps and reducing the appeal of rival products.

    Apple has vowed to “vigorously” fight the lawsuit and denies the claims.

    The lawsuit, filed to a federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple used “a series of shapeshifting rules” in a bid to “thwart innovation” and “throttle” competitors.

    In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the company “undermines apps, products and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone… and lower costs for consumers and developers”.

    Mr Garland added that unless Apple is challenged, it will continue to “strengthen its smartphone monopoly”.

    The complaint lists a number of “anti-competitive” steps allegedly taken by the company, including blocking apps with broad functionality, suppressing mobile cloud streaming services, limiting third-party digital wallets and “diminishing the functionality” of smartwatches not made by the company.

    A spokesman for Apple, Fred Sainz, told US media that the lawsuit was “wrong on the facts and the law” and that Apple would “vigorously defend against it”.

    “The lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets,” Mr Sainz said. “If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple.”

    It marks the third time Apple has been sued by the justice department since 2009, and is the first antitrust challenge against the company under President Joe Biden’s administration.

  • Reddit Share Sale Values The Platform At $6.4B

    Reddit Share Sale Values The Platform At $6.4B

    Reddit has priced its shares at the top of a marketed range, valuing the social media platform at $6.4 billion.

    It has raised $748m as it sells 22 million shares for $34 each, making it one of the biggest initial public offerings (IPO) by a social media firm.

    The shares will start trading on the New York stock exchange on Thursday.

    In an unusual move the company offered some of the shares to the platform’s users, although it has not been disclosed how many took up the offer.

    Reddit was founded almost 20 years ago and has become one of the most popular websites in the world.

    It is an online forum where users can discuss topics that interest them. As of the end of December 2023 it had more than 73 million users, according to the company.

    But the filing brings to the forefront a question that has been bubbling for years behind the scenes – how can a business make money from what is, essentially, random conversations.

    People do not pay to use Reddit – the website is completely free for people to browse, post and comment.

    For 20 years it couldn’t turn a profit, and some might ask why Reddit is worth billions if it has not ever made money.

    It has tried a few things, and a significant visual change in 2017 made the website more friendly to advertisers.

    But it seems Reddit’s road to profitability has an end in sight, built around AI models.

    That is because companies like OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, will pay for data of those random conversations.

    Google is believed to have paid Reddit $60m for the right to scan almost two decades of discussions to make its AI more human-like – and Reddit has said it has agreed licensing deals worth more than $200m over the next two to three years.

    In February, Reddit said it lost $90.8m in 2023, so the money from artificial intelligence (AI) firms could make the platform profitable.

    Inquiries and accusations

    But there are also plenty of concerns on Reddit’s horizon too.

    For one thing, the social media platform is facing increased scrutiny from regulators.

    The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is already looking into how Reddit licences its data for AI models – generally speaking, regulators don’t like it when big technology firms sell data generated by users.

    While the platform may have seen that coming, it may have been blindsided by a challenge from mobile phone firm Nokia, which is accusing it of infringing on its patents.

    “We will evaluate their claims,” Reddit said, adding that it’s faced similar accusations in the past.

    Perhaps most significant of all is that Reddit’s filing with the US financial markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), notes its users as a potential risk that comes with owning shares in the company.

    “If we fail to increase or retain our user base or if user engagement declines, our business… and prospects will be harmed,” it said in the filing.

    “If Redditors do not continue to contribute content or their contributions are not valuable or appealing to other Redditors, we may experience a decline in the number of Redditors accessing our products and services… which could result in the loss of advertisers.”

    Reddit’s user base has been known to react with frustration to changes made on the platform.

    Such is their distaste for changes made in recent years, a search on the platform for chief executive Steve Huffman – username u/spez – shows that when Redditors mention him the comments are usually preceded by foul language.

    Despite growing discontent, threats to leave the platform – such as the blackout that rendered much of Reddit unusable in 2023 – have often proved short-lived.

    And although there have been efforts to create an alternative platform, one of Reddit’s biggest pluses is something it does not have – a significant rival.

    While there may be concerns from Redditors, the social media platform seems to be on relatively safe ground when it ties its stock market value to its users, so long as there is nowhere else for them to go.

    -BBC

  • Crypto Scandal: Kenyan Amongst Binance Executives Detained In Nigeria

    Crypto Scandal: Kenyan Amongst Binance Executives Detained In Nigeria

    When two executives from Binance arrived in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, to meet with the government over the role of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in the country’s foreign exchange crisis, they were carrying only hand luggage, expecting to stay a few days.

    The first meeting on Feb. 26 started off neutral, the second took a hostile turn. The executives were escorted to their hotel, made to pack up their belongings and moved to a guesthouse, where their passports were taken.

    Against the backdrop of their detention, Nigeria is currently grappling with one of its most severe economic downturns in years, sparked by a sharp rise in inflation. The surge in prices is largely attributed to monetary strategies that have significantly devalued the currency. The naira has reached a historic low against the dollar. As a consequence, widespread discontent and demonstrations have erupted throughout the nation.

    In the midst of economic uncertainty, a growing number of Nigerians have embraced cryptocurrency as an alternative financial option. Recent statistics from Chainalysisreveal that Nigeria ranks second globally in crypto adoption, trailing only behind India.

    The exchange rate on Binance and other platforms, which reflect a parallel black market rate, continued to deviate from the official rate, which has been gradually depreciated.

    Nigeria has accused Binance of crashing the nation’s currency through rate manipulation for profit. The country is seeking a US$10 billion penalty from the company for processing $26 billion of untraceable funds in the country, according to reports.

    The two Binance executives who came to meet Nigerian officials remain detained, without being charged with any crimes.

    Both U.S. and U.K. authorities have been alerted of the detainment. Tigran Gambaryan, who lives in the U.S., is Head of Finance Crime Compliance for the Binance Security and Investigations Team. He also worked as a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service for over a decade until September 2021.

    The other executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Regional Manager of Africa, is a dual British-Kenyan citizen.

    On Feb. 28, the executive’s lawyers were told they would be held for two weeks while investigations took place. Both were taken to a medical center on March 4, and Anjarwalla was reportedly feeling unwell, according to family members. He refused to have tests without a foreign representative, fearing the results would be manipulated.

    Anjarwalla and Gambaryan’s next hearing — which was postponed until March 13 — failed to secure their release. While it didn’t explicitly extend the order allowing their detainment, they will remain in jail until an additional hearing on March 20, which gives Nigerian authorities more time to respond to the arguments of the Binance executives’ lawyers.

    Their families anxiously await their return. “I’ve been trying very hard to keep up the hope and stay optimistic,” Elahe Anjarwalla, Nadeem’s wife said while speaking to the media from Nairobi. “But it’s now day 18, it definitely does seem like it’s getting harder.”

    Binance has given few details publicly. “While it is inappropriate for us to comment on the substance of the claims at this time, we can say that we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to bring Nadeem and Tigran back home safely to their families,” a Binance spokesperson told Consortium of journalists in statement. “We trust there will be a swift resolution to this matter.”

    But the Nigerian government doesn’t seem to be backing down. They are now asking Binance for information regarding its top 100 users in the country and transaction history spanning the last six months, according to reports.

    Anjarwalla said she has been chasing the British authorities, and that Wednesday was the first day they had called her “unprompted.”

    For now, Anjarwalla can only wait, and hope that her husband returns home in time for her son’s first birthday next week. “I’m anxiously hoping and praying that Nadeem will make it back in time for that,” she said.

  • Scientists Have Successfully Removed HIV From Infected Cells With New Technology

    Scientists Have Successfully Removed HIV From Infected Cells With New Technology

    Scientists say they have successfully eliminated HIV from infected cells, using Nobel Prize-winning Crispr gene-editing technology.

    Working like scissors, but at the molecular level, it cuts DNA so “bad” bits can be removed or inactivated.

    The hope is to ultimately be able to rid the body entirely of the virus, although much more work is needed to check it would be safe and effective.

    Existing HIV medicines can stop the virus but not eliminate it.

    The University of Amsterdam team, presenting a synopsis, or abstract, of their early findings at a medical conference this week, stress their work remains merely “proof of concept” and will not become a cure for HIV any time soon.

    And Dr James Dixon, stem-cell and gene-therapy technologies associate professor at the University of Nottingham, agrees, saying the full findings still require scrutiny.

    “Much more work will be needed to demonstrate results in these cell assays can happen in an entire body for a future therapy,” he said.

    “There will be much more development needed before this could have impact on those with HIV.”

    ‘Extremely challenging’

    Other scientists are also trying to use Crispr against HIV.

    And Excision BioTherapeutics says after 48 weeks, three volunteers with HIV have no serious side effects.

    But Dr Jonathan Stoye, a virus expert at the Francis Crick Institute, in London, said removing HIV from all the cells that might harbour it in the body was “extremely challenging”.

    “Off-target effects of the treatment, with possible long-term side effects, remain a concern,” he said.

    “It therefore seems likely that many years will elapse before any such Crispr-based therapy becomes routine – even assuming that it can be shown to be effective.”

    HIV infects and attacks immune-system cells, using their own machinery to make copies of itself.

    Even with effective treatment, some go into a resting, or latent, state – so they still contain the DNA, or genetic material, of HIV, even if not actively producing new virus.

    Most people with HIV need life-long antiretroviral therapy. If they stop taking these drugs, the dormant virus can reawaken and cause problems again.

    A rare few have been apparently “cured”, after aggressive cancer therapy wiped out some of their infected cells, but this would never be recommended purely to treat HIV.

    -BBC.

  • Apple, Google In Talks To Bring Gemini AI To iPhones

    Apple, Google In Talks To Bring Gemini AI To iPhones

    Cupertino-based tech giant Apple is in talks with Google to bring Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) engine to iPhones, a Bloomberg report said on Monday.

    According to the report, the iPhone maker recently also had discussions with OpenAI, the developer of the immensely popular ChatGPT, for a possible licensing of their AI model.

    If a deal on Gemini is reached, the two companies’ long-running partnership will deepen even though they will continue to rival each other in the smartphone realm with their Android and iOS operating systems.

    Despite being direct competitors there, Google and Apple have had a mutualistic relationship as the former pays the latter billions of dollars every year to keep Google Search as the default in iPhones’ Safari browsers.

    Being a secretive company, Apple has not so far talked about its own work on AI engines but has clearly fallen behind in the AI race despite massively popularizing it with the release of the iPhone 4S, which came packed with AI-based virtual assistant Siri in late 2011.

    After 13 years, the capabilities of Siri have seen only an incremental increase while Google Assistant has proven to be invaluable for Android users.

    A report by 9To5Mac news website claimed that the Siri code “is now a mess” beyond salvage due to the fact that Apple has kept its original code and only made additions to it after acquiring the namesake app – rather than “actually working on a new version of it.”

    “The result is that the Siri code is now a mess, and what many sources say is that no one at Apple really wants to be the one to change it,” 9To5Mac’s Filipo Esposito said in the report.

  • How To Access Your ‘Daylist’ On Spotify

    How To Access Your ‘Daylist’ On Spotify

    Spotify is aware that your mood and music tastes change throughout the day. 

    Maybe you’re a Bien in the morning, Femi One in the afternoon and Nyashinski on the drive home kind of person. Regardless of how your tastes vary, the ‘daylight’ playlist is meant to cater to your habits.

    What is it? 

    Daylist is a singular playlist that updates and changes throughout the day to accommodate your listening habits. 

    How does it curate the list?

    Well according to Spotify, “daylist updates frequently, bringing together the niche music and microgenres you typically stream at certain times of the day and week. 

    “You’ll get new tracks at every update, plus a new title that sets the mood of your daylist.”

    How do I find it on my account?

    Daylist is available to both Free and Premium users in Kenya and worldwide.

    Simply search ‘daylist’ on devices where Spotify is available to unlock your daylist. 

    It updates multiple times a day, and you can view when your next update will be from the playlist page on mobile.

    How do I save a daylist if I like it?

    If you love a specific daylist playlist, save it and make a copy by tapping the three-dot menu, scrolling down to “Add to playlist,” and then tapping “New playlist.”

     It will be saved in your Library. (A word to the wise: If you don’t save it before the next update on your daylist, it’ll be gone with the wind—so don’t delay.)

  • US House Passes Bill To Ban TikTok

    US House Passes Bill To Ban TikTok

    (Reuters)- The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Wednesday that would give TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the U.S. assets of the short-video app used by about 170 million Americans or face a ban in the greatest threat to the app since the Trump administration.

    The bill passed 352-65, with bipartisan support, but it faces a more uncertain path in the Senate where some favor a different approach to regulating foreign-owned apps posing security concerns. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday the Senate “will review the legislation when it comes over from the House.”

    TikTok’s fate has become a major issue in Washington. Democratic and Republican lawmakers said their offices had received large volumes of calls from teen-age TikTok users who oppose the legislation, with the volume of complaints at times exceeding the number of calls seeking a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

    Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said she wants legislation “that could hold up in court,” and is considering a separate bill but is not sure what her next step is.

    The measure is the latest in a series of moves in Washington to respond to U.S. national security concerns about China, from connected vehicles to advanced artificial intelligence chips to cranes at U.S. ports.

    “This is a critical national security issue. The Senate must take this up and pass it,” No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise said on social media platform X.

    Shortly after passage, a bipartisan pair of senators, Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Marco Rubio, issued a joint statement saying they were encouraged by the bipartisan support for the bill and that they “look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law.”

    The vote comes just over a week since the bill was proposed following one public hearing with little debate, and after action in Congress had stalled for more than a year. Last month, President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok, raising hopes among TikTok officials that legislation was unlikely this year.
    The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week voted 50-0 in favor of the bill, setting it up for a vote before the full House.

    TIKTOK CEO GOES TO WASHINGTON

    TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday on a previously scheduled trip to talk to senators, a source briefed on the matter said.

    “This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban. We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service,” a TikTok spokesperson said after the vote.

    Biden said last week that he would sign the bill.

    White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday the goal was ending Chinese ownership, not banning TikTok.

    “Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China? Do we want the data from TikTok – children’s data, adults’ data – to be going, to be staying here in America or going to China?” he said.

    It is unclear whether China would approve any sale or if TikTok’s U.S. assets could be divested in six months.

    If ByteDance failed to do so, app stores operated by Apple, Alphabet’s, Google and others could not legally offer TikTok or provide web hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications.
    In 2020, then-President Donald Trump sought to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat but was blocked by the courts. In recent days he had raised concerns about a ban. It remains unclear if Tencent’s. WeChat or other high-profile Chinese-owned apps could face a ban under the legislation.

    Any forced TikTok divestment from the U.S. would almost certainly face legal challenges, which the company would need to file within 165 days of the bill being signed by the president. In November, a U.S. judge blocked a Montana state ban on TikTok use after the company sued.

  • How To Add Two WhatsApp Accounts On One Phone

    How To Add Two WhatsApp Accounts On One Phone

    WhatsApp has rolled out the ability to have two different accounts on a single device.

    The Meta-owned platform announced the multiple account feature in October last year for Android users to rid users of the need to have multiple devices for their different accounts.

    To register a second account on WhatsApp, a user needs to have a separate phone number or a device that supports multiple SIM cards.

    Your active account will be the one you are currently logged into, while your idle account is the one you are not currently using.

    WhatsApp says that idle accounts will still get alerts about messages and phone calls. To see the content, one just needs to switch to the account.

    Like the traditional way of customizing profiles, users who have two accounts logged onto a device will have the ability to customize each profile by setting a picture and about text, notification settings, and privacy settings.

    At present, the feature is only available for Android users and supports two accounts.

    CREATING ACCOUNT

    To create a second account, go to Settings, then Account and tap Add Account.

    Confirm that you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then select your country from the drop-down list.

    Enter your phone number in international phone number format and tap Done or Next, then tap OK to receive your 6-digit registration code through SMS or phone call.

    Enter the registration code to complete the registration.

    Set up your new profile, enter your name, and then tap Next. You can also add a profile photo and fill in the About field.

    To switch between accounts, go to more options at the top-right of the home screen, then tap Switch accounts.

    REMOVING ACCOUNT

    To remove an account from your device, go to Settings, then Account and tap Remove account.

    Tap Confirm to confirm you want to remove this account from this device.

    Removing an account only takes it off the device one is currently using and the account’s groups and channels remain unaffected.

    However, one loses any messages or data not backed up.

    WhatsApp says if a user has linked devices, the account will be removed in 14 days.

    To delete an account completely, go to Settings, then Account and select Delete account.

  • Ransomware Attacks In Kenya Increased By 68pc

    Ransomware Attacks In Kenya Increased By 68pc

    Kenya registered 8pc overall decline in cyberthreats last year according the latest analysis by Kaspersky.

    Ransomware attacks increased by 68pc, backdoors by 47pc, exploits by 22pc and phishing by 19pc

    “As the cyber security landscape evolves, cyber threats continue to become diverse and sophisticated,” said Amin Hasbini, Director of META Research Center Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), Kaspersky.

    The firm said Kenya came in second after Turkiye with 39.2pc of users affected by online threats which are caused by vulnerabilities on web pages in emails or web services since Kenya has the highest internet penetration in Africa.

    “This trend is evident due to the emergence of advanced technologies like AI and the escalating geopolitical and economic turbulence within the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa (META) region. These factors collectively contribute to the surge in cybercrime and the heightened complexity of cyber attacks,” he added.

    Kaspersky, through their Cyber Immunity Approach, has created solutions that are impossible to compromise and minimize potential vulnerabilities.

    Victims have been advised to backup data, apply multi-layered security defenses that scan suspicious email attachment and keeping the software up-to-date to minimize entry points of ransomware.

  • International Agencies Halts Infamous LockBit Ransomware Operations

    International Agencies Halts Infamous LockBit Ransomware Operations

    Law-enforcement agencies have infiltrated and disrupted Lockbit, a prolific ransomware syndicate
    behind cyberattacks around the world, Britain’s National Crime Agency said Tuesday.

    The agency said it led an international operation targeting LockBit, which provides ransomware as a service to so-called affiliates who infect victim networks with the computer-crippling malware and negotiate ransoms. The group has been linked to thousands of attacks since 2019.

    Hours before the announcement, the front page of LockBit’s site was replaced with the words “this site is now under control of law enforcement,” alongside the flags of the U.K., the U.S. and several other nations.

    The message said the website was under the control of the U.K.’s National Crime Agency “working in close cooperation with the FBI and the international law enforcement task force, Operation Cronos.”

    It says it is an “ongoing and developing operation” that also involves agencies from Germany, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, among others, including Europol.

    LockBit, which has been operating since 2019, has been the most prolific ransomware syndicate two years running. The group accounted for 23% of the nearly 4,000 attacks globally last year in which ransomware gangs posted data stolen from victims to extort payment, according to the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks.

    A rare offensive cyber-operation for the U.K. crime agency, the operation aimed to steal all of LockBit’s data and then destroy its infrastructure, causing a “significant major degradation” of the cybercrime threat.

    LockBit is dominated by Russian speakers and does not attack former Soviet nations. The syndicate provides clients with the platform and the malware to conduct attacks and collect ransoms.

    ‘The Instagram of ransomware’

    It has been linked to attacks on the U.K.’s Royal Mail, Britain’s National Health Service, airplane manufacturer Boeing, international law firm Allen and Overy and China’s biggest bank, ICBC.

    Last June, U.S. federal agencies released an advisory that attributed about 1,700 ransomware attacks in the United States since 2020 to LockBit and said victims included “municipal governments, county governments, public higher education and K-12 schools, and emergency services.”

    An NCA official called LockBit “the Instagram or Rolls-Royce” of ransomware and said the aim of the operation was to discredit the syndicate and “obliterate their reputation.”

    “Attacking the brand is as important as attacking the infrastructure,” said an NCA official, adding that the goal of the operation was to “sow distrust amongst all the criminal users, shatter their credibility.”

    Ransomware is the costliest and most disruptive form of cybercrime, crippling local governments, court systems, hospitals and schools as well as businesses. It is difficult to combat as most gangs are based in former Soviet states and out of reach of Western justice. Law enforcement agencies have scored some recent successes against ransomware gangs, most notably the FBI’s operation against the Hive syndicate. But the criminals regroup and rebrand.

    Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre has previously warned that ransomware remains one of the biggest cyber threats facing the U.K. and urges people and organisations not to pay ransoms if they are targeted.

    (AP)

  • Lobby Group Delays Tabling Bill To Regulate Cryptocurrency Exchanges In Kenya

    Lobby Group Delays Tabling Bill To Regulate Cryptocurrency Exchanges In Kenya

    The Blockchain Association of Kenya (BAK) has deferred plans to table a draft bill seeking to arrest rising cases of cryptocurrency fraud in the country.

    In a statement on Monday, February 19, the digital asset industry lobby group attributed the decision to postpone the submission of the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) bill to the National Assembly to the need to create room for more engagement with other stakeholders and interested parties.

    BAK was tasked by the Finance and National Planning Committee with drafting a framework to govern the cryptocurrency industry due to the lack of such regualtions, which has led to the mushrooming of dubious cryptocurrency scams defrauding Kenyans their hard-earned money.

    The bill was set to be handed over to the committee on February 14, 2023.

    However, BAK stated that the growing interest from new stakeholders, such as government agencies and others affected by elements of the bill, led the association to extend the feedback period.

    “The association held a stakeholder breakfast at the Sankara hotel on the [February] 16th where the Executive Board announced that it will extend the feedback period to a later date in future,” BAK stated.

    The lobby group is now urging stakeholders to review and give input on the bill before its submission to the August House.

    “The Blockchain Association of Kenya hopes to submit the bill to parliament as soon as it is ready in order to help protect Kenyans and attract legitimate cryptocurrency businesses into the country. In the meantime, the lobby group invites its community, interested stakeholders such as government agencies, international development organizations and private sector to participate in its upcoming forums and workshops for education and awareness on the impact of the bill,” BAK stated.

    Speaking at the breakfast meeting, the Chairman of the Board Michael Kimani said, “The Virtual Asset Service Provider bill is a significant milestone towards curbing the rampant cryptocurrency-related scams that thrive and continue to defraud Kenyans of millions of shillings because of the lack of frameworks to protect the public.”

    Cases of Kenyans losing their hard-earned cash to unscrupulous crypto operators have been on the rise in recent years.

    Last week, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) stated that detectives were investigating numerous cases of Kenyans being lured into joining online cryptocurrency investment platforms, only to end up losing their investments to fraudsters.

    The agency called on Kenyans to exercise caution while dealing with suspicious investment schemes.

  • Four Involved In GHash Crypto Mining Scam

    Four Involved In GHash Crypto Mining Scam

    Four suspects involved in GHash mining a crypto scam have been arrested in Kiambu.

    According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), 1,336 sim cards including 1,235 Safaricom lines, 80 Airtel lines as well as 21 Telcom lines were recovered from the suspects.

    The investigative agency further stated that detectives recovered eight mobile phones, a tablet and a laptop believed to be used by the scammers.

    Police stated that they are still in pursuit of more suspects believed to be accomplices of the four arrested individuals.

    “More suspects are being sought as the four pend arraignment on Monday,” posted DCI on its X account.

    The country has witnessed an upsurge in crypto mining over the last years who lure many unsuspecting youths to invest their money on the premise with a promise of high returns of upto 300 percent.

    Suspects arrested.

    How GHash crypto mining scam is done

    Investors are required to deposit funds into their accounts in a bid to optimize the process.

    Scammers’ demands for account recharges in order to allow investors to make withdrawals or receive a 345 percent return on investment.

    Many comply and replenish their accounts as asked, not thinking there’s been any ill-play.

    The scammers then disappear from the internet without warning, and victims are cut off from communication with them.

    A victim of GHash scam shares his story.