Cyber Security Today, Feb. 9, 2024 – A record US$1 billion paid to ransomware gangs last year, and more
A record US$1 billion paid to ransomware gangs last year, and more. Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Friday, February 9th, 2024. I’m Howard Solomon, contributing reporter on cybersecurity for ITWorldCanada.com and TechNewsday.com in the U.S. Organizations paid out more than $1 billion to ransomware gangs last year. That’s according
Read moreAfrica-focused funds find their feet amid a downturn
In the midst of a funding downtime last year, and with conditions getting tougher for fund managers raising capital as backers (limited partners) enhanced their focus on strategy and track record, some new African and Africa-focused funds still emerged, with several of the existing ones receiving fresh backing. Among the
Read moreCybersecurity Conversations: Ensuring Child Safety
Discussions on children’s online safety have gained prominence recently. Last week, US Senate Judiciary Committee questioned CEOs about social media’s impact on children. Concerns about online safety persist, raising questions about adequate protective measures. Taking proactive steps to educate kids about cybersecurity and online safety is crucial. Shielding kids from
Read morePinterest announces a new ad deal with Google as it approaches 500M MAUs
Pinterest announced a new ad deal with Google as the company aims to ramp up its ad revenue. Google is the social platform’s second third-party ad partner after Amazon signed a multiyear deal with Pinterest last year. The company talked about the Google partnership during the earnings call for Q4
Read moreMido Cyber Academy’s 2023 Cohort Celebrates Graduation
On Feb 3, 2023, Mido Cyber Academy’s 2023 cohort celebrated graduation with parents, sponsors, and supporters. In 2023, The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), in partnership with KnowBe4 Africa and MiDO Technologies, established the MiDO Cybersecurity Academy, aiming at underserved communities within the Western Cape. “The FCDO is
Read moreAdvancing Safety: Motorola Solutions Teams Up with Google Cloud
Motorola Solutions and Google Cloud have announced a strategic, multi-year agreement aimed at innovating cloud solutions across Motorola Solutions’ safety and security technologies. Leveraging Google Cloud’s infrastructure, Motorola Solutions will prioritize the advancement of assistive intelligence, including highly accurate and reliable video content delivery, mapping, and AI capabilities to address
Read moreBootstrapped for 8 years, Xensam has now snapped up $40M for AI that manages software assets
Software asset management — an area of enterprise IT designed, in part, to help companies save money — continues to draw a lot of money itself. In the latest development, Xensam — a startup out of Stockholm that provides AI-based tools to help businesses understand and track where and how
Read moreIndian parliamentary panel red-flags PhonePe and Google Pay cornering 83% of India’s UPI payments
An Indian parliamentary panel has urged the government to support the growth of domestic fintech players that can provide alternatives to the Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google Pay apps that currently command more than 83% of the country’s fast-growing digital payments market. The 58-page report, which includes a series of recommendations,
Read moreHere are the fintech startups that could go public in 2024
Could 2024 be the year for fintech IPOs? Quite possibly, according to F-Prime Capital’s State of Fintech 2024 report. F-Prime — a VC firm with over $4.5 billion in assets under management that tracks the performance of emerging, publicly traded and privately held financial technology companies — naturally remains bullish on
Read moreCodeSignal launches a learning platform with an AI-powered guide
Technical assessment company CodeSignal, which counts Index Ventures and Menlo Ventures as backers, is launching a learning platform called CodeSignal Learn. The new platform, aimed at audiences wanting to learn technical subjects, also has an AI-powered bot called Cosmo, which helps users with learning. The company said that there are
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