TechCabal Daily – Angola’s apex bank escapes hack

In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy salary week Our sister company, Zikoko, is hiring some content creators. So if you’re a wizard at creating vox pop content but hate being called a TikToker, here’s your chance to make magic happen. Apply here. In today’s edition Angola’s apex bank escapes hack Kenya warns Airtel and Telkom Telecom Egypt to launch 5G in three months Nigeria to hold first rate meeting in February What’s the average African startup to unicorn time? The World Wide Web3 Events Cybersecurity Angola’s central bank escapes hack GIF Source: GIPHY Last week, Angola’s apex bank revealed that it escaped an attempted hack on January 6, 2024.  The news: Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA) says there’s nothing to worry about. Per its statement, the bank’s security systems caught the cyber threat quickly and prevented any major damage to its computers or data. They were able to keep their online services running safely and efficiently, although maybe a bit slower than usual. It’s more common than you think: While cyberattacks on commercial banks and fintechs raise eyebrows, silent alarms are often ringing at central banks across Africa. The governor of the BNA José de Lima Massano, in May 2023, said that the apex bank records about 350 attempts per day. In December 2022, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) was, ironically, alerted by the FBI to a breach it still denies to this day. Months before the SARB hack, the Bank of Zambia had fallen victim to a hacker collective called Hive which had ransom demands. That same year, the Bank of Gambia suffered two separate cyberattacks. More recently, in December 2023, the Central Bank of Lesotho suffered an attack that crashed inter-bank transactions in the country. ‍  African governments take action: In the face of rising cyber threats, 33 African nations, including heavyweights like Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt, have taken the first step by enacting cybersecurity legislation. The bad news is that this may be one of those things where the tech is two steps ahead of the legislation. A 2018 hack on Bangladesh’s apex bank account left regulators and operators dumbfounded. The hackers made away with $81 million using SWIFT, the financial service used by over 11,000 institutions globally. Since then, no major legislation has been made to prevent another hack, but the IMF suggests that international cooperation is key to stopping these hacks.  Access payments with Moniepoint Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Open an account today here. Telecoms Kenya warns Airtel and Telkom over poor service Image source: Zikoko Memes Kenya’s phone regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), has slapped Airtel and Telkom Kenya with warning notices and fines for failing to meet quality of service (QoS) standards. This action by the regulator indicates that customers on these networks have likely faced issues like dropped calls, slow internet speeds, and inconsistent coverage across various regions. Side bar: The CA regularly tests mobile networks against benchmarks for call success rate, internet speed, and coverage. To be considered compliant, networks must score at least 80% on these key performance indicators (KPIs). In the latest report covering June 2023, Safaricom, the market leader, exceeded expectations with 90%, but Airtel and Telkom significantly missed the mark with 79% and 65%, respectively. This reflects a broader trend of declining service quality in the Kenyan telecoms industry, with the average score dropping from 82.3% in 2022 to 72.4% in 2023. Why it matters: Poor mobile network quality directly impacts people’s lives—just consider the numerous times you’ve found yourself asking “Can you hear me?” this year. Dropped calls can disrupt business; slow internet hinders productivity and access to information; and inadequate coverage leaves people unconnected in rural areas. Are penalties working? Between 2015 and 2021, Airtel coughed up KES85.9 million ($540,000) as a bitter reminder of its QoS shortcomings. Telkom has also forked over KES59.3 million ($373,000) in penalties for its bad behaviour coverage. In fact, CA has fined Kenyan telecoms over KES500 million ($3.1 million) in the past five years for poor coverage, but the telecoms keep disappointing their 86 million mobile subscribers. This raises questions about whether the current penalty structure is strong enough to incentivise lasting change. Secure payment gateway for your business Fincra payment gateway enables you to easily collect Naira payments as a business; you can collect payments in minutes through cards, bank transfers and PayAttitude. Create a free account and start collecting NGN payments with Fincra. Telecoms Telecom Egypt to test 5G within three months Mohamed Nasr, MD and CEO of Telecoms Egypt. Source: Telecoms Egypt Talk about a quick turnaround time. Egypt’s government-owned telecom has announced that citizens can expect 5G this year. The news: Telecom Egypt (TE) has begun testing 5G services in five locations across the country, aiming for a full rollout later in 2024. This follows the company’s recent acquisition of Egypt’s first 5G licence for $150 million last Wednesday. In an interview with Asharq Business, the company said the tests will span three months, followed by a nationwide rollout. Mo’ spectrum, mo’ subscribers: 5G has the potential to be a significant revenue stream for TE, attracting new customers for its 13 million subscriber base and boosting its bottom line. TE trails behind Vodacom and Orange which have 46 million subscribers and 28 million subscribers respectively, and it thinks 5G will bring more Egyptians to its table. CEO Mohamed Nasr expects the financial impact to be evident by the end of 2024. Already the telecom saw a 48% net profit in 2023, and more subscribers means even better margins, especially with the $150 million hole in its pockets. Will it though? Out of Egypt’s 97.5 million devices, only 8%, or about 7.8 million, are 5G-enabled, as admitted by Nasr earlier this month. While Nasr expects that the numbers will increase in the coming months, it’s unlikely that