Author: Staff Writer

Not only is cybercrime bad for business, but employees also pay the price. Researchers have identified a correlation between the spectre of cybercrime and employee health and wellbeing. Stress, fear, and uncertainty are leading to poor health, such as burnout, hypertension, strokes, and posttraumatic stress disorder and these concerns deserve attention. This situation is not limited to security teams, even though they are under the greatest pressure. Cybersecurity responsibilities, disappointment when failing to prevent an attack, and the general uncertainty around cyber risks affect all employees across organisations. “Security teams are under tremendous pressure,” says Gerhard Swart, Chief Technology Officer…

Ogilvy South Africa and Audi teamed up to launch an exciting new campaign that introduces a new line of special edition models, tailor-made for the South African consumer market. This innovative campaign spotlights the premium and luxury features of the new Audi models – the Urban Edition and the Black Edition; blending style, sophistication, and advanced automotive technology seamlessly. The AI-led project aims to capture consumer interest prior to the vehicles arrival in South Africa, solving the business challenge of not having the vehicles physically in market during production. “I’m very excited and proud of our collaboration with Ogilvy. This…

All eyes will be on the High Court in Pretoria this morning, Monday (25 March 2024), where National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will be fighting to prevent her arrest for allegedly accepting bribes from a contractor when she was Defence Minister. The Speaker’s highly publicised “imminent arrest” for allegedly accepting kickbacks of over R2 million rand from a contractor was initially reported to take place on Friday, (22 March 2024). Mapisa-Nqakula, who denies the allegations and has taken special leave to deal with them, filed an urgent interdict to prevent her arrest. At the weekend, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson…

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has suggested a substantial reduction in mobile call termination rates. These rates, which are the fees operators levy on each other for transmitting calls across their networks, could be cut by over fifty percent by the coming year. has today published for public comment draft amendments to the Call Termination Regulations, of 2014 and 2018. These draft amendments mark the penultimate step in a process that began with the Authority’s 2021 decision to review the existing call termination rates. The central feature of the draft regulations sees a substantial reduction in wholesale…

Water, Tyla’s global hit single opened the floodgates for her career, leading to a viral dance challenge, almost 500 million streams on Spotify (so far), and a Grammy win. Now, her self-titled debut album, Tyla is out. The 14-track album which she first teased in November by releasing three songs, is already a fan favorite. Truth or Dare, the soulful R&B release with a touch of Amapiano -Tyla’s signature, has taken the spot as her second most streamed song on Spotify, just four months after its release. Butterflies and On and On are also coming in hot, with both songs…

Former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste is dead. Just a day after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) slapped him with a hefty R475 million administrative fine, the former CEO of Steinhoff was found dead. The 63-year-old disgraced businessman was said to have shot himself on Human Rights Day, Thursday (21 March 2024). The SABC reported that the unexpected tragedy occurred at night. The FSCA had earlier indicated the Special Investigative Unit was probing Jooste. The businessman was accused of misrepresenting Steinhoff’s financial statements published between 2014 and 2017. On Wednesday the FSCA said: “Jooste and Dirk Schreiber made or published…

Mail & Guardian has reported today that Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the speaker of the National Assembly, is anticipated to face charges of corruption and money laundering exceeding R4 million following her imminent arrest, scheduled for Friday. According to Mail & Guardian, multiple senior investigators and a government official have disclosed that during her nine-year tenure as the defence and military veterans minister, Mapisa-Nqakula purportedly sought and received “gratification” from a businessman. Sources intimately connected to the investigation revealed that plans for the speaker’s apprehension were set into motion approximately three weeks ago, coinciding with her participation in the 2024 Women Speakers’…

Comsol, a provider of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) last mile connectivity and Private Networks in South Africa, has launched a 5G FWA network to meet the need for business-class broadband for SMEs, and a cost-effective, reliable redundancy option for enterprises. Iain Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer at Comsol, says its new 5G FWA offering complements Comsol’s existing FWA portfolio of broadband products. “Our wholesale partners and market trends indicated that there was a significant gap in the market for a low cost reliable, business-class broadband. Building on nearly 30 years of experience focusing exclusively on business connectivity, we have spent the…

The Hawks, representing the NPA’s Investigative Directorate, conducted an early morning raid on parliamentary speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s Johannesburg home on Tuesday, according to a report in Business Day. Allegations suggest she received and solicited over R2.3m from a former military contractor during her time as defence minister. Mapisa-Nqakula was reportedly present during the raid at her residence on Adolph Goertz Street, Bruma. The operation concluded around 11 am with the seizure of certain items. The speaker had returned from official visits to Paris and New York last week. The allegations were first published by the Sunday Times regarding the purported…

The latest PWC insight shows that a large number of CEOs have embraced the efficiencies that generative AI can bring to their business, with 51% of respondents saying they had already integrated AI into business operations. However, software development specialist, Global Kinetic, has warned that IT leaders should still exercise some caution, especially as global regulators move towards consensus. The latest 27th PWC Annual Global CEO survey shows that 70% of the 4702 respondents expect generative AI (genAI) to significantly change the way their company creates value over the next three years. However, their enthusiasm was tempered in the longer…