TechCabal Daily - Massive data breach in Uganda hits three big tech companies

A data breach in Uganda has affected some of the country’s biggest firms.

How did that happen?

Unidentified hackers gained access to the system of Pegasus technologies. The company’s flagship product, PegPay payments platform, is used by banks and telcos for “financial and billing solutions.”

What did the hackers make away with? Some reports say up to $200,000 from Airtel money alone.

Other companies affected by the hack are MTN Uganada and Stanbic
Bank. As a result of the hack, all financial transactions that go through Pegasus have been suspended.

How is Pegasus attempting to explain this away? “Sadly I can’t comment on that. I can’t speak about it. [Those affected] should be able to tell you whether it is Pegasus or not.” – Ronald Azairwe, MD, Pegasus technologies.

My verdict: pretty transparent.

Makes you wonder why that report claimed data breaches in Africa are under-reported or unsolved.

After a long break caused by Coronavirus, kids in Nigeria are preparing to go back to school.

Concerns over the safety of kids in school environment are global. How do schools plan to enforce safety standards at all times when it’s a hassle to get adults to even wear masks in public?

It’s one of the questions Kay Uguwede asks in this article. Yet she says there are other concerns.

One such concern is that kids who had no access to edtech or digital tools during the break may find themselves behind on school work. How are schools thinking about remedial assistance for such kids?

Yet, even when schools answer some of these questions, Kay tells me a number of parents are not sending their kids back just yet.

If you have kids, are you letting them go back to school or holding off on that decision until the end of the year?

You can tell me all about your thinking in an email: muyiwa@bigcabal.com

If it looks like CashApp and talks like CashApp, it may actually be a Nigerian app called Abeg

In Nigeria, abeg is the most popular way to ask for handout or a dash. A group of developers have now taken that idea to build an app.

The abeg app lets you ask for and receive money from anyone on your contact list. Although its a pretty simple proposition, the company’s CTO told Alex that, “Abeg’s goal is to sell payment experiences not features.”

While I had to squint at that sentence just a
little, Alex goes all in on some of the ways he thinks the company can find more users in this article.

WHERE ARE YOU READING THIS?

Last week, we wanted to know some of the people who read this newsletter.

So we asked you to tell us where you are when this newsletter drops in your inbox.

We got some interesting answers and we’ll share some of them over the week.

Here is Tami from Nigeria:

I read TechCabal’s Daily newsletters while doing my chores😭😭😭

It’s one way to take my mind off the backache i get from bending to sweep. But other than a diversion, i really enjoy reading the then.

Thanks for the letters. You guys rock.