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Ericsson, Facebook Expanding Internet.org Reach With Innovation Lab

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Mark Zuckerberg, founder, Facebook
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Ericsson and Facebook on Friday announced the creation of a joint innovation lab supporting the Internet.org initiative.

The Internet.org Innovation Lab, an Ericsson-Facebook collaboration, will provide an environment and expertise for optimizing applications, networks, devices and services for the next five billion Internet users.

Expected to open in the second half of 2014 on Facebook’s campus in Menlo Park, California, the new lab will tackle the most critical aspects of the Internet.org goal to make Internet access available to all.

Based on Ericsson Device and Application Verification service capabilities and the company’s technology leadership in mobile networks, Ericsson will provide Facebook and application developers the ability to simulate different network environments from around the world.

This will allow them to develop and test mobile applications and services.

“With this lab, developers will be able to simulate network conditions typically found in new markets, giving them an environment to test and optimize their applications under a number of different scenarios,” said Jay Parikh, vice president of Infrastructure Engineering at Facebook. “This is a unique capability that Ericsson brings to the table and we are happy they have taken a leadership position with us in this initiative.”

The lab will help remove one of the key physical barriers that exist for bringing the Internet to everyone. Developers today typically only have access to the network environment of their physical location.  With consumers today operating in different network environments (2G, 3G, 4G, WiFi) on multiple mobile operating systems and a wide range of devices, the complexity involved for developers can be overwhelming. The joint innovation lab will facilitate multiple network environments for testing and optimization, all in one location.

Announced in August 2013, Internet.org was formed with the goal to make Internet access available to the two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected, and to bring the same opportunities to everyone that the connected third of the world has today.

Ericsson also has a more than 100 year history of working with bridging the digital divide and Technology for Good in Africa, and this experience will greatly contribute to the goals of Internet.org. This includes making Internet access affordable, using data more efficiently and helping businesses drive access.

“The goals of internet.org are very much aligned with our long-standing ideal that communications is a basic human need,” said Johan Wibergh, executive vice president and Ericsson’s Head of Business Unit Networks. “The creation of the lab will provide a unique environment for testing and ultimately optimizing applications regardless of network, device or operating system. The collaboration with app developers will provide Ericsson with invaluable understanding of their requirements on our networks, which we can apply to ensure the continued development of the best performing networks globally.”

Ericsson Device and Application Verification services is an integral part of Ericsson’s vision for the Networked Society in which the number of connected devices will increase, providing new services for people in all walks of life.

It will become increasingly important for application developers, vendors and operators to stay competitive and deliver high-quality services and a positive network experience.

The service, announced at Mobile World Congress 2013, enables application developers, device and chipset vendors, as well as other players in the ecosystem of mobile and fixed telecom services, the ability to test and verify the devices and applications in wireline, mobile 2G, 3G and LTE networks.


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Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

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Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


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NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


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NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

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National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.

The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.

In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.

“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.

Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.

“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.

He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework.  He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.

According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.

Earlier in her opening remarks,  Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.

Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.

“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”


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