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Digital Planet: Africa’s first cyber-security declaration

Factual: Science & Nature

Africa-4CROP.jpg

12/04/2022 GMT

Africa’s first cyber-security declaration

BBC World Service - Digital Planet, Africa’s first cyber-security declaration

Twenty-nine nations sign Africa’s first cybersecurity declaration

Africa’s first cybersecurity declaration.  Also, researchers get Alexa to hack itself, plus a new AR Notre Dame exhibition of Paris.

As African connectivity improves, so does the spread of cybercrime across the continent.  The first ever African cybersecurity conference was held in Togo recently and resulted in twenty nine nations signing the Lomé declaration, a policy that commits to establish a legal and regulatory framework across Africa to improve cybersecurity. Sasha Gankin was at the conference and has sent us a report which highlights the different types of cybercrime that are the biggest threat to businesses, governments and individuals in Africa today and how countries are trying to protect themselves. We discuss if this declaration will really make the online environment safer.

Alexa vs Alexa
Cybersecurity researchers have been able to get Alexa to hack itself. They managed to do this in a number of ways, half of which have already been patched by Amazon, but the ability to connect to someone’s device via Bluetooth to issue malicious commands, e.g. setting off alarms in the middle of the night or cancelling appointments in calendars, still exists. Sergio Esposito from Royal Holloway, University of London, explains why they exposed these vulnerabilities and we discuss what can be done to protect your devices.

New Notre-Dame AR experience
Three years after the devastating Notre-Dame fire the cathedral remains shut but now a new AR experience has been launched to allow the public to explore the cathedrals’ 850 year history.  Visitors can watch a reconstruction of the coronation of  Napoleon in 1804 or stand alongside the Paris fire brigade as they tried to get the Great Fire under control.  Hannah Fisher has been to the exhibition in Paris and armed with a HistoPad has experienced the 360° 3D reconstructions of parts of the cathedral that no longer exist.  The exhibition is due to visit 12 capital cities around the world by 2024.



The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Angelica Mari.

Studio Manager: 
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz

(Image: Cyber security in Africa map. Credit: Getty Images)

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