Briefing Desk
Latest Briefings
Concise reporting on the developments shaping internet governance and infrastructure. Browse each area for recent news, context and watchpoints.
What is network protocol?
A network protocol is a standardized set of rules and conventions that dictate how data is transmitted, received, and interpreted across devices in a network. These protocols ensure seamless communication between devices, regardless of their underlying hardware or software. Without network protocols…
WhiteBIT unveils Visa debit card for crypto payments
What happened: WhiteBIT’s crypto-friendly Visa debit card launch WhiteBIT, a leading European cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a strategic partnership with Visa to introduce the WhiteBIT Nova debit card, which is designed to facilitate crypto transactions with cashback benefits for all users .…
Beware: Telegram verification bots could steal your crypto
What happened: Telegram verification bots unleash chaos on crypto wallets Scammers are combining social engineering with phony Telegram verification bots that inject crypto-stealing malware into systems to raid crypto wallets, blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer said. In a Decemeber 10 X post, the…
Roger Ver: Tax evasion case or crypto suppression?
What happened: Roger Ver accuses US of targeting Bitcoin beliefs Roger Ver, widely known as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his early promotion of cryptocurrency, is contesting charges made against him by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Ver, who renounced his US citizenship in 2014, was arrested …
What is a network layer protocol?
A network layer protocol is a set of rules that governs the transmission of data packets across networks. As part of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model, the network layer plays a pivotal role in routing, addressing, and delivering data from one device to another across interconnected netwo…
BGP hijack on Fastly highlights improved internet resilience
What happened A recent BGP hijack targeting Fastly, a major Internet services provider, barely caused a ripple, marking a stark contrast to similar incidents in the past. The attack, reminiscent of a 2008 event involving a misconfigured route from Pakistan that caused a global outage for a video-sha…
WBA report reveals surge in OpenRoaming plans
What happened: WBA report shows surge in OpenRoaming adoption The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) survey indicates a significant rise in OpenRoaming adoption, with 81% of Wi-Fi executives planning deployments by 2025/2026, marking an 18.9% increase from 2024. Currently, 25% are in the rollout phas…
Scalapay partners with Trustfull to prevent fraud in BNPL
What happened: Scalapay secures BNPL with new fraud prevention partnership Scalapay, a Milan-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, has joined forces with Trustfull, an identity intelligence platform, to address fraud risks in the growing European BNPL market. This collaboration aims to enhance s…
AFRINIC IPv6 allocations: Is African internet finally stabilising?
What happened AFRINIC has expanded its IPv6 address allocations across the continent, in an attempt to create a more reliable and scalable internet infrastructure. As of November 2024, AFRINIC holds over 1 million /32 blocks of available IPv6 address space, distributed to network operators and servi…
ARIN makes second contribution to IETF Endowment
What happened The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) has announced its second contribution of $1 million to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Endowment. This contribution demonstrates the steadfast commitment of the ARIN community to the Internet protocols and the related work of…
Klarna hit with $50M fine for anti-money laundering violations
What happened: Klarna’s AML violations result in fine Klarna, a prominent buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm, has been fined $50 million by Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) for violations of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The regulator’s investigation, conducted between April 2021…
Nvidia expands workforce in China for autonomous driving technology
What happened: Nvidia increases China workforce for autonomous driving tech Nvidia has expanded its workforce in China by approximately 200 this year, aiming to bolster its research capabilities and delve deeper into autonomous driving technologies. Over recent years, the artificial intelligence chi…
Deutsche Telekom launches Teuken-7B model for data sovereignty
What happened: Deutsche Telekom introduces Teuken-7B model Deutsche Telekom (DT) offers Teuken-7B, a large language model (LLM), to enterprise and government customers seeking data sovereignty in AI workloads. This move aims to attract those concerned about data security with international cloud pro…
Nokia and SK Broadband boost quantum cybersecurity for Korea
What happened: Nokia and SK Broadband secure KHNP network Nokia and SK Broadband have teamed up to create a quantum-secure network for Korea Hydro and Nuclear Plant (KHNP), boosting its cyber defences. The project, completed in August 2024, shields KHNP’s IP/MPLS network from current and future thre…
Ayan Capital secures $3.6M to expand Islamic fintech in the UK
What happened: Islamic finance gets a tech push as Ayan Capital raises $3.6M London-based Islamic FinTech company Ayan Capital has successfully raised $3.6 million (£2.8 million) in equity funding, marking a significant step in its mission to offer ethical and sustainable financial solutions. The fu…
Top tech news today: December 12, 2024
1. Indonesian telcos merge to create XLsmart Two major Indonesian telecom firms have finalized a $6.5 billion merger, forming XLsmart to streamline operations and enhance competitiveness. Telecoms Tyro launches embedded payments to simplify transactions 2. Nokia secures networking deal wi…
Santander partners with CloudPay to offer earned wage access
Santander and CloudPay team up to provide real-time earned wage access for SME employees.
Neuraspace boosts tracking precision with new optical telescope
What happened: Neuraspace adds new telescope in Chile Space debris tracking specialist Neuraspace has added a new optical telescope in Chile to enhance satellite tracking capabilities in the Southern Hemisphere. This telescope, resembling an observatory on top of a container, complements an existing…
AMD’s secure VM tech threatened by unforeseen DRAM problems
What happened: BadRAM attack targets AMD’s SEV technology Researchers have discovered that AMD‘s Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology can be compromised using a simple $10 hardware setup. This vulnerability, known as the BadRAM attack, allows attackers to bypass memory access restriction…
USDT approved as virtual asset in Abu Dhabi
What happened: USDT gets green light in Abu Dhabi markets On Dec. 10, Tether announced that its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDT, received approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to operate within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This milestone allows FSRA-regulated en…
Microsoft shareholders reject Bitcoin reserve proposal
What happened: Microsoft shareholders vote ‘no’ on Bitcoin reserve Microsoft shareholders decisively rejected a resolution proposed by the National Centre for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) to invest 1-5% of the company’s profits into Bitcoin reserves. The proposal, presented during Microsoft’s annu…
El Salvador and Argentina collaborate to grow crypto industry
El Salvador and Argentina sign a historic agreement to foster crypto industry growth.
What is the ‘crypto industry’?
The cryptocurrency industry, which combines digital currencies and blockchain technology, has evolved significantly in recent years. With its rapid expansion, it has raised both excitement and concern. This article explores what the crypto industry is, its main components, and the opportunities and …
Tejas Networks boosts Vodafone Idea’s 4G and 5G backhaul
What happened: Tejas Networks enhances Vodafone Idea’s backhaul for improved 5G infrastructure Tejas Networks has partnered with Vodafone Idea to upgrade and expand its 4G and 5G backhaul infrastructure. This collaboration will see Tejas Networks implement its advanced networking technology to enhan…
Google’s quantum chip Willow redefines computation
What happened: Revolutionising tasks beyond classical capabilities with unprecedented speed Google has unveiled its next-generation quantum chip, Willow, marking a groundbreaking leap in quantum computing. This 105-qubit chip reduces errors exponentially and performs calculations exponentially faste…
Syria’s internet unstable during rebel offensive
What happened: Syrian rebels topple Assad as internet disruptions continue Recent developments in Syria have culminated in a significant shift of power. Syrian rebels have effectively toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime through a rapid and surprising offensive, marking the end of Assad’s rule, which ha…
Sparkle and INGV collaborate on subsea cable research
What happened: Sparkle and INGV’s pioneering subsea cable collaboration Sparkle, in partnership with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the potential of using subsea fiber optic cables for seismic event detection. This col…
Chainlink partners with Coinbase on tokenized assets platform
What happened: Chainlink-Coinbase integration for enhanced asset management Blockchain oracle network Chainlink has announced its integration with Coinbase‘s Project Diamond, the digital asset platform designed for global institutions. This collaboration will enable the full lifecycle management of …
Arelion powers up with new data centre in Rome
What happened: Arelion plans new data centre in Rome Aruba S.p.A and Arelion announced on Monday(December 9) that they are plans to activate a new Point-of-Presence (PoP) at Aruba’s Hyper Cloud Data Center (IT4) in Rome. Arelion’s new PoP, planned to go live in Q1 2025, will offer high-capacity IP …
Tyro launches embedded payments to simplify transactions
What happened: Tyro unveils embedded payments Tyro, a pioneer in Australia’s financial technology landscape, has unveiled its embedded payments solution, aiming to streamline how merchants accept tap-to-pay transactions. By integrating Tyro’s software development kit (SDK) into existing iOS and Andr…
Top tech news today: December 11, 2024
Tech News Summaries 1. Tyro streamlines payments with embedded solutions Australian fintech Tyro introduces an embedded payment solution, reducing costs and increasing accessibility for businesses and consumers. Fyntra and Spectral Capital join forces to la…
ITU WRS-24 seminar highlights updated radio spectrum regulations
ITU’s WRS-24 seminar updates radio spectrum regulations.
Nvidia under fire: Anti-monopoly probe heats up in China
What happened: China launches anti-monopoly probe into Nvidia China said on Monday (December 9) it has launched an investigation into Nvidia over suspected violations of the country’s anti-monopoly law, a probe widely seen as a retaliatory shot against Washington’s latest curbs on the Chinese chip s…
Ciena and Aqua Comms achieve data speed breakthrough
What happened: Ciena and Aqua Comms shatter limits with 1.3 Tb/s Aqua Comms and Ciena announced the first 1.3 Tb/s wavelength transmission across 5,500 km of the Atlantic Ocean on December 9. This technical milestone was achieved using Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e), the industry’s first fully p…
IBM unveils optical module to speed up AI training in data centres
What happened: IBM researchers introduce new optical module IBM researchers have unveiled a new co-packaged optical (CPO) module that could revolutionise AI training by enabling fibre optic-level speeds in data centres. The module uses polymer optical waveguide (PWG) technology to provide high-speed…
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin gets approval XRP rallies 10%
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin gains NYDFS approval, boosting XRP by 10%.
DeFi TVL surges near 2021 highs
What happened: Liquid restaking and Bitcoin L2s drive DeFi’s 150% growth DeFi’s total value locked (TVL) has soared to $134 billion as of Dec. 9, a 150% rise year-to-date, approaching its $170 billion peak from 2021. This growth is attributed to the adoption of liquid restaking tokens (LRTs), protoc…
Needham raises Coinbase price target to $420 on altcoin surge
Needham raises Coinbase’s price target to $420 amid record altcoin trading volumes.
Crooks exploit AWS misconfigurations to steal data
What happened: ShinyHunters-linked crooks store stolen AWS credentials and secrets in open S3 buckets A large-scale cyber attack targeted AWS customers, where cybercriminals exploited misconfigurations in public websites to steal AWS credentials and other sensitive data. The attackers, linked to the…
Orange and La Poste repurpose Olympic gear for rural connectivity
What happened: Orange and La Poste extend Olympic infrastructure Orange and La Poste have repurposed the network equipment originally deployed for the Paris 2024 Olympics, ensuring that it continues to provide value beyond the event. The two companies had set up additional infrastructure to support …
Ibanera unveils prepaid card programme with FIS partnership
What happened: Ibanera’s new prepaid card programme Ibanera, a leading digital banking platform, has announced a strategic partnership with global financial services provider FIS to launch a comprehensive prepaid card program. This collaboration is designed to deliver advanced payment solutions tail…
Bectran partners with Mastercard to fortify fraud prevention
What happened: Bectran-Mastercard fraud prevention alliance Bectran, Inc., a leading credit, collections, and accounts receivable platform, has joined forces with Mastercard to combat business identity theft and fraud in B2B credit operations. The partnership focuses on leveraging Ekata by Mastercar…
Meme coin mania: Bitcoin’s DOG hits new heights
What happened: DOG soars to record high, meme coins explode DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON (DOG), a Bitcoin-based meme coin, reached a new all-time high price of $0.0096 late on Sunday( December 8), with its market cap soaring to $966 million. The token, launched in April as part of the Runes protocol by Leonid…
YMTC denies back-door listing amid chip stock frenzy
What happened: Chipmaker YMTC denies reports Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), China’s top memory chipmaker, recently denied reports it was seeking a back-door listing to capitalise on the stock frenzy. The company, aiming to rival global leaders like Samsung and SK Hynix, said it had “no int…
OpenWrt urges users to upgrade after security flaws found
What happened: OpenWrt security flaws OpenWrt users are advised to upgrade their firmware images to the same version after a security issue was reported last week. The vulnerability, discovered in the project’s attended sysupgrade server (ASU), could potentially allow attackers to inject malicious f…
Google files lawsuit over CFPB regulatory supervision
What happened: Google Pay supervision sparks legal battle Google files lawsuit against the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), contesting its plans to supervise Google Payment Corp., the arm of the company responsible for its payment services. The CFPB aims to investigate Google’s practi…
Core DAO highlights bitcoin DeFi at Bitcoin MENA
What happened: Bitcoin MENA 2024: Core DAO promotes security-first DeFi innovation. At Bitcoin MENA 2024 in Abu Dhabi, Core DAO’s Adam Bendjemil shared insights into Bitcoin-based DeFi (BTCFi) and its role in advancing blockchain security. Core DAO, a layer-1 blockchain, blends Bitcoin’s strong secu…
China launches antitrust probe into Nvidia amid chip war escalation
What happened: China’s antitrust probe into Nvidia highlights growing tensions in semiconductor industry China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has initiated an antitrust investigation into Nvidia, focusing on the company’s $6.9 billion acquisition of Mellanox Technologies. This i…
Microsoft expands Recall for AMD-based Copilot PCs
What happened: New AI-powered tools enhance functionality for Copilot+ devices Microsoft has broadened its Recall Preview rollout to include Windows Insiders using AMD and Intel-based Copilot+ PCs. Previously limited to Snapdragon-based devices, the Recall Preview is part of Windows 11 build 26120.2…
Vodafone partners with SpaceMobile for space-based connectivity
What happened: Vodafone signs deal with SpaceMobile for global coverage Vodafone has finalized a commercial agreement with SpaceMobile to provide cellular broadband connectivity directly to devices via low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. This partnership builds on their long-standing collaboration sin…