The company is engaging thousands of visitors, including farmers and policymakers, by spotlighting digital inclusive finance, insurance and smart infrastructure innovations.
The display features EcoCash mobile payments, Moovah Insurance for agricultural and business risks, and digital entertainment platforms. A standout addition is Econet’s smart water metres, which provide real-time monitoring to help farmers and utilities manage water use, minimise waste and support sustainable development in agriculture.
Econet emphasises that these solutions reinforce its vision of empowering communities through accessible technology. Smart infrastructure and financial tools are presented as vital enablers for productivity, resilience and economic inclusion in Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector.
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Led by CEO Nick Lahoika, the company has scaled rapidly, achieving upwards of 4 million downloads and serving approximately 160,000 active users.
Vocal Image positions itself as an affordable, mobile-first alternative to traditional one-on-one voice training, rooted in Lahoika’s own journey overcoming speaking anxiety.
The app’s design enables users to practice at home with privacy and convenience, offering daily, bite-sized lessons informed by AI that assess strengths, suggest improvements and nurture confidence with no need for human instructors.
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A hacker exploited Anthropic’s Claude chatbot to automate one of the most extensive AI-driven cybercrime operations yet recorded, targeting at least 17 companies across multiple sectors, the firm revealed.
According to Anthropic’s report, the attacker used Claude Code to identify vulnerable organisations, generate malicious software, and extract sensitive files, including defence data, financial records, and patients’ medical information.
The chatbot then sorted the stolen material, identified leverage for extortion, calculated realistic bitcoin demands, and even drafted ransom notes and extortion emails on behalf of the hacker.
Victims included a defence contractor, a financial institution, and healthcare providers. Extortion demands reportedly ranged from $75,000 to over $500,000, although it remains unclear how much was actually paid.
Anthropic declined to disclose the companies affected but confirmed new safeguards are in place. The firm warned that AI lowers the barrier to entry for sophisticated cybercrime, making such misuse increasingly likely.
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People often treat their email address as harmless, just a digital ID for receipts and updates. In reality, it acts as a skeleton key linking behaviour, purchases, and personal data across platforms.
Using the same email everywhere makes tracking easy. Companies may encrypt addresses, but behavioural patterns remain intact. Aliases disrupt this chain by creating unique addresses that forward mail without revealing your true identity.
Each alias becomes a useful tracker. If one is compromised or starts receiving spam, it can simply be disabled, cutting off the problem at its source.
Aliases also reduce the fallout of data breaches. Instead of exposing your main email to countless third-party tools, scripts, and mailing platforms, an alias shields your core digital identity.
Beyond privacy, aliases encourage healthier habits. They force a pause before signing up, add structure through custom rules, and help fragment your identity, thereby lowering the risks associated with any single breach.
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Microsoft has unveiled two new AI models, marking a major step in its efforts to build its own technology rather than rely solely on OpenAI.
The first model, MAI-Voice-1, generates high-fidelity audio and supports both single and multi-speaker scenarios. Microsoft said the system can create a full minute of expressive audio in under a second on a single GPU, making it one of the fastest of its kind.
MAI-Voice-1 is already available in Copilot Daily and Podcasts, while Copilot Labs allows users to experiment with storytelling and speech demos. Microsoft sees voice as a vital interface for future AI companions.
MAI-1 Preview is currently undergoing community testing on LMArena and will soon be integrated into selected Copilot use cases. Microsoft said it plans to expand its family of specialised models, aiming to orchestrate different systems for diverse user needs.
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China has set its most ambitious AI adoption targets yet, aiming to embed the technology across industries, governance, and daily life within the next decade.
According to a new State Council directive, AI use should reach 70% of the population by 2027 and 90% by 2030, with a complete shift to what it calls an ‘intelligent society’ by 2035.
The plan would mean nearly one billion Chinese citizens regularly using AI-powered services or devices within two years, a timeline compared to the rapid rise of smartphones.
Although officials acknowledge risks such as opaque models, hallucinations and algorithmic discrimination, the policy calls for frameworks to govern ‘natural persons, digital persons, and intelligent robots’.
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A phishing campaign exploits Microsoft Teams’ external communication features, with attackers posing as IT helpdesk staff to gain access to screen sharing and remote control. The method sidesteps traditional email security controls by using Teams’ default settings.
The attacks exploit Microsoft 365’s default external collaboration feature, which allows unauthenticated users to contact organisations. Axon Team reports attackers create malicious Entra ID tenants with .onmicrosoft.com domains or use compromised accounts to initiate chats.
Although Microsoft issues warnings for suspicious messages, attackers bypass these by initiating external voice calls, which generate no alerts. Once trust is established, they request screen sharing, enabling them to monitor victims’ activity and guide them toward malicious actions.
The highest risk arises where organisations enable external remote-control options, giving attackers potential full access to workstations directly through Teams. However, this eliminates the need for traditional remote tools like QuickAssist or AnyDesk, creating a severe security exposure.
Defenders are advised to monitor Microsoft 365 audit logs for markers such as ChatCreated, MessageSent, and UserAccepted events, as well as TeamsImpersonationDetected alerts. Restricting external communication and strengthening user awareness remain key to mitigating this threat.
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The European Commission has signed a contribution agreement with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), assigning the agency responsibility for operating and administering the EU Cybersecurity Reserve.
The arrangement includes a €36 million allocation over three years, complementing ENISA’s existing budget.
The EU Cybersecurity Reserve, established under the EU Cyber Solidarity Act, will provide incident response services through trusted managed security providers.
The services are designed to support EU Member States, institutions, and critical sectors in responding to large-scale cybersecurity incidents, with access also available to third countries associated with the Digital Europe Programme.
ENISA will oversee the procurement of these services and assess requests from national authorities and EU bodies, while also working with the Commission and EU-CyCLONe to coordinate crisis response.
If not activated for incident response, the pre-committed services may be redirected towards prevention and preparedness measures.
The reserve is expected to become fully operational by the end of 2025, aligning with the planned conclusion of ENISA’s existing Cybersecurity Support Action in 2026.
ENISA is also preparing a candidate certification scheme for Managed Security Services, with a focus on incident response, in line with the Cyber Solidarity Act.
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China has begun construction on its first facility dedicated to the production of photonic quantum computers in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. The project marks a step toward the development of large-scale quantum computing capabilities in the country.
The factory, led by Beijing-based quantum computing company QBoson, is expected to manufacture several dozen photonic quantum computers each year once operations begin.
QBoson’s founder, Wen Kai, explained that photonic quantum computing uses the quantum properties of light and is viewed as a promising path in the field.
Compared with other approaches, it does not require extremely low temperatures to function and offers advantages such as stable operation at room temperature, a higher number of qubits, and longer coherence times.
The upcoming facility will be divided into three core areas: module development, full-system production, and quality testing. Construction is already underway, and equipment installation is scheduled to begin by the end of October.
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According to the IT regulator, Nigeria is preparing a national framework to guide responsible use of AI in governance, healthcare, education and agriculture.
NITDA Director General Kashifu Abdullahi told a policy lecture in Abuja that AI could accelerate economic transformation if properly harnessed. He emphasised that Nigeria’s youthful population should move from being consumers to becoming innovators and creators.
He urged stakeholders to view automation as an opportunity to generate jobs, highlighting that over 60% of Nigerians are under 25. Abdullahi described this demographic as a key asset in positioning the nation for global competitiveness.
Meanwhile, a joint report from the Digital Education Council and the Global Finance & Technology Network found that AI boosts productivity, though adoption remains uneven. It warned of a growing divide between organisations that use AI effectively and those falling behind.
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