Africa's increasing data centres

also ft; Online Disorders

CybAfriqué is a space for news and analysis on cyber, data, and information security on the African continent.

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This issue is particularly unique as we take a focus on data highlighting the good thing about more data centres built in Africa. Portraying the human angle approach, we also took a cursory look at the  labour conditions of content moderation workers who work behind the scenes to censor online contents to mitigate harm and other related disadvantages. 

— Adebola. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Africa's increasing data centres 

Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital is increasingly welcoming data centres investments from different big data and cloud computing technologies. Recently, MTN Nigeria, a subsidiary of MTN, a telecommunication company in South Africa, proposed to build the largest West African data center in the city. 

There's been a surge in legacy data centre infrastructures including Amazon, Microsoft, Huawei, e.t.c, expanding to Africa as well as architectures owned by Pan-African companies. Some of these indigenous companies include Teraco Data Environments, Africa Data Centres, MaiOne and IXAfrica, among others. 

This development signals the improving digital space on the continent. As of 2023, Nigeria had over 11 data centers projecting the country as one of the top three in the number of built data structures. 

With the growing demand of the digital economy, especially its contribution to Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of different countries, data centres have become critical necessities. However, the continent still lags behind judging by the realities of other countries which have resorted to establishing virtual data centres. Supporting facilities such as stable power access and internet in Africa is still negotiable, but, this is just a start for the continent. 

Online Decorum Disorders in the Global South 

In her book, The Unknown Women of Content Moderation, Botlhokwa Ranta, highlights the trauma women and generally those who live in the Global South face at Sama, a San Francisco data company widely known for impact sourcing. 

The ideal internet is one of the most democratic spaces, but it also has its governance sides, a part of which is content moderation to keep the digital public safe. The rise of User Generated Content (UGC) platforms allows netizens to share uncensored contents. Although some companies now integrate automatic filters, the bulk of activity such as finding context and premonition for taking down sensitive posts are done by humans. 

In this attempt to surmount cybersecurity in third-world countries identified by language disparity problems, labour is hired enmasse. Interestingly, people living in the global South, especially Africans, have continually filed lawsuits against several UGC companies including Meta. 

In a Time report, sources revealed the harsh working conditions they face such as delayed payments, abuse of labour and are directly confronted with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) relating to their work. 

In this vein, 15 data workers across Venezuela, Kenya, Syria, and Germany are working on the Data Workers’ Inquiry project, a community contributing to reporting labour conditions of data workers. 

FEATURES 

In Egypt, women barred from sexual education are at risk of disinformation on social media leading to indulgence in bad practices and threatening their sexual and reproductive health. 

Since 2016, Algeria shuts down their internet to “prevent cheating”. With upcoming national examinations, about 40 million internet users will experience internet outages and citizens share concerns awaiting the government's action plan as usual. 

Kenyans only tested their digital rights with the #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests and despite the shortfalls, the country's democratic system cost some citizens. 

HEADLINES 

• Tunisia: Deepening Civil Society Crackdown - Human Rights Watch 

• ₦82.4 billion: Top 5 hacks and fraud cases in Nigeria between 2023 and 2024 - Techpoint 

• Fintech company Wise says some customers affected by Evolve Bank data breach - Techcrunch 

• Cybercrimes Act: Despite Amendment, Clampdown On Journalists Persists - Dailytrust

• Cyber attacks on third parties raise risks for SA financial services - itweb

• Unpublished white paper on Cyberespionage: A weapon of war between States - the hidden issues in Africa - Africa Cybersecurity Magazine 

• TikTok and Cameroon: an agreement for the protection of privacy and user rights - Africa Cybersecurity Magazine

• Benin cleans its digital space with the deactivation of around 600 fake accounts - Africa Cybersecurity Magazine

ACROSS THE WORLD 

• Hacker Stole Secrets From OpenAI

• Red Tape Is Making Hospital Ransomware Attacks Worse

• LockBit claims cyberattack on Croatia’s largest hospital

• Stolen credentials could unmask thousands of darknet child abuse website users

OPPORTUNITIES 

Digital Safety Helpdesk Coordinator | SMEX 

Call for Applications: Digital Security and Resilience Workshop | 18 - 19 July 2024 | Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria (HRJN)