DECEMBER 16, 2020

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As diplomats gathered at the African Union’s headquarters earlier this year to prepare for its annual leaders’ summit, employees of the international organization made a disturbing discovery.

Someone was stealing footage from their own security cameras.

Acting on a tip from Japanese cyber researchers, the African Union’s (AU) technology staffers discovered that a group of suspected Chinese hackers had rigged a cluster of servers in the basement of an administrative annex to quietly siphon surveillance videos from across the AU’s sprawling campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.

The security breach was carried out by a Chinese hacking group nicknamed “Bronze President,” according to a five-page internal memo reviewed by Reuters. It said the affected cameras covered “AU offices, parking areas, corridors, and meeting rooms.”

“We cannot estimate the quantity and value of the data which have been stolen,” the memo continued, adding that while AU technicians had managed to interrupt the flow of data, the hackers could easily regain the upper hand.

“We are still weak to prevent another attack,” the memo said.

The alert, drafted in late January and circulated to senior officials, provides a glimpse of how world powers are jockeying for influence and visibility at the continent’s paramount pan-African organization. Some American and European officials have voiced concern as Beijing has stepped in to meet the AU’s needs – part of an Africa-wide shift that has seen China become the continent’s top creditor. Chinese workers built the AU’s showpiece new conference center in 2012 and Chinese technicians still help maintain the organization’s digital infrastructure.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-african-union-cyber-exclusiv/exclusive-suspected-chinese-hackers-stole-camera-footage-from-african-union-memo-idUSKBN28Q1DB

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The Ethiopian government has suspended the entry of foreign telecom infrastructure companies to the country, The EastAfrican reported. The decision may not affect foreign telecom service providers and operators that have submitted expressions of interest in buying a stake in Ethio Telecom, it added. The decision came after the government reviewed the list of companies intent on buying a 40 percent stake in the monopoly provider.

As well as service providers, the privatisation of Ethio Telecom has attracted a number of telecom infrastructure companies such as Helios Towers. Sources at Ethio Telecom told The EastAfrican that several foreign telecom infrastructure companies had approached Ethiopian authorities with intentions to build new telecom infrastructure and ultimately lease telecom towers and rent other facilities for incoming companies.

Read more at: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/ethiopian-government-suspends-entry-of-foreign-telecom-infrastructure-firms–1349865?utm_source=headlines_-_english&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11-08-2020&utm_content=textlink

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