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Joshua Agboola, JSS 2 Student Emerges MTN Hackathon Champion

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L-R: Njideka Jack, Senior Manager, Business Enablement, MTN Nigeria; Abeebah Alabi, First Runner Up, MTN mPulse Hackathon 2020; Joshua Agboola, Winner, MTN mPulse Hackathon 2020 and Dr. Itoro Emembolu, Director, TechQuest STEM Academy at the prize presentation for MTN mPulse Hackathon finalists in Lagos recently.

Master Joshua Agboola, a 12-year-old JSS 2 student of Bellina College, Akoka, Lagos state has emerged winner of the MTN mPulse Hackathon.

He won the competition by creating ‘Kagukar Study Buddie,’ a home-schooling, remote education and learning solution using artificial intelligence. The solution uses an interactive voice-activated robot that assists students to study, practice tests, learn from stories while providing entertainment with games, riddles and jokes.

Joshua Agboola received N1 million in funding support, N100,000 cash voucher, portable electronic devices worth over N120,000 and mPulse back-to-school items. “I feel excited. Thanks to MTN, I have been able to show my potential towards changing the world and impact lives positively with my solution,” he said.  

The first runner up, Abeedah Alabi of Jakande Estate Comprehensive Senior College, also in Lagos and second runner up, Amarahi Ogbu of Government Day Secondary School, Abuja also received N500,000 in funding support, N100,000-cash vouchers, portable electronic devices worth over N120,000, and mPulse back-to-school items.

The top ten finalists will participate at a six-week virtual MTN GAP Boot camp, an incubation program to further refine and accelerate their winning solutions to market in collaboration with TechQuest STEM Academy.  

Speaking at the mPulse Hackathon finale, chief transformation officer, Bayo Adekanmbi, MTN Nigeria, said, “Technology has bridged the gap between our children and the future, positioning them to lead the charge to a bold new world.

”At MTN, we believe in that future and are taking deliberate steps to guide young people in developing solutions for all. The MTN mPulse Hackathon is part of our wider contribution towards this aspiration, consistent with our commitment to champion innovation,” he said.

In 2018, the company unveiled mPulse, a proposition for teens and tweens designed for kids between ages 9 and 15. The mPulse package comes with a voice plan and a fun, educative website which hosts a wide variety of courses and study aids to help children from Primary 1 to SS3 excel. The portal also provides a bouquet of single and multiplayer games as well as life skill videos.

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Apps

AppsFlyer Unveils Measurement, Analytics and Data Clean Room Support for ChatGPT Plugins

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AppsFlyer has announced the launch of its new measurement and Data Clean Room support for ChatGPT plugins. Brands and marketers can now measure the customer journeys and performance of their ChatGPT plugins across all platforms – including mobile app, CTV and web, as well as across all paid, social and organic traffic sources such as Meta, Google, and Apple.

In March 2023, OpenAI announced ChatGPT plugins, allowing its users to interact with other services through ChatGPT’s interface. With the plugins, ChatGPT users can query services like Expedia, FiscalNote, Instacart, KAYAK, Klarna, and Shopify to get real-time, actionable answers from these data sources without leaving OpenAI’s platform. 

ChatGPT plugins have opened up a new world of consumer interactions and revenue opportunities. However, without cookies and device identifiers, analytics and measurement are impossible with current tools. AppsFlyer’s privacy-preserving measurement and analytics support for ChatGPT solves this challenge by providing brands and marketers with analytics and actionable insights into their customers’ interactions and performance of their plugins, together with their marketing activity across all traditional digital platforms and traffic sources. 


“ChatGPT plugins present a revolutionary opportunity for brands and consumers to connect, in addition to interactions on web and mobile apps,” said Oren Kaniel, CEO and Co-founder, AppsFlyer. “As an industry, we have an opportunity to architect this new world in a responsible way, by maximizing both customer value, experience and privacy. This new world is not bound to the status quo and building blocks like cookies and device identifiers. I am thrilled to take part in this revolution, not only because we have been building privacy-preserving tech for a cookieless environment for the last 10 years, but mainly because it is perfectly aligned with our vision for a better and safer digital experience.”

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IT and Telecomms

NCC-CSIRT Issues Advisories to protect Nigerians against Threat Actors  

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The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT), in line with its mandate, has rolled out some advisories in the first few weeks of the year 2023 as cyber threat actors continue to devise means of compromising their targets.

The latest of such advisories urged users to be mindful after attackers use Microsoft OneNote attachments in phishing emails that infect victims with remote access malware, which may allow hackers to remotely access vital information on victims’ devices.

The Team advised users not open files from people they do not know, not to click ‘OK’ and immediately exit the application if they receive a warning that opening an attachment or link can damage their computer or files and to promptly share an unknown email they believe to be genuine with a security or Windows administrator to assist in determining whether the file is secure.

It had recently advised people not to open attachments in suspicious emails and to only purchase or download applications from official websites in response to the discovery of phishing malware that can gain unauthorized access to sensitive user data and download further malware.

The team reported that cybersecurity analysts at ASEC (South Korea’s cybersecurity emergency response centre), discovered a NetSupport RAT malware being distributed by threat actors from a phishing website disguised as a popular Pokemon card game.  

The malware is a remote access tool that easily controls its victims’ Personal Computers and may allow the attackers to remotely control the compromised computer’s mouse and keyboard, access the system’s file management and history and even execute commands allowing them to install additional malware.  

According to the researcher, the CRAFTED website that spread the malware is still online. It claims to be home to a new NFT card game built around the Pokemon franchise, offering users strategic fun together with NFT investment profits.  

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Software

NCC Advises Zoom Users to Update Software After Vulnerabilities Found

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The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has advised users of videotelephony platform, Zoom, to install the latest update of the software from its publisher’s official website following the discovery of vulnerabilities that allows a remote attacker to exploit the app. 

In advisory issued on Wednesday, NCC-CSIRT reported that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) found several flaws in Zoom product. The videotelephony platform became popular for virtual meetings in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic with more than 300 million daily users. 

According to the NCC-CSIRT advisory, “A remote attacker could exploit the vulnerabilities to circumvent implemented security measures and cause a denial of service on the targeted machine.”  

It noted that “These vulnerabilities exist owing to incorrect access control implementation in Zoom On-Premises Meeting Connector MMR prior to version 4.8.20220815.130. A remote attacker could exploit these flaws to join a meeting they were not permitted to attend without being seen by the other attendees. They can also access audio and video feeds from meetings they were not permitted to attend, as well as interrupt other sessions.” 

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