A Nigerian-British Chartered Engineer and Director of Information Security, Dr. Kingsley Chibuzor Aguoru, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt card PIN usage for online payments to protect Nigerians from being fleeced of their hard-earned money.

He said he was making a passionate appeal to secure financial practices in the country.

The UK-based Chartered Engineer, with over 20 years of experience in financial technologies and security, said he was compelled to bring attention to the critical flaws in Nigeria’s current online card payment practices, which expose customers to unnecessary risks and significant danger.

According to Aguoru, the continued use of PIN in online transactions puts Nigerians at a grave risk of being defrauded.

Aguoru noted that card PINs were designed for face-to-face transactions at ATMs and POS terminals where secure encryption methods protect users rather than online usage.

In the petition cited by this paper, titled: “Urgent Call to Ban Card PIN Usage for Online Payments in Nigeria”, Dr. Aguoru explained: “In 2005, I developed a solution to tackle prevalent fraud in card-not-present transactions in the United Kingdom using both online and offline OTP models, drawing on Cartesian geometry.

“Although major networks like Visa and Mastercard declined the innovation at the time, my OTP model has since become a standard worldwide for authorization.

He advised the CBN to urgently step forward for the safety of Nigerian cardholders by banning the use of card pins for online transactions and mandating the use of OTPs or other dynamic authentication methods, such as authorization through mobile banking apps.

He noted that there was a need for consumers to be educated on safe online payment practices to minimise exposure to phishing and other cyber threats.

He said it was also necessary for the CBN to enforce industry-wide compliance with modern security standards to protect Nigerian customers, especially on the web, through policies, such as security, and payments compliance policies.

Aguoru emphasised that by adopting these measures, the CBN will greatly reduce the risk Nigerian consumers face and bring the nation’s payment systems in with international best practices.

Apple on Monday rolled out its first set of artificial intelligence features, dubbed “Apple Intelligence,” across its premium iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, marking the tech giant’s major push into generative AI.

The release, first previewed by the company in June, marks Apple’s foray into an AI race that has seen the US tech giants rush into ChatGPT-style technology.

Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are convinced that generative AI’s powers are the next chapter of computing and have ramped up spending so as not to be left behind.

“Apple Intelligence is generative AI in a way that only Apple can deliver, and we’re incredibly excited about its ability to enrich our users’ lives,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a blog post.

Apple’s new features include enhanced writing tools, improved photo searching capabilities, and a more conversational Siri virtual assistant.

The company also plans to integrate ChatGPT’s capabilities into its services by December.

Additional features planned for December include the ability to generate custom emoji and create images from text descriptions.

The features are largely being limited to the latest iPhones and iPads as well as Mac computers.

The powers of Apple Intelligence are for now only available in US English.

Versions in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Korean and other languages will be released in the coming year.

At the launch event in June, Apple had postponed the launch of Apple Intelligence in the European Union indefinitely, due to “regulatory uncertainties” linked to new laws.

It now said that most offerings will be available in the EU on Mac computers in US English and will begin to be deployed on iPhones and iPads from April.

Apple Intelligence features also include system-wide writing tools that can rewrite and proofread text, and the ability to remove unwanted objects from images.

Overall, the features are similar to tools recently released by Meta, Microsoft and Google.

Amid concerns about the safety of AI models, the company said that its technology prioritizes user privacy by keeping processing on-device or by using a new “Private Cloud” system.

This, the company says, will keep personal data within the Apple ecosystem, which privileges data privacy.

Apple also unveiled a new desktop computer, the iMac, on Monday, that features Apple Intelligence.

WhatsApp has announced a series of new features to improve its status function and allow users to better connect with friends and family.

The updates include status likes, private mentions, and the ability to reshare statuses to make it easier for people to interact on the platform.

“WhatsApp Status is the best way to stay connected with friends and family, and now we’re making it even better,” WhatsApp stated.

“With status likes, private mentions, and the ability to reshare a status you’re mentioned in, we’re making it easier to reach the people who matter most.”

The additional feature includes Status Likes, which allows users to show appreciation for a friend’s status with a single tap.

These likes, according to WhatsApp, remain private, visible only to the person who posted the status.

“Status likes: Let someone know you’re thinking of them, or enjoying their status with a single tap of the button. Status likes are private and don’t have a counter, so only the person whose status you liked can see them as a in the list of viewers,” it added.

Another feature is Private Mentions which enable users to tag specific people in their status updates.

The mentions are also discreet, as they are only visible to the recipient and not displayed publicly on the status.

This feature makes it easier for users to ensure their closest contacts are aware of important updates and can easily reshare the content with their own audiences.

“Private mentions: Make sure those closest to you see your status, and let them reshare it easily with their audience, by privately mentioning them. Those you mention will be notified privately, and the mention won’t be shown on your status.”

These new features are already being rolled out and will be available globally in the coming weeks, according to WhatsApp’s statement.

The social media giant also noted that they “will be bringing more features to Status and the Updates tab over the next few months to make it easier to stay closest to those who matter most. Let us know what you think!”

The Nigerian Communications Commission has retracted its previously released press statement about the activities of Starlink, a satellite internet provider.

In a short message sent to media organizations on Tuesday, the NCC admitted that the release was a mistake and asked editors and journalists to withdraw any related reports.

“Kindly note that this press statement on Starlink was issued in error. It is hereby WITHDRAWN. If already published, kindly BRING DOWN,” the message, signed by the NCC’s Manager of Media Relations, Kunle Azeez, stated.

The Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, of the commission revealed that they intend to enforce actions against Starlink for increasing its subscription fees in Nigeria without obtaining approval from the regulator.

In a notification to its customers last week, Starlink announced that the price increase would impact both current and new subscribers.

The monthly subscription cost saw a 97% rise, going from N38,000 to N75,000.

Furthermore, new customers will have to pay more for the Starlink kit (the installation hardware), now priced at N590,000, which is a 34% increase from the previous price of N440,000.

The NCC clarified that it had not given approval for the price hike.

“The decision by Starlink to unilaterally review its subscription packages upwards did not receive the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission,” Muoka stated.

He stated that the commission was “surprised” when the company revealed the price changes, even though it had submitted a request to the NCC for a price modification that the regulator had not yet authorized.

Meta on Friday provided a look at a generative artificial intelligence model it is working on that lets people create short videos, complete with audio, from text prompts and photos.

The tech titan touted “Meta Movie Gen” as a “breakthrough” when it comes to using an AI engine to crank out video and audio.

Meta said it will get feedback from filmmakers and creators as it eases toward making the video-generating AI engine publicly available.

No release plans for Movie Gen were disclosed.

“While there are many exciting use cases for these foundation models, it’s important to note that generative AI isn’t a replacement for the work of artists and animators,” Meta said in a post.

The model lets people use text prompts to create custom videos, including clips based on people’s photos, of up to 16 seconds long, according to Meta.

“Our model achieves state-of-the-art results when it comes to creating personalized videos that preserve human identity and motion,” Meta said.

“Imagine animating a ‘day in the life’ video to share on Reels and editing it using text prompts or creating a customized animated birthday greeting for a friend and sending it to them on WhatsApp.”

Movie Gen is the third wave of AI-powered video generation at Meta, according to the company.

The rise of AI-powered tools for creating realistic videos has prompted worries about “deepfakes” that pirate people’s likenesses.

Satellite internet provider Starlink has revealed an increase in its monthly subscription fees.

In a communication sent to customers on Tuesday, the company stated that the rate increase will impact both existing and prospective users.

The standard residential plan will now be priced at ₦75,000, while the mobile regional (roam unlimited) package will cost ₦167,000, and the mobile global (global roam) package will be priced at ₦717,000.

According to the announcement, the new rates will take effect immediately for new customers and will begin on October 31, 2024, for current users.

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The organization linked the increase to “excessive levels of inflation,” which has required modifying service charges to reflect current economic conditions.

“Your monthly service price will increase in one month, starting from 31 October 2024. For new customers, the price increase takes effect immediately,” the message read.

The company added that customers who no longer wish to continue with the service can cancel at any time without any penalties.