How Jacob Zuma’s new party could influence elections in South Africa

If it stays on the ballot, it will make a coalition government much more likely.

Global Affairs

2024 03 10T150720Z 982039974 RC21J6AF1FVH RTRMADP 3 SAFRICA POLITICS ZUMA Scaled — Former South African president Jacob Zuma speaks during his visit to the Shekainah Healing Ministries in Philippi, where he campaigns for a new party, uMkhonto We Sizwe, for the upcoming election, in Cape Town, South Africa, March 10, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander

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Paolo Natale

Front of mind

From West Africa to Latin America: Why the Global South is ground zero for Bots-as-a-Service

With banks, governments and small businesses under fire, Bots-as-a-Service is exposing the Global South’s digital vulnerabilities.

Cybercrime is no longer the domain of elite hackers working behind closed doors. Today, it has become an open marketplace where criminals can simply rent the tools they need. Known as Bots-as-a-Service (BaaS), this trend is hitting the Global South hardest, turning countries in Africa and Latin America into both prime targets and unwilling enablers of global cybercrime.

The Deepfake Dilemma: Can technology and law catch up with AI fakes?

Detection tools are flawed, regulation lags behind, and platforms evade responsibility. Dr Áine MacDermott argues only a mix of smarter tech, stronger laws and human-centred defences can counter the deepfake threat.

A familiar face on a video call. A trusted voice giving instructions. A social media post quoting a senior executive. Increasingly, these may not be real at all. Thanks to artificial intelligence, deepfakes, convincing but fabricated videos, images and audio, are spreading fast, and their consequences are serious. Dr Áine MacDermott, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics at Liverpool John Moores University, warns that organisations and governments must act now.