Russian opposition voices brace for complete blackout

When a Russian lawmaker announced last week that the country would begin slowing YouTube loading speeds on desktop browsers by up to 70%, it seemed to confirm many Russians' fears that access to the video platform would be gradually restricted.

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Spectators gather before a concert of Yaroslav Dronov, known by his stage name Shaman, held in protest against, what organizers called, the illegal blocking of Russian users' channels on the video-streaming platform YouTube, near the U.S. embassy in Moscow, Russia July 19, 2024. One of the placards reads: "We are together". REUTERS/Yulia Morozova
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Paolo Natale

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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.
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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.
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