Ethiopia | Allegation of FinSpy malware smells fishy
Last week, media outlets, citing a briefing published by CitizenLab – an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the University of Toronto, Canada – widely reported an allegation that the Ethiopian government is using FinSpy malware. FinSpy is a lawful interception malware developed and marketed by a British company, Gamma International, and is said to have the ability to “capture information … Read more
Ethiopia: Mobile subscription reaches 18 million
Dr. Debretsion Gebremichael, Information and Communication Technology Minister with the rank of Deputy Prime Minister, said that the government is trying to increase access to Information and Communication Technology in the country as well as improve its quality. Opening the 2nd Annual Ethiopian ICT Entrepreneurship Conference on Monday (December 10th), Dr. Debretsion said ICT infrastructure … Read more
The Skype saga and int’l comment on press freedom in Ethiopia
Highlight: Response from Ethiopia was at first muted. No one could understand from where the story was coming. There had been no such law passed by the House of Representatives and the only previous legislation on the subject had been a whole decade earlier. It was not until June 17th that Daniel Berhane, a blogger … Read more
Breaking-news: Parliament adopts Telecom law, affirms Skype’s legality
The Ethiopian Parliament approved the draft Proclamation on Telecom Fraud Offences as Proclamation 761/2012 this afternoon. The draft legislation was referred to the Science, Communication and Technology Standing Committee of the parliament on May 24, 2012. The parliament approved the new law after listening to the explanations on the intent and revisions made on the … Read more
On Skype | RSF retracts its statement, makes more errors | Ethiopia
RSF (Reporter sans Frontière/Reporter without Borders) publicly retracted its erroneous allegation concerning VOIP use in Ethiopia, in a press statement published yesterday. It is to be recalled that in a press statement on June 7, RSF said: Use of VoIP hardware and software has just been made a crime by the new Ethiopian Telecom Service … Read more
CPJ: Ethiopia refining Internet censorship
The Committee to Protect Journalists says it appears Ethiopia is extending and refining its censorship of Internet news with a sophistication that could encourage other authoritarian regimes in Africa. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government has been blocking major news sites and blog hosts since disputed general election results in 2005 led to violent protests. Voice … Read more
Ethiopia: Telecom cables vandalism ‘a national security issue’
Highlights: Minister Dr. Debre-Tsion Gebre-Micael said that frequent telecommunication infrastructure robbery and damage is causing repeated service interruption and incurring high maintenance cost to the country. " …..He said from January to May in 2011, telecommunication infrastructures faced 39 damages of which 24 were done deliberately for personal gain. He added in the last 10 … Read more
Leaked: RSF’s internal memo insists Ethiopia banned Skype
‘RSF (Reporter sans Frontière/Reporter without Borders) is a cautious organization, this is an exceptional case’, I claimed whenever I bumped into an Ethiopian bureaucrat in the past week. That was indeed my impression, but also intended to influence, so as to preclude an official fallout like the one with the Human Rights Watch. I wish … Read more
Ethiopia | Update: Internet telephony is legal, in internet cafes too
State Minister of Government Communications, Shimeles Kemal, gave further clarifications on Friday (June 22) in a press conference to local and foreign journalists, regarding the draft Proclamation on Telecom Fraud Offences which was alleged to ban the use of VOIP – such as Skype and Google Talk. Responding to a Nigerian journalist who asked if … Read more
Official: ‘Skype and similar activities are not banned in Ethiopia’
"Skype and similar activities are not banned in Ethiopia. There is no law that prohibits or restricts their utilization here in Ethiopia. Nor does the [draft] law aim to prevent IP-related internet activities, that is cyber activities like social media, Twitter, etc.”, said a senior Ethiopian official in a phone interview. The remark was made … Read more
