The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC)

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https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/19251

The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC) is an academic journal published by the LINK Centre, School of Literature, Language and Media (SLLM), Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), AJIC is an interdisciplinary, open access journal concerned with Africa’s participation in the information society and digital network economy. The journal does not impose author processing charges. AJIC's predecessor, The Southern African Journal of Information and Communication (SAJIC), was published from 2000 to 2008, before becoming AJIC in 2010.

Corresponding Editor: Lucienne Abrahams. AJIC Submissions

ISSN: 2077-7213 (online version)

ISSN: 2077-7205 (print version)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/19251

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 34

AJIC Issue 25, 2020 - Full Issue
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2020-06-30)
Articles on digital terrorism, SMS fraud, machine learning, mHealth, natural language processing, and international telecommunications law and policy.
AJIC Issue 25, 2020 - Full Issue - print-on-demand version
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2020-06-30)
Articles on digital terrorism, SMS fraud, machine learning, mHealth, natural language processing, and international telecommunications law and policy.
AJIC Issue 26, 2020 - Full Issue
(2020-12-15)
Thematic Issue: Collaborative Innovation in African Settings: Articles on artificial intelligence, Indigenous data sovereignty, mobile tech start-ups, tech hubs, makerspaces, and social entrepreneurs.
AJIC Issue 26, 2020 - Full Issue - print-on-demand version
(2020-12-15)
Thematic Issue: Collaborative Innovation in African Settings: Articles on artificial intelligence, Indigenous data sovereignty, mobile tech start-ups, tech hubs, makerspaces, and social entrepreneurs.
AJIC Issue 27, 2021 - Full Issue
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31)
Articles on problematic internet use (PIU), Indigenous knowledge in vocational education, machine learning, scaling of innovation, institutional isomorphism, human–computer interaction for development (HCI4D), and scholarly publishing.
AJIC Issue 27, 2021 - Full Issue - print-on-demand version
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-05-31)
Articles on problematic internet use (PIU), Indigenous knowledge in vocational education, machine learning, scaling of innovation, institutional isomorphism, human–computer interaction for development (HCI4D), and scholarly publishing.
AJIC Issue 28, 2021 - Full Issue
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-12-06)
Articles on social media, mobile banking apps, cyber threats, ICT intermediation, e-government IS projects, m-learning, and cybersecurity policymaking.
AJIC Issue 28, 2021 - Full Issue - print-on-demand version
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-12-06)
Articles on social media, mobile banking apps, cyber threats, ICT intermediation, e-government IS projects, m-learning, and cybersecurity policymaking.
Application of Machine Learning Classification to Detect Fraudulent E‑wallet Deposit Notification SMSes
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2020-06-30) Enkono, Fillemon S.; Suresh, Nalina
Fraudulent e-wallet deposit notification SMSes designed to steal money and goods from m-banking users have become pervasive in Namibia. Motivated by an observed lack of mobile applications to protect users from such deceptions, this study evaluated the ability of machine learning to detect the fraudulent e-wallet deposit notification SMSes. The naïve Bayes (NB) and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers were trained to classify both ham (desired) SMSes and scam (fraudulent) e-wallet deposit notification SMSes. The performances of the two classifier models were then evaluated. The results revealed that the SVM classifier model could detect the fraudulent SMSes more efficiently than the NB classifier.
Applying Blockchain Technology to Security-Related Aspects of Electronic Healthcare Record Infrastructure
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-12-06) Adlam, Ryno; Haskins, Bertram
The centralised architecture employed by electronic health records (EHRs) may constitute a single point of failure. From the perspective of availability, an alternative cloud-based EHR infrastructure is effective and efficient. However, this increased availability has created challenges related to the security and privacy of patients’ medical records. The sensitive nature of EHRs attracts the attention of cyber-criminals. There has been a rise in the number of data breaches related to EHRs. The infrastructure used by EHRs does not assure the privacy and security of patients’ medical records. Features of blockchain platforms, such as decentralisation, immutability, auditability, and transparency, may provide a viable means of augmenting or improving services related to the security of EHRs. This study presents a series of experimental data flow configurations to test the application of blockchain technology to aspects of EHRs. The insights gained from these experiments are founded on a theoretical base to provide recommendations for applying blockchain technology to services related to the security of EHR infrastructure. These recommendations may be employed by developers when redesigning existing EHR systems or deploying new EHR systems.
Book Review: International Telecommunications Law and Policy
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2020-06-30) Okoli, Pontian N.
Briefing Note: People-Centered Internet Global Forum at Stanford: Beginning a Network of Networks
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), 2015-12-15) Abrahams, Lucienne; Hanna, Nagy
The Cyber Threat Landscape in South Africa: A 10-Year Review
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-12-06) Pieterse, Heloise
The world is witnessing a rise in cyber-related incidents. As information technology improves and the reliance on technology increases, the frequency and severity of cyber incidents escalate. The impact is felt globally, and South Africa is not immune to the effects. The country’s fast-paced technological evolution continues to increase the attack surface within the cyber domain. The increased attack surface is confirmed by recent cyberattacks affecting well-known and established South African organisations. This article reviews findings from an evaluation of South Africa’s cyber threat landscape that analysed 74 cyber incidents identified as occurring between 2010 and 2020. The 74 incidents are categorised according to incident type, affected sector, perpetrator type, and motivation. It is found that the most common incident type is data exposure, the most-affected sector is the public sector, the most prevalent perpetrators are hackers, and the most common motivation is criminal. The article makes recommendations about how South Africa can reduce the risk factors in its cyber threat landscape.
Cyber-Threat Information-Sharing Standards: A Review of Evaluation Literature
(2020-06-30) Mkuzangwe, Nenekazi N. P.; Khan, Zubeida C.
Cyber-threat information-sharing tools, through which cybersecurity teams share threat information, are essential to combatting today’s increasingly frequent and sophisticated cyber-attacks. Several cyber-threat information-sharing standards exist, but there is at present no single standard or set of standards widely adopted by organisations and by computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs) operating at organisational, sectoral, national, and international levels. This introduces an interoperability problem in respect of communication across the various organisations and CSIRTs. Harmonised adoption of threat information-sharing standards would be of great benefit to cybersecurity efforts. In an effort to support harmonised use of cyber-threat information-sharing standards, this article provides findings from a review of the extant literature on such standards.
Cybersecurity Policymaking in the BRICS Countries: From Addressing National Priorities to Seeking International Cooperation
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-12-06) Belli, Luca
In the concluding statement of the 2021 BRICS Summit, the bloc’s five members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—pledged to pursue enhanced cooperation on cybersecurity issues, including by “establishing legal frameworks of cooperation among BRICS” and a BRICS intergovernmental agreement on cybersecurity. This piece briefly outlines the mounting relevance of cybersecurity for the BRICS countries, recent national policymaking in this area in the bloc, and the dynamics at play as the BRICS countries seek to further intensify and structure their cooperation on cybersecurity matters.
The Digitalised Terrorism Ecology: A Systems Perspective
(2020-06-30) Ochara, Nixon Muganda; Odhiambo, Nancy Achieng; Kadyamatimba, Armstrong
This study uses a systematic review methodology to interpret existing literature on the digital dimensions of contemporary terrorism and counter-terrorism. Using the theory of synergetics as a guiding analytical framework, the study conducts meta-synthesis of relevant literature, including application of soft systems methodology (SSM), in order to generate conceptualisation of a digitalised terrorism ecology. This ecology comprises five interacting sub-systems: open digital infrastructure; digital information ecology; digital terrorism enactment; digital capabilities; and digital enslavement.
E-Government Information Systems (IS) Project Failure in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Literature
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2021-12-06) Nyansiro, Joseph B.; Mtebe, Joel S.; Kissaka, Mussa M.
E-government information systems (IS) projects experience numerous challenges that can lead to total or partial failure. The project failure factors have been identified and studied by numerous researchers, but the root causes of such failures are not well-articulated. In this study, literature on e-government IS project failures in developing-world contexts is reviewed through the application of qualitative meta-synthesis, design–reality gap analysis, and root cause analysis. In the process, 18 causal factors and 181 root causes are identified as responsible for e-government IS project failures. The most prevalent of the 18 causal factors are found to be inadequate system requirements engineering (with 22 root causes), inadequate project management (19 root causes), and missing or incomplete features (16 root causes). These findings can be of use to future researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to identify methods of avoiding e-government IS failures, particularly in developing-world contexts.
Editorial Note to AJIC Issue 15
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), 2015-12-15) Abrahams, Lucienne
Factors Impacting Tanzanian Rural and Peri-urban Drug Dispensaries’ Perceived Benefits from Using an mHealth Reporting System
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2020-06-30) Elias, Alistair; Mtebe, Joel S.
This study examines the factors impacting Tanzanian drug dispensaries’ perceptions of the potential benefits of using a mobile health (mHealth) reporting system. Since 2003, the Government of Tanzania has implemented its Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlet (ADDO) programme in support of dispensaries in under-served rural and peri-urban areas. A core element of this ADDO programme is the dispensary use of an mHealth application for reporting on the drugs they are dispensing and the medical conditions that are being treated. This study canvassed the views of ADDO programme dispensaries using the mHealth reporting system in the Iringa, Mbeya, and Njombe Regions, through a survey questionnaire completed by 318 dispensaries and focus group discussions with 38 dispensary personnel. The data revealed that four factors—system quality, information quality, service quality, and price value—are all having a statistically significant impact on dispensaries’ perceptions of the potential benefits of using the mHealth system.
Guest Editorial: Thematic Section: Informatics for Development
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), 2015-12-15) Pillay, Kiru

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