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Ar Is Your Smartphone Watching You More Than You Watch It?
This is how Africa can outsmart smartphones, smart TVs and all smart devices flooding the continent
As I parked my Subaru Forester – The Growler – outside her place, I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Could someone detonate this car from thousands of kilometers away?’
It was the day after Israel had transformed pagers into lethal explosives.
An answer to my silent question came unexpectedly from a trip I had taken to Tanzania one year earlier. The answer shocked me.
On that drive, I was speeding down the Namanga-Arusha highway in Tanzania, when my car began sputtering in short bursts, like it was battling a stubborn cough. The speed dropped dramatically. When I returned to Kenya a few days later, I called Aleki, my trusted mechanic, to pick up the car and take a look at it.
He returned with someone carrying an OBD (on-board diagnostics) device in a rucksack slung over his shoulder.
“The car’s problem isn’t mechanical,” Aleki explained, “so this device will pinpoint the exact problem.”
The OBD expert plugged the device into a slot beneath the dashboard, and within minutes, the check engine error was gone. The mysterious coughing episodes stopped too, all thanks to a quick code reset.
I breathed a sigh of relief after they left, thinking, “Thank God this car’s computer system isn’t remote-controlled!” If it were, whoever had access could just reset the code and take over the car. I’d be nothing more than a puppet behind the wheel.
Fast forward one year later to Lebanon. September 17th.
In the quiet moments before the explosion, no one suspected a thing. Hezbollah operatives held pagers in their hands, seemingly innocuous, everyday tools of communication. Then, in an instant, these pagers became weapons, detonating by design. These devices were never compromised after reaching their users. They were built to explode from the start.
The incident is more than just a footnote in the endless violent chess game of Middle Eastern geopolitics; it’s a warning shot for all of us, especially Africa. We are surrounded by devices that dominate our lives. They include our smartphones, smart TVs, smart cars and more. Behind their sleek interfaces lie dangers we can hardly fathom. Furthermore, the growing Internet of Things (IoT) is slowly taking root across the continent, and with every new device, Africa unwittingly opens its doors to new evil puppets masquerading as devices.
Herein lies the core threat posed by the millions of smart devices across Africa and beyond: they are puppets whose operational codes are controlled by unseen puppeteers. In the case of the Lebanese pagers, the Israelis became puppeteers controlling the pagers. With a few switches, they unleashed death and destruction.
Africa must now beware of these five dangers posed by the millions of smart devices in our possession.
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The Threat of Surveillance
A few years ago, my neighbor excitedly told me that she had installed a new set of state-of-the-art CCTV cameras in discreet parts of her house.
“I can now keep an eye on my nanny all the time to ensure that she treats my toddler well,” she enthused.
Big tech is now executing a grander, more elaborate version of keeping their eye on us all the time.
Smartphones and smart TVs have become a staple in African homes, especially in urban centers. From Accra to Nairobi, Lagos to Johannesburg, these devices now play an essential role in communication, entertainment, and commerce. Although they are quite helpful, they are also a new and powerful way to keep an eye on people.
Each time we swipe, scroll, or speak, our devices collect data – our locations, our habits, our interests. Data is the currency of the 21st century. African consumers are providing it in spades, often to foreign tech companies that treat data like crude oil. They extract it from the local populace, refine it then sell it back to people in the form of consumer products and services. Surveillance fuels this entire process.
The recent case of Israel’s exploding pagers is a stark reminder that external forces can turn devices into tools of control, espionage, and destruction. Consider the number of smart devices being imported into Africa, manufactured with components sourced from different parts of the world. Who’s to say that a backdoor or a malicious function isn’t quietly waiting in some of them, dormant until activated by forces beyond our control?
Are smartphones making us smarter or dumber?
The Threat of Remote Exploitation
Roughly 500 million smartphones are being used in Africa today. Kenya alone has 65.7 million mobile phones currently operational. These are potentially half a billion time bombs that can explode at any time. In the age of remote access, smart devices are entry points for external, hostile control. Hackers, state actors, or private entities can exploit vulnerabilities to access a user's data, control the device, or even use it to spy on them. A smartphone, for instance, is more than just a communication tool; it's a portal to every intimate detail of our lives. Our banking apps, private messages, and health records are all stored in one compact device.
The Internet of Things (IoT), where devices are interconnected and communicate with each other, expands this danger. Smart TVs, which now dominate living rooms across African cities, are equipped with microphones and cameras that can be hacked. Your TV might watch you as much as you watch it. Hackers have already exploited vulnerabilities in smart TVs to record private conversations, turning living rooms into virtual public spaces.
In Africa, where regulatory oversight on these devices is weaker, and public awareness about these risks is low, the problem is exacerbated. Many smart devices imported from abroad lack rigorous cybersecurity standards, making them ripe targets for exploitation.
Data Colonialism
On September 1, my brother Vince had no clue that the MOTOPOWER Car OBD2 Scanner even existed. But just last week, he bought one from Amazon. His wife jokingly scolded him, saying she should be the one doing the impulse buying, not him. What she didn’t realize is that Big Tech knows better. They mined his online data, analyzed it, and figured out he was a car enthusiast, a self-taught mechanic, and a casual online shopper. Armed with this insight, they bombarded him with ads for the scanner, almost certain he would make the purchase. When he finally did, he had no idea Big Tech had orchestrated the sale using his data. This is the essence of data colonialism, which entails the extraction, monopolization, and commercialization of data.
Smart devices collect data at an unimaginable scale. While the convenience of having Google Maps suggest the fastest route home or Netflix recommending your next favorite show is undeniable, the underlying systems also collect your data in ways that can be invasive.
Every smartphone in Africa is a data goldmine. GPS coordinates, online purchases, social media usage, biometric information – this is the price of convenience. Who collects this data? Who controls it? The device manufacturers and their shareholders. Consequently, these foreign powers and corporations gain unparalleled insight into local economies, social behaviors, and political climates. In the wrong hands, this data can be manipulated to influence elections, destabilize markets, or even blackmail entire populations.
This data is often collected and stored in servers located thousands of miles away, in USA, Europe, or China. Big Tech essentially forces users to hand over their data by embedding clauses in the fine print, granting them the right to mine that information. If users don’t agree, they’re barred from using the platform altogether. This coercive practice is akin to daylight robbery: African users are unwittingly surrendering intimate details of their lives to global tech giants, who face no real obligation to protect their privacy or rights. This data is already being weaponized, manipulated, or sold to the highest bidder, leaving African citizens vulnerable to exploitation.
Vulnerabilities in Imported Technology
Much of Africa’s tech infrastructure is imported. Rwanda’s Mara phones are the only ones made exclusively in Africa. However, they are yet to gain traction even in Rwanda.
Whether it's Chinese smartphones or European smart TVs, the continent is largely dependent on foreign manufacturers for its smart technology. This leaves Africa in a precarious position, relying on others to ensure these devices are safe.
The Israeli exploding pager incident is a chilling reminder of how foreign governments or corporations can manipulate technology for their own ends. They can do so by infiltrating the supply chain. They don’t even have to do this if they already control that supply chain.
What if a foreign manufacturer installs spyware into devices meant for African markets? Or, worse yet, what if there is a deliberate backdoor placed into these devices, designed to be activated during political unrest or periods of social upheaval?
As Africa becomes more dependent on these devices, the need to manufacture and regulate smart electronics locally has never been more urgent. Without control over the production process, African nations remain at the mercy of foreign powers, who may not have the continent’s best interests at heart.
Who is mining Africa's data goldmine?
The Looming Dangers of (Internet of Things) IoT
The Internet of Things is steadily growing across Africa, with smart refrigerators, smart cars, security systems, and even connected cars becoming more popular. These devices promise convenience, but they also increase the number of vulnerable points in a household or business.
Each smart device in an IoT ecosystem communicates with others, creating a web of interconnectivity. But this web can easily be infiltrated. Imagine a future where hackers disable the security systems of an entire city, or worse, where foreign entities remotely shut down critical infrastructure like power grids or water supplies. This might sound far-fetched, but it’s a reality many cybersecurity experts are already warning about.
If we take anything from the Israeli pagers case study, it's this: electronic devices can be weaponized. The time is ripe for Africa to step up its local manufacturing of these smart devices. By controlling the design, production, and software of the devices we use every day, we can ensure that our continent isn’t left vulnerable to the whims of outside forces.
Conclusion: A Call for African Tech Sovereignty
The explosion of Lebanese pagers may seem like a distant threat, but it’s a metaphor for the dangers Africa now faces in this digital age. As smartphones and smart TVs proliferate across the continent, so too do the risks. Surveillance, remote exploitation, and mass data collection are the lived reality of millions across Africa.
Now is the time for Africa to take control. We must invest in our own manufacturing capabilities, design our own technologies, and create regulatory frameworks that protect the continent’s citizens. It’s time to secure our future and ensure that we’re not walking around with Trojan horses in our pockets or living with them in our houses.
In a world where every device is a potential risk, African tech sovereignty has become an urgent necessity.
P/S: Artificial Intelligence and its impact on Africa deserves its own article! Coming soon..
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I seek to awaken and empower Africa through knowledge. If you would like to invest in my work, you can do so through:
Paypal: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mobile money transfer number through Worldremit or MPESA: +254795591751
Click here to see exactly what your money will do:
https://environmentalafrica.com/donate
