1. Georgia and Kyrgyzstan almost simultaneously announced their new emergency mobile applications 112. Georgian app will be available for free on Play Market and App Store in three languages, Georgia, English, and Russian. Kyrgyzstan app is also ready to download and allows citizens send photos and videos to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. In the meantime, Uzbek authorities received a $1.25 million grant from World Bank and the government of Japan on creating a modern emergency alert system.
2. Government of Belarus intends to tax digital content sold on foreign distribution platforms. Starting from January 2017 foreign companies which sell software, mobile applications, music, games, and other digital content on the territory of Belarus will have to pay 20% value-added tax.
DR comments: Additional taxes might make Belarusian market less attractive for foreign developers and lead to price increase for consumers.
3. On Oct. 11 more than a dozen Russian journalists and activists received a strange warning from Google, notifying them that “government-backed attackers” may be “trying to steal” their passwords. This is not the first time persons connected to Russia’s independent media have found themselves in the crosshairs of hacking efforts.
4. On Oct. 12 Ukrainian company Ukrinmash and Turkish Havelsan Hava Elektronik Sanayi signed an agreement to build passive radars. Production will base at the premises of Ukroboronprom, Ukraine’s largest public concern in defense industry.
5. On Oct. 14 several Kyrgyz internet providers reported significant traffic speed decrease. Apparently, Kazakh providers began cutting off supply, although a week earlier Kyrgyz Antimonopoly Service claimed that the agreement with Kazakhstan had been reached and transit fees would not be raised. Kyrgyz companies accuse government officials of lies.
6. On Oct. 14 Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russia and Sberbank announced a pilot project called Digital Ecosystem based on blockchain technology that will improve the process of document exchange. An electronic interaction model enables transfer and storage of encrypted information using electronic signature.