Salma Al-Tamimi

Writer,

icn.live

Salma Al-Tamimi graduated with a degree in Journalism and Communication and has reported for ICN.live since 2025. Coverage focusing on Tech, Artificial Intelligence infrastructure, and cybersecurity in the Arab region. Her work bridges technical insight with public education.

Apple Inc.

Apple App Store Security Lawsuit Follows $1.8M Fake Wallet Bitcoin Theft

An Apple App Store security lawsuit filed in California accuses the company of negligence after three users lost more than $1.8 million in Bitcoin to a counterfeit wallet app. The complaint landed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis, and Jalen Delgado say they downloaded an app presented as Sparrow Wallet, entered their recovery credentials, and watched their funds move to accounts they did not control.

The mechanism was simple. Sparrow Wallet is desktop software for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its developer has never shipped an iOS version. The app the plaintiffs installed was a fake crypto wallet app that borrowed the Sparrow name and look, then asked each user for a seed phrase. A seed phrase is the master key to a crypto wallet, a short list of words that grants full control over the funds inside. Once a user types it into an attacker’s app, the coins can be moved out in minutes.

How the Sparrow Wallet scam worked

The losses came in stages. According to the complaint, Delgado installed the app around May 1, 2025, entered his seed phrase, and soon found roughly $120,000 in Bitcoin gone. Ellis installed a similar app months later and lost about $840,000. Ramirez lost close to $875,000. Each transfer sent the coins to wallets held by the scammers.

This seed phrase scam depends on trust in the store, not on breaking any code. No servers were hacked. The plaintiffs argue the App Store crypto scam succeeded because Apple placed the fake listing inside curated cryptocurrency collections, which read as a recommendation to buyers. Some victims reported the theft to Apple and saw little response, according to the filing.

What the Apple App Store security lawsuit claims

The Apple App Store security lawsuit centers on one long-running company argument. Apple reviews apps before they reach users and says that review keeps the platform safe. The complaint quotes Apple’s own marketing about superior security and trustworthiness, then says the fake Bitcoin wallet App Store listing shows the promise fell short. It also points to Craig Raw, the developer of the real Sparrow Wallet, who said in a January 2024 post that a scam copy stayed live weeks after he reported it.

Raw’s account adds a second layer. When he submitted a placeholder app to warn iOS users that no mobile version existed, Apple rejected it and briefly flagged his developer account for dishonest activity. Apple later reversed that flag. Raw has spoken publicly for years about how slowly the company removed copycats.

Apple’s response and the wider stakes

Apple declined to comment on the Apple App Store security lawsuit itself. The company defended its review process to TechCrunch, saying apps that impersonate others break its guidelines and get removed quickly. Apple said no Sparrow Wallet copies are on the store now. It also cited 2025 enforcement figures, including more than 371,000 rejected submissions that copied apps, spammed, or misled users, and 193,000 terminated developer accounts.

The complaint alleges other fake Sparrow apps still sit in the store, a claim Apple disputes. Plaintiffs want a jury trial, their money back, and required warnings about App Store risks. The case tests whether Apple’s safety marketing creates a legal duty the company can be held to. For users, the lesson sits lower down. No legitimate wallet asks for a seed phrase inside an app pulled from a store search.

By Salma Al-Tamimi
3 min read

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Digital Infrastructure Report Reveals 45.2% AI Adoption Rate 2025

Saudi digital infrastructure gained a fresh set of benchmarks this week, when the Communications, Space and Technology Commission released the Saudi Internet Report 2025. The fifth edition tracks how people in the Kingdom connect, browse, and use new tools. It reads as a status check on the network and the habits built on top of it.

What the Saudi Digital Infrastructure Report measured?

The report covers usage indicators across the Kingdom. CST is the government body that regulates the sector, so its figures guide operators and users alike. Median mobile internet download speed reached 216 Mbps, up from 203 Mbps a year earlier. That figure places Saudi Arabia among the top five G20 countries on this measure. Median speed is the midpoint, the value where half of connections run faster and half run slower. The 5G median download speed came in higher, at 320 Mbps, with latency of 24 milliseconds. Latency measures the delay before data starts to move, so a lower number means quicker response for calls and games.

Data use and time online

Mobile data consumption tells a similar story. Average mobile data consumption reached 53 GB per person each month, about three times the global average. Streaming, gaming, and video calls drive that volume. The report also found 61.3 percent of users spend seven hours or more online each day. Such heavy use rewards dense coverage and steady capacity.

Time online shapes demand on the network. When most users stay connected for long stretches, operators size their systems for peak load, not idle hours. The strength of Saudi digital infrastructure shows in speeds that hold up under that pressure. Consistent speed under load is the real test of any network.

Saudi Arabia AI adoption climbs

Saudi Arabia AI adoption stands out in the data. The report put the AI tool adoption rate among internet users at 45.2 percent, more than double the 21.5 percent recorded a year earlier. Take-up signals a faster embrace of generative tools, software that produces text, images, or code from a prompt. Women used AI tools more than men, at 52.8 percent against 39.4 percent. Adoption fell with age, from 58.4 percent among those aged 10 to 19 down to 14.8 percent among those 60 to 74.

ChatGPT ranked as the most downloaded AI application, followed by Google Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok. The Kingdom’s own HUMAIN app placed tenth. Users turned to these tools to search for information, generate ideas, and support study.

Signs of a growing digital economy

Domain name registrations grew 18 percent over the year, a sign of more local sites and services. The report also mapped the fastest-growing applications, common browsing habits, and the most used search engines. These readings reflect wider local content and a larger digital economy.

Saudi digital infrastructure now supports one of the most connected populations in the region. Internet penetration in the Kingdom sat near 99.6 percent, so most residents already hold a connection. CST said the report forms part of its ongoing work to monitor the internet ecosystem and improve digital services. Together, the numbers sketch the state of Saudi digital infrastructure heading into 2026.

By Salma Al-Tamimi
3 min read

Digital Payments

Jaywan, the UAE’s first domestic card scheme, gains Mastercard credit card

Jaywan, the UAE’s first domestic card scheme, will carry a Mastercard badge on a new credit card under a partnership announced by Al Etihad Payments. AEP owns and operates the country’s national card switch and the Jaywan scheme, and it is a wholly owned unit of the Central Bank of the UAE. Both sides describe the deal as a first-of-its-kind arrangement. At its centre sits the world’s first Jaywan-Mastercard co-badged credit card.

A co-badged card runs on two payment networks at once. One network clears payments inside the country. The other clears payments abroad. On these products, Jaywan handles domestic transactions, and Mastercard handles international ones. That split lets a single Jaywan card work at home and across Mastercard’s global network. Credit adds a borrowing line that earlier Jaywan debit and prepaid cards did not offer.

New infrastructure inside Mastercard’s network

The agreement goes past a logo on plastic. AEP and Mastercard will build advanced systems for switching and processing card payments. They will also open a new operations centre in the UAE. This centre becomes a node in Mastercard’s global network, built to process both domestic and international payment flows. Mastercard will act as the prime international scheme for the Jaywan credit card program. The UAE will be among the earliest markets to run Mastercard’s latest technology and services.

Security built into UAE digital payments

Mastercard will deploy next-generation payment technology that powers Jaywan debit, prepaid and credit co-badge products. The package covers switching, processing and value-added services. It also brings Mastercard‘s cybersecurity, fraud prevention and threat intelligence tools into UAE digital payments. Threat intelligence means tracking known attack methods so a network can block them before they spread. These systems scan transactions for patterns that signal fraud, such as odd amounts or locations.

What it means for banks and merchants

The partnership reaches past cardholders. AEP wants banks, fintechs and merchants on shared, modern rails. Mastercard’s system gives these players more functions to serve customers and run their businesses. The operations centre will serve local and regional markets, not the UAE alone. That regional role could route more payment traffic through the country and support local innovation.

Why the UAE’s first domestic card scheme matters

The UAE’s first domestic card scheme was built to reduce reliance on foreign networks and to keep payment data inside the country. Adding Mastercard gives Jaywan cardholders reach beyond national borders without giving up local control. Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, the Central Bank’s Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services and Chairman of Al Etihad Payments, called the collaboration a defining moment for the country’s payments ecosystem. He said pairing national infrastructure with global innovation strengthens sovereignty, resilience and choice.

Dr. Dimitrios Dosis, President for EEMEA at Mastercard, said the company marks forty years in the UAE this year. He tied the partnership to growth in trade, tourism and commerce. Jaywan became the UAE’s first domestic card scheme after development with earlier partners, and nationwide card issuance moved ahead in 2026. AEP has since signed co-badge deals with Visa, Mastercard, Discover and UnionPay. The new credit card extends earlier Jaywan-Mastercard debit and prepaid products.

For now, the UAE’s first domestic card scheme adds a credit product built to work well beyond national borders.

By Salma Al-Tamimi
3 min read

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