Ah, VERA, darling, is dabbling in the blockchain, that rather vulgar yet undeniably trendy technology, to bring a touch of respectability – verified identities, no less! – to the otherwise dreary world of B2B messaging. One shudders to think of the unverified riffraff one might encounter otherwise. 🧐
Business communication, you see, is simply riddled with security flaws, like a badly sewn gown. Impersonators are running amok, darling, simply amok! Thus, on Tuesday, June 10, VERA, a South African platform (how exotic!), announced plans for a secure messaging platform powered by blockchain. One hopes it’s more reliable than my last dressmaker. 🧵
The platform, initially focused on South Africa (one must start somewhere, I suppose), will allow business users to verify their identities, helping companies avoid those dreadful scammers, who apparently send an estimated 3.4 billion fraudulent emails daily. The sheer audacity! Identity verification will be handled by cheqd, which sounds suspiciously like a breakfast cereal. 🥣
“At VERA, we believe secure communication should also be verifiable. cheqd’s infrastructure allows us to not only protect conversations, but to prove the identity of participants in a way that’s scalable, privacy-respecting, and future-ready,” said Max Coleman, Co-Founder of VERA. How frightfully modern! One almost expects flying cars next. 🚗
Once users verify their contact information, they will receive a digital identity recorded on the blockchain. According to VERA, this will enable instant verification and ensure that the identity is tamper-proof and immutable. One can only hope my reputation proves as resilient. 💎
Businesses face increased risks from scammers
The secure chat platform aims to protect businesses from common scams. Fraser Edwards, Co-Founder and CEO of cheqd, pointed to fake invoices as one frequent attack vector. The cheek of it all! As if one hasn’t enough to worry about with taxes. 💸
“VERA solves a genuine problem which affects ourselves and every company worldwide: invoice manipulation fraud. Every week we receive invoices by email attempting to defraud us. VERA’s solution ensures that every company and individual on the platform are verified,” Fraser Edwards, cheqd. How utterly tedious! One prefers to be defrauded in a more glamorous fashion. 💅
Africa faces a particularly high risk of scams and phishing attacks. According to a report by cybersecurity firm Check Point, one in 15 organizations in Africa experienced a ransomware attempt every week in Q1 2023. In response, VERA is conducting a beta launch focused on South African companies. The company plans to go live by the end of August, with expansion to the EU, U.S., and U.K. to follow. One trusts they’ll have sorted out the kinks by then. One simply cannot abide a poorly executed launch. 🚀
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2025-06-10 17:07