The semiconductor shortage continues to be a concern for most organizations around the world. While investments in new plants have been made to help increase supply, there is still a concern that there might not be sufficient skilled employees in the field.

In fact, the demand for skillsets in semiconductor and its related industries have been increasing, especially with new factories being developed. Despite technology enables most of these plants to be automated, the reality is, semiconductor companies need a physical workforce in areas of research and development and such.

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For example, in the US alone, the semiconductor industry will need to hire between 70,000 and 90,000 additional workers by 2025.  Reports also show that countries like Taiwan, which is currently the global powerhouse of integrated circuit manufacturing, has an average monthly deficit of specialized workers of approximately 27,700 employees.

As such, semiconductor companies have been investing and partnering with universities and learning institutes to develop new talents. In Malaysia, Micron Technology has announced an investment of RM1 million to strengthen collaboration, research and development projects with local universities over the next five years. The funding will go towards grants supporting research in the areas of semiconductor materials, smart manufacturing and artificial intelligence which are key to the advancement of tech manufacturing in the country.

“Micron leads the industry in both NAND and DRAM technology and Malaysia is critical to our global manufacturing footprint. We hope the funding and collaboration with local universities will strengthen the local semiconductor ecosystem, advance R&D and deepen science, technology and engineering skills in the local talent pool,” said Amarjit Singh Sandhu, corporate vice president and country manager of Micron Malaysia.

University Sains Malaysia (USM) will be the first university partner to receive funding from Micron. The partnership is set to create new growth opportunities between various institutors and companies. Further to that, the partnership between Micron and USM is also in line with the focus area of the National Fourth Industrial Revolution’s policy,and supported by national policies such as the 12th Malaysia Plan and Wawasan Kemakmuran Bersama 2030.

Amarjit also pointed out that Micron foresees opportunities to accelerate the next level of growth, given the increasing global market demand for memory and storage products. Hence, Micron has already invested in a 52.6-acre Center of Excellence for solid state drives assembly in Batu Kawan Industrial Park, Penang which is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2022.

“The RM1 million grant funding to local universities by Micron today further reinforces the company’s commitment to using its leadership, influence and resources to create positive change, on top of its relentless efforts in employee wellbeing, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility,” said Chow Kon Yeow, chief minister of Penang, who witnesses the signing ceremony.

The post Micron Technology invests RM1 Million for semiconductor research at Malaysian universities appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

According to Check Point Research, the Zloader malware has now made a comeback. First spotted in 2015, the malware campaign is now reported to be exploiting Microsoft’s digital signature verification to steal sensitive information from victims. The ZLoader malware is a banking trojan that uses web injection to steal cookies, passwords, and any sensitive information.

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In September 2021, ZLoader fell under the radar of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as a threat in the distribution of Conti ransomware. Most Conti ransomware is laid directly by a hacker that has accessed an unprotected RDP port, utilized email phishing to remote into a network via an employee’s computer, or utilized malicious attachments, downloads, application patch exploits, or vulnerabilities to gain access to a network.

During the same month, Microsoft said ZLoader operators were buying Google keyword ads to distribute various malware strains, including Ryuk ransomware.

While analyzing ZLoader campaigns in early September, we observed a notable shift in delivery method: from the traditional email campaigns to the abuse of online ad platforms. Attackers purchased ads pointing to websites that host malware posing as legitimate installers. pic.twitter.com/8HkR4kmyO6

— Microsoft Security Intelligence (@MsftSecIntel) September 23, 2021

Check Point Research published a report that details the resurgence of ZLoader in a campaign that has taken over 2,000 victims in 111 countries. Check Point Research attributes the campaign to the cybercriminal group MalSmoke.

Check Point Research shared the infection chain of Zloader. First, the attack begins with the installation of a legitimate remote management program pretending to be a Java installation. After this installation, the attacker has full access to the system and is able to upload and download files and also run scripts. The attacker uploads and runs a few scripts that download more scripts that run mshta.exe with file appContast.dll as the parameter.

Not sensing any anomaly, the file appContast.dll is signed by Microsoft, even though more information has been added to the end of the file. From there, the added information downloads and runs the final Zloader payload, stealing user credentials and private information from victims.

The number of victims affected. (Source – Check Point Research)

Specifically, Check Point Research has since documented 2170 unique victims. While most victims reside in the United States, followed by Canada and India, Check Point Research also saw some victims in Southeast Asia, with 18 victims in Malaysia and 82 in Indonesia.

“People need to know that they can’t immediately trust a file’s digital signature. What we found was a new ZLoader campaign exploiting Microsoft’s digital signature verification to steal sensitive information from users. We first began seeing evidence of the new campaign around November 2021. The attackers, whom we attribute to MalSmoke, are after the theft of user credentials and private information from victims,” said Kobi Eisenkraft, Malware Researcher at Check Point Software.

Eisenkraft added that they counted north of 2,000 victims in 111 countries and still counting. All in all, it seems like the Zloader campaign authors put great effort into defense evasion and are still updating their methods on a weekly basis. He strongly urges users to apply Microsoft’s update for strict Authenticode verification as it is not applied by default.

Microsoft has known about this security gap since 2012 and has attempted to fix it by releasing increasingly stricter file verification policies. However, for some reason, these remain disabled by default.

As such, Check Point Research has suggested the following safety tips to be practiced. Firstly, users should apply Microsoft’s update for strict Authenticode verification. Again, this is not applied by default. Secondly, avoid installing programs from unknown sources and sites. Lastly, avoid opening links or unfamiliar attachments received through email.

The post Malware exploits Microsoft’s e-Signature verification appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

VinFast has been making headlines around the world in the last few months for the right reasons. The Vietnamese carmaker recently confirmed its plans to bring a pair of its electric SUVs to the American market during its debut at the 2021 Los Angeles auto show.

Now, Vinfast is planning to set up a battery factory in the US as well as part of its planned US manufacturing complex. The company hopes to build electric vehicle battery cells and packs. Vinfast has previously said it planned to start producing electric vehicles in the United States in the second half of 2024.

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Speaking to Reuters, Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup vice-chair and VinFast Global CEO said the new plant will be a Gigafactory. While the company will continue to source batteries from its suppliers, as it will initially assemble battery packs with cells sourced from its supplier at its U.S. complex before starting its own production.

“We have narrowed down from I think, over 50 sites to about three sites,” she said during her U.S. visit to attend the CES 2022 in Las Vegas.

Reuters also reported her saying that the mega-site will also include an electric bus factory. In December, Vingroup has already started construction on a battery cell plant in Vietnam as part of its plan to build its own battery supply chain.

We’re thrilled to introduce our newest range of all-electric vehicles. Each one is designed to make the switch to EV an easy and exciting experience. Explore the benefits of going #EV with VinFast. See disclaimers in reply. https://t.co/OKXqiPe19u #VinFirst #CES2022 pic.twitter.com/heqy92X4EG

— VinFast (@VinFastofficial) January 6, 2022

In fact, battery supply chain issues have already led to delays in the production of several electric vehicle brands around the world. Some of these companies have now chosen to also build their own battery factories to deal with the shortage.

Vinfast is looking to initially produce 100,000 battery packs per year with US$ 174 million of investments and then upgrade its capacity to one million. As Vietnam’s first fully-fledged domestic car manufacturer, Vinfast is also considered the most advanced car manufacturer in the ASEAN region, designing and building better models than other ASEAN car manufacturers.

(Source – VinFast)

Having only hit the streets in 2019, the carmaker began selling electric vehicles in Vietnam at the end of 2021. At CES 2022, Thuy also announced that VinFast will be a fully electric vehicle company in 2022.  With the new announcement, Vinfast hopes it will be able to cater to the growingly competitive electric vehicle market in the US.

Apart from its new battery factory announcement, the car company also announced that it will commence a reservation program for its first two electric vehicle models through blockchain. Blockchain will be used in the process to certify reservations, payments, and eventually vehicle ownership.

Vinfast’s application of blockchain makes it one of the world’s first automakers to put this advanced technology into use. It will first apply blockchain in the reservation process in the US and is looking at the possibilities of using this technology in other markets in the near future.

“VinFast’s Customer-First Philosophy leads us towards providing high-quality products with reasonable pricing and outstanding services as well as offering solutions that inspire global customers to join hands for a more sustainable future for all,” added Thuy.

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Sony has become the latest producer of electric cars as it unveils its prototype model at CES 2022. The electric giant’s Vision-S 02 electric car is the latest prototype from the company as it looks to explore the rapidly growing market.

The Japanese firm, better known for its TVs and video game consoles, will create the Sony Mobility subsidiary in the first half of 2022 as it weighs entering the field. Sony joins a number of electric and tech companies that have shown interest and developed their own electric cars in recent times.

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In Asia, more Chinese carmakers and tech companies are working together to get ahead in electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle production. Among them are China’s BYD and autonomous driving startup Momenta, which has entered a 100 million yuan (US$15.7 million) joint venture to deploy autonomous driving capabilities across certain BYD car model lines. Another carmaker, Jidu Auto, an EV venture between tech giant Baidu and automaker Geely, also announced that it would start mass production of its first “Robot” EV in 2023.

According to a statement by Sony, “the new company will aim to make the best use of AI and robotics technologies, help realizes a world where everyone can live in harmony with robots on a daily basis, fill people with emotion, and contribute to society. With VISION-S, which contributes to the evolution of mobility, together with the autonomous entertainment robot Aibo, and the drone Airpeak, Sony will seek to continue to create new value in a variety of fields.”

According to Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony’s chief executive officer the Vision-S 02 is a new version of the firm’s first prototype that has begun road testing. Through this new branch, the electronics giant intends to explore entry into the EV market.

This vehicle uses the same EV/cloud platform as the prototype (VISION-S 01), which is being tested on public roads. By offering entertainment experiences utilizing the large interior space and variations of a 7-seater, this new prototype will, together with VISION-S 01, promote the accommodation of a large variety of lifestyles within a society where values are becoming increasingly diversified.

To demonstrate the concept in the real world, Sony started public road testing in Europe in December 2020 for the Vision-S. Sony started verification tests of the safety and user experience of the imaging and sensing technology installed inside and outside the vehicle, and the human-machine interface (HMI) system. In April 2021, Sony began 5G driving tests and will continue to apply its cutting-edge technologies to provide new experiences in the realm of mobility, which is undergoing a shift to electric vehicles.

Globally, the electric vehicle sector is still growing. In the US, it only accounts for only about 3% of current sales but it is attracting a lot of interest and investment. For example, General Motors has planned to invest more than US$ 35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025.

Authorities in Asia, Europe, and the United States plan to spend billions of dollars to strengthen the network of charging stations or encourage individuals to abandon their fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse

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Pine Labs has started 2022 with a big announcement. The leading merchant commerce platform has received a new investment of US$20 million from India’s largest commercial bank, the State Bank of India (SBI).

Pine Labs a fintech company that serves prominent large, mid-sized, and small merchants across India and Southeast Asia.

Its cloud-based software platform enables it to offer a wide range of payment acceptance and merchant commerce solutions including enterprise automation systems such as inventory management and customer relationship management. Its stored value platform includes issuing, processing, and distributing digital gift cards for corporate customers around the world.

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Pine Labs has recorded incredible success thus far. In 2021 alone, the company raised almost US$600 million from a marquee set of new investors and followed it up with a US$100 million fundraise from the US-based Invesco Developing Markets Fund.

In addition to augmenting its merchant commerce offerings at the offline point-of-sale, Pine Labs is now looking to invest in scaling Plural, its newly launched brand of online payment products, and emerge as an omnichannel partner of choice for merchants.

According to B. Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs, having the largest bank of India, the State Bank of India places their trust in them, welcomes them in this journey where they are empowering merchants with seamless and secure payment experiences across offline and online platforms.

“In the last one year, several marquee investors have placed their trust in our business model and growth momentum and that is a gratifying feeling. This association with SBI is a personally satisfying experience as I had started my career selling financial services technology to SBI,” added Rau.

In April 2021, Pine Labs acquired Southeast Asian startup Fave in a deal valued at US$45 million as the Indian firm looks to strengthen its consumer-focused offerings in the domestic and international markets.

Since then, the company has continued expanding its Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) business across India and Southeast Asia. It also has a leading presence in the Gift, Prepaid and Stored Value segment through its 2019 acquisition of Qwikcilver.

The BNPL industry has been seeing growing competition in Southeast Asia as more companies are now jumping on the bandwagon and offering such services. Last month, Pine Labs announced a regional partnership with insurtech firm Igloo as well.

Towards the end of 2021, Pine Labs also announced the launch of Plural Tokenizer, a tokenization solution that works across leading card networks. This Card-on-File or CoF tokenization solution will replace the debit or credit card details of the cardholder with what are called ‘tokens’ or randomly generated numbers. The launch is in line with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines that mandate no entity other than the card issuer or card networks to store actual cardholder data with took effect from January 1, 2022.

The post Pine Labs secures investment from India’s largest bank appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

For autonomous car manufacturers, automotive software is essential to ensure these vehicles operate smoothly. Over the years, car manufacturers have invested millions in the research and development of automotive software.

And when it comes to automotive software, Tesla arguably tops the list for being the most innovative in its solutions. However, recent issues such as accidents involving its self-driving vehicles have brought in some negative publicity for the carmaker.

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Despite this, Tesla is still the top producing autonomous car manufacturer in the world.

However, this is also rapidly changing as Asian carmakers are now making their presence felt in the global autonomous vehicle industry. For example, Chinese autonomous vehicles have been seeing increased demand and sales, not just in China but globally as well.

Part of the reason for this is that most of these automakers are manufacturing and designing their own automotive software.

Automotive software includes the use of AI for self-driving as well as processing data the vehicle sends and receives.

Apart from autonomous driving, automotive software is also needed for managing electric motors and batteries as well as navigation and providing entertainment.

With more automated features being developed for autonomous cars, some manufacturers are now deciding to design and build their own operating software as well.

According to a report by Nikkei, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp is planning to launch its own operating system, which would be capable of handling advanced operations such as autonomous driving, for its vehicles by 2025.

Building a native automotive software

The automotive software platform, Arene is expected to compete with German rivals, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG. Volkswagen is already working on its ‘VW.OS’ software, while Daimler is planning to roll out its own ‘Mercedes-Benz Operating System’ in its cars by 2024.

General Motors is also developing an operating system that can be updated instantly via the internet, pouring US$35 billion by 2025.

At the same time, tech companies have also jumped into the bandwagon and are developing their own autonomous vehicle and automotive software. For example, Apple is rumored to be working on an autonomous vehicle while Google seeks to bring the business models that succeeded in smartphones to the auto industry.

For Toyota, the Japanese carmaker also plans to make it available to affiliates such as Subaru in the future. Reports also showed that Toyota is considering a licensing model to make Arene available to other car manufacturers and companies working on electric or self-driving cars.

Nikkei reported that Arene will control basic components which include the steering wheel, brakes, and accelerator.

The automotive system will also manage the vehicle’s safety systems as well as location and traffic information. All vehicles fitted with the operating system, regardless of make or model, will have access to shared functions. Consumers can update the system online, much like smartphone software, enabling quick improvements to performance.

As competition in the autonomous vehicle industry increases, vehicle manufacturers are likely to feel pressured to continuously work on developing and improving their own automotive systems.

This is not just to stay ahead, but also sidestep supply chain complexities, especially given the global semiconductor shortage that’s expected to persist to 2023.

The post Toyota to launch automotive software platform by 2025 appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

2021 has been a turbulent year for the semiconductor industry. While the demand for the chips increased throughout the year, the semiconductor industry was struggling to ensure they could deliver.

In fact, global shipments for the semiconductor industry in 2021 experienced its worst delays. While COVID-19 was often blamed for the disruption and delays in shipments, there were other factors at play as well.

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This included natural disasters, shipping incidents and trade problems across the world. For example, in the UK, delays in shipments were caused by Brexit policies while bad weather conditions hampered shipment deliveries in the Southeast Asia. The US and China’s trade disputes also contributed to the delays.

According to a report by CNBC, trade credit insurer Euler Hermes foresees the semiconductor industry still being the biggest winners. With logistics being disrupted globally, most companies have moved to decided to invest in new chip factories nearer to them. Some companies have even decided to build their own chip plants and reduce reliance on global chip providers.

Analysts at Euler Helmes said that the current semiconductor cycle has been firing on all cylinders since the industry emerged from its worst recession in 2019. In fact, they predicted that semiconductor sales are expected to grow by another 9% and cross US$ 600 billion for the first time in 2022. That’s on top of the 26% growth to US$ 553 billion in 2021, they added.

The new site of German semiconductor manufacturer Bosch is pictured in Dresden, eastern Germany. (Photo by JENS SCHLUETER / AFP)

Major chipmakers like TSMC, Intel, Bosch, SMIC and others have already announced plans to increase their chip production capacity to meet the increasing demand and sales. However, the reality is, the new facilities and updates could take a long time to come online.

Earlier in December, Euler Hermes’ Global Trade Report predicted global supply-chain disruptions could remain high until the second half of 2022 amid renewed Covid-19 outbreaks around the world, China’s sustained zero-Covid policy and demand and logistic volatility during Chinese New Year. Nevertheless, the trade credit insurer expects trade growth to remain strong through 2022 and 2023, with some clear winners across regions and sectors.

“Overall, we expect global trade in volume to grow by 5.4% in 2022 and 4.0% in 2023, and then gradually return to its pre-crisis average levels. However, this comes at the expense increased global imbalances. The US will register record-high trade deficits (around USD1.3trn in 2022-2023), mirrored by a record-high trade surplus in China (USD760bn on average). Meanwhile the Eurozone will also see higher-than-average surplus of around USD330bn”, explains Françoise Huang, Senior Economist for Asia-Pacific at Euler Hermes.

Analysts from Euler Hermes have listed three factors that have driven up sales so far. They include:

• Demand: “Unusually strong demand” for consumer electronics, such as personal computers and smartphones
• Prices: An increase in prices due to tight supply and demand dynamics
• Improved product mix: Further improvement in product mix for semiconductors as a result of higher priced and new generation chips being introduced.

A new dawn for the semiconductor industry

 The CNBC report highlighted four risks the analysts predicted the semiconductor industry will face in 2022. Firstly, hardware sales are expected to take a larger hit from demand normalization after strong growth in the last two years.

Secondly, supply chain disruptions from the pandemic will have a big hit in manufacturing activity. This can already be witnessed by the recent lockdowns in China’s Xian province. The lockdown has already led to disruption of semiconductor provider Micron Technology and Samsung.

Next, the ongoing loggerheads between China and the US as both countries battle for tech supremacy. Restrictions are still in place for Chinese companies acquiring critical U.S. semiconductor manufacturing tech and equipment.

Lastly, there might just be an “increasing frequency of unusually adverse climatic events” proving to be a major challenge for the semiconductor sector, which relies on optimal capacity utilization for its profitability.

As such, 2022 might just be another turbulent year for the semiconductor industry. But, with more organizations finding solutions to deal with the issues in the industry, the problem may not be as severe as previously experienced.

The post Semiconductor industry to experience nearly 10% sales growth in 2022 appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

For the past 15 years, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC Motor) is China’s largest traditional automaker. Owned by the Chinese government, the automaker is now adding more features to its electric vehicles.

SAIC Motor recently announced the official operation of its Mobility Robotaxi, which is also China’s first L4 self-driving platform in China.

Cooperating with Momenta, SAIC Motor Lab would provide intelligent driving solutions to Robotaxi; its platform offers powerful computing power with 600 trillion operations per second.

Its “vision + radar” solution can also independently complete 3D perception and data-driven fusion to ensure multiple and high-level redundancies in the system.

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Now, Cipia, an auto-tech company providing automakers and fleets with advanced AI-based in-cabin sensing solutions for driver and interior monitoring, has announced the first purchase order from Tier 1 Technomous, and the start of production with China’s largest automotive company SAIC Motor.

Cipia is delivering its market-leading Driver Monitoring System (DMS), Driver Sense, for integration in the Roewe RX5 MAX car model running on TI TDA4VM SoC, with production already underway.

This project joins other car models already in serial production with Driver Sense on board. The project with Technomous for SAIC was included in Cipia’s IPO prospectus as part of the design wins and forecasted lifecycle value.

(Source – Cipia)

David Tolub, CEO of Cipia said, “The integration of the system in such a short time span is a testament to the quality of the solution and service level, and offers automotive manufacturers the ability to remain at the edge of technology and safety, and enjoy a competitive advantage in the market.”

Research from Continental China and non-profit organization HCVC, 74% of people who survived road traffic accidents attributed the main cause to distracted driving.

With the growing number of distractions in cars coupled with an overreliance on semi-autonomous driving features, there is a clear need for technology to mitigate the dangers of distracted driving.

The computer vision and AI technology powering Driver Sense monitors and analyzes the driver’s behavior by detecting visual attributes such as eyelids, pupils, gaze direction, and more. This then translates them to the physiological state of the driver (drowsiness, distraction, talking on the phone, etc.), enabling life-saving warnings and actions.

The Chinese automotive market has been in a steady growth state for the past two decades. In 2020, 25 million vehicles were manufactured in China, a figure more than the US and EU combined.

In recent years, Chinese automakers started acquiring international auto brands and targeting western markets with international brands.

SAIC Motor has been the top-selling automotive manufacturer in China for 15 consecutive years, reaching a sales volume of 5.6 million vehicles across its brands in 2020.

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Some governments are also undertaking developments and projects to ensure that healthcare delivery in rural or remote locations is not left out.

This includes developing virtual care platforms to deploy telemedicine technology.

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In Southeast Asia, telehealth services are spread out across ASEAN nations. While there are some international providers, there have also been local startups providing such services.

For example, Vietnamese startup Med247 operates medical apps and care facilities across Vietnam. The company has developed a hybrid platform that combines traditional health models with telemedicine technology via an app for patients and doctors to bring affordable healthcare to all.

Over in Myanmar, Malaysian telehealth provider, DOC2US has expanded its services to the country via a technical partnership with HOPE Telecare, in the hopes of accelerating digital healthcare development in the country.

HOPE Telecare is Myanmar’s all-in-one digital healthcare platform that provides free online healthcare services by volunteer doctors.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, there are at least nine providers of telehealth services that are currently supporting thousands of patients isolated under home recovery and quarantine orders.

More providers are expected to be tapped in as cases continue to increase in the island nation.

Securing telehealth services

As demand for telemedicine and telehealth services increases, there is now concern about the security of the data being collected and transmitted from these platforms.

Healthcare data continues to be one of the most sought-after data by cybercriminals — and now, telemedicine services are also being targeted by them.

According to research by Global Kaspersky, 30% of healthcare providers have experienced cases where their employees compromised customers’ personal information during remote consultations.

Also, almost half of providers believe that their clinicians don’t clearly understand how patients’ data is protected. 67% of them believe it is important for the healthcare sector to collect even more personal information to further industry development.

Most telehealth services are normally conducted over an app or platform designed specifically by the provider. However, research showed that 54% of respondents admitted that some clinicians conduct remote sessions using apps not specifically designed for telehealth. The use of FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Zoom, and others are among these apps.

For Prof. Chengyi Lin, Associate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD and an expert in digital transformation, the evolution of digital health requires healthcare data to be carefully curated, managed and governed.

“This information is also valuable to individuals and the healthcare system to improve outcomes and reduce costs. We have already seen encouraging results from using big data for better clinical trial design and reducing both time and costs.

“We can leverage technologies to ensure privacy while delivering the benefits, for example, using additional privacy measures to facilitate the adoption of AI,” explained Prof Li.

For Denis Barinov, Head of Kaspersky Academy, the more complex and critical technology is, the more awareness it requires from people who work with it. He pointed out that this is particularly important for the healthcare industry entering the new digital stage and increasingly facing issues connected to privacy and security.

“But it’s not only about awareness – for any security training to be effective, it should not only deliver up-to-date information but also inspire and motivate people to behave safely in practice,” he commented.

With telehealth services expected to be an integral part of healthcare in 2022 and beyond, healthcare organizations need to ensure they have a proper cybersecurity framework not only on how they handle their patient data but also the tools they are using for the service.

This includes having clear guidelines on external services and resources allowed as well as a robust password policy.

The process may sound tedious but it’s the only way of ensuring the services provided are secured.

The post Telehealth services must prioritize cybersecurity appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Cyber risks for organizations are expected to continue to be a major concern for organizations in 2022. While 2021 saw increasing cyber attacks as well, what disrupted most businesses were sophisticated ransomware attacks. Not only were these attacks harder to detect, but they also had a bigger impact on their victims.

Studies show that ransomware attacks soared 93% in the first half of 2021. With the increased incidence of cyberattacks, the threat of ransomware, and the potential for human error in administering cluster security, organizations need a fast, simple, and comprehensive way to assess their security posture and address any concerns quickly.

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Some of the biggest ransomware attacks in 2021 included the attacks on the supply chain network as experienced by Colonial Pipeline and JBS. Other major cyberattacks in 2021 saw tech companies like ACER and managed services provider Kaseya also targeted.

As cyberattacks target more industries, the cyber risks for them increase as well. According to statistics from CyberSecurity Venture and Gartner, the predicted total ransomware cost in 2021 is US$ 20 billion. A typical ransomware attack costs 10 to 15 times more damage to organizations than the ransom demand.

Cyber risks are more concerning in the future also because a ransomware attack is expected to occur every two seconds by 2031 compared to every 11 seconds today. The biggest effect of this is that only 2% of an organization’s disaster recovery efforts are aligned with business-defined recovery requirements.

“It is only going to get worse. Research shows that cybercrime damage is predicted to be worth US$ 10.5 trillion by 2025. And only 11% of organizations can recover data within 72 hours of a cyberattack. I think organizations must be prepared to recover. A lot of businesses cannot last a 72-hour downtime,” said Ravi Rajendran, Vice President for Cohesity Asia Pacific and Japan.

As such, sufficient backup and data management are now a prerogative that companies can’t afford to not take seriously in dealing with cyber risks. Organizations need to be able to recover from any ransomware attack as quickly as possible. Any prolonged downtime could lead to severe repercussions.

Cohesity recently introduced Security Advisor, an addition to the company’s Threat Defense architecture that gives customers an easy way to improve their security posture in an era of rapidly sophisticated and damaging cyberattacks. The new feature helps reduce human errors and achieve a higher level of cyber resilience in customer environments that are managed through the Cohesity Helios data platform.

Security Advisor scans the customer’s Cohesity environment, including an array of security configurations, and considers a host of factors such as access control, audit logs, and encryption framework that are critical to protecting the security posture of the data cluster. Organizations then receive a score that tells them how they are performing against Cohesity’s best practice recommendations.

Additionally, the companies are provided with recommendations on how to address potential risks and help keep their platform and the data secure from bad actors — both internal and external — which can limit their exposure to cyber extortion.

Security Advisor complements Cohesity’s CyberScan application on the Cohesity Marketplace. CyberScan enables organizations to uncover cyber exposures and blind spots within their production environment by running on-demand and automated scans on backup snapshots against known vulnerabilities.

“Enterprises use an array of tools to generate and manage data, and each tool has its own security settings – making it difficult to review every setting and control access across all their disparate technology. This lack of visibility and control leaves IT environments vulnerable to cyberattacks,” said Brian Spanswick, chief information security officer, Cohesity.

Cyber risks in 2022 and beyond will only get more complicated and sophisticated. For Christophe Bertrand, practice director, Data Protection for Enterprise Strategy Group, their recent research shows that ransomware is the top IT spending priority for 2022, and that ransomware preparedness is now a core business conversation at the executive level and in the boardroom.

“As cybercriminals become more aggressive and creative, against a backdrop of the cybersecurity skills shortage, organizations are struggling to maintain an optimal security posture,” he added.

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