Features

Combating the latest & the lethal

Published

9 years ago

December 17, 2015

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Saeed Agha, G.M. Palo Alto Networks Middle East

Security threats to our networks have become more lethal because of the fact that cyber criminals are using latest tricks and updated security breach mechanism for attacking us. The Integrator Magazine has taken a deep dive into the market analysis of how these latest security attacks are happening and what combat plans does the industry have.

Dependency on ICT has grown big. The phenomena of hyper convergence have led to the challenge of complexity. But ICT security threats have remained the biggest challenge for technocrats.

Security threats to our networks have become more lethal because the cyber criminals are using latest tricks and updated security breach mechanism.

Malware, insider threats, and ransomware – the ways in which cybercriminals can attack a company’s network and exploit vulnerabilities are vast. But some attack factors are bigger risks than others, and some have the potential to wreak more havoc than others.

While giving a perspective towards today’s market scenrio, Harish Chib, Vice President Middle East & Africa for Sophos said, “We understand that cyber criminals are graduating from one level to another. In order to deal with the latest threats Sophos has taken big step towards next-generation security. Organizations of every size know they need endpoint security and network security – they are two foundational pillars of any IT security strategy. But for too long, these two product segments simply didn’t communicate with each other – they were independent and isolated silos, which limited their effectiveness and their manageability.”

Communication between its IT security solutions for endpoint and corporate network is very crucial. The world of IT security has become even more complex and more difficult to manage for enterprises of all sizes, thus it is time for a new approach to IT security solutions.

While giving a perspective on changing mindset of cybercriminals, Ray Kafity, VP of META FireEye commented, “In order to understand the status of cyber threats we must understand how the Cyber criminals are changing their mindset. The conventional cyber attack strategies have now changed and the cyber attacks have become more dangerous as the attackers have adopted newer techniques for cyber attacks.”

The Zero Day Attack Syndrome

Shahnawaz Sheikh, D Software

“A zero-day vulnerability, at its core, is a flaw. It is an unknown exploit in the wild that exposes vulnerability in software or hardware which can create complicated problems well before anyone realizes something is wrong. In fact, a zero-day exploit leaves no opportunity for detection at first,” informed Ray of FireEye

The latest Zero-Day attacks and evasive malware represent the biggest and latest security threats with social engineering attacks and insider threats following behind.

Commenting on the latest security trends and new techniques used by the hackers, Saeed Agha General Manager of Palo Alto Networks said, “A Palo Alto Networks survey at Ignite 2015, our annual gathering of cybersecurity top influencers and professionals, uncovered the cybersecurity pain points and specific risks which feature among the top concerns. In the age of ‘Internet of Things’, prevention is the only viable path forward. At Palo Alto Networks, we believe that our prevention-based approach to securing enterprise networks ought to be applied to every industry that deals in Internet-enabled products and devices.”

In addition Agha also added, “When every organisation starts to think of their business, taking in to consideration the potential IoT, and breach prevention, this might look like a bigger challenge, but eventually this approach will provide far more value.”

Commenting on the latest Zero Day Attacks, Shahnawaz Sheikh, Distribution Channel Director META, Eastern Europe of D Software stated, “Zero Day Attacks have been there since many years but have risen in the last year or so, this year we saw many cases of Zero Day Attacks, especially the espionage attack campaigns targeting Government websites or watering hole attacks targeting the legitimate websites where millions of users visit regularly. By targeting those selected few legitimate sites, their aim is to infect malware in millions of users. In many cases the application vendors are responding timely to prevent the attacks on any possible vulnerabilities that exists. The better approach towards the safeguarding from zero day attacks is to protect your networks, cloud and applications with multilayered security or to patch the fix timely or to unplug some troubled plug-ins or applications.”

Sharing their perspective on this issue, Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services at Help AG said, “We are also seeing a shift in mentality. Typically whenever we would talk about network security there was an obvious focus on the corporate network and attached devices such as PCs and servers. However the explosion of smartphones and the increasing usage of cloud-based services have meant that malware is now more frequent on these types of platforms. Due to the growth of processing power and bandwidth, these devices will also become more and more interesting for the attackers and, for instance, botnets and DDOS attacks. This too has cause the industry to revaluate its approach and extend protection beyond traditional security measures.”

Effect of Latest Security threats in the Middle East Region

Nicolai Solling of Help AG

Middle East customers are always trying to adopt latest trends, leaving legacy solutions behind. Trends like cloud and data center virtualization, BYOD and mobility, SDN and cyberthreats are top of mind everywhere we go. None of those trends can be successfully adopted without a mature security strategy in place. Agha of Palo Alto Networks said, “Our goal is to enable region businesses to effectively run their business, maintain complete visibility and control of their network, and confidently pursue new technologies. Most importantly, Palo Alto Networks will help protect business from the most basic to sophisticated cyberattacks — known and unknown.”

A lack of a proactive security strategy puts a business or government in reactive mode, firefighting but incapable of intelligence, analysis and prevention of cyberattacks. The costs of such an approach are high, for example, expensive incident response teams, but does not enable the prevention of data restoration of valuable data after an attack.

“We urge organizations and government entities to invest in security technology that offers both detection and prevention, as well as actionable intelligence that goes beyond a “data dump” and identifies which alerts to prioritize and next steps to take.” Agha of Palo Alto also added, “It is worth mentioning that the new malware count is in the tens of thousands every day. The ability to address unknown threats in an automated, integrated and preventive way across all the enterprise is now paramount. In other words, being able to stop the worst from happening, whether it’s a known or unknown threat and in whichever form it takes, across the whole enterprise regardless of device type, content type or location is the biggest challenge for organizations here. Our enterprise security platform enables this.”

“The Middle East region has very high density of computing devices. Internet is getting consumed at smartphones, PCs and Tablets. Hence the Zero-Day vulnerability cannot be ruled out. In last two years, we have witnessed 29 Zero-day attacks. The threat levels are serious, and positive news is that FireEye have developed a security from these Zero-Day attacks,” Ray of FireEye said.

The Next Generation UTM Console

Commenting on the evolution of Network security through UTMs, Help AG’s Nicolai expressed his views by adding, “One of the greatest evolutions in the market, which actually spun off a whole new technical term, was the introduction of the Palo Alto Networks product line, which changed the way we consider UTM services, or the services that UTM solutions should deliver. The traffic flow controllers in these devices make decisions based on the application and then apply the advanced security features in parallel instead of in a sequential manner as was the case with the pure-breed UTM devices. This approach means that performance- which has traditionally been a major concern with UTM devices- does not suffer when applying the security features.”

Today most of the industry is trying to copy this approach to packet processing in order to be at par with this market leader in innovative technology.

Shahnawaz of D Software further added while explaining about market evolution of UTM console, he added, “It’s been years now, the UTM market has evolved to be a mature market with technology awareness and adoption across the various segments of the market, however the difference between awareness and adoption in various different countries of Middle East could be marginal between each other. With the growing concern on security threats in some sectors like Banking/Finance, Oil and Gas, Government, these segment of the customers are strengthening their defense and investing to build a secure business environment.”

In addition to this, Shahnawaz also explained key drivers of Next Generation Firewalls, he said. “The Next generation Firewalls are providing multiple layers of protection unifying into one single solution to combat and mitigate threats of various type. As this unified approach helps organizations minimize or eliminate any excess cost and management burden, this helps them in defining right ROI with comprehensive security that minimal TCO. The threat intelligence of UTM/Next Gen Firewall does not involve extensive involvement of customers resources of their skills set to keep up the security. The multi layered concept of UTM/Next Gen Firewall helps eliminate complexities at the engineering level bringing in the technology which is almost plug and play.”

One of the primary drivers for the adoption of UTM is consolidation. As security needs have become more and more complex, there is a requirement to consolidate some security features applied at the network level. Nicolai further said, “This consolidation is performed not just in order to optimise cost, but quite interestingly the consolidation of services actually enhances visibility into threats without correlating events from multiple devices.”

Harish of Sophos also informed about his organization’s preparedness towards next generation security offering. He said, “We know that the market is evolving hence our latest version of its UTM hardware series has an up to date versions of Sophos Cloud, Enduser Protection Bundles, SafeGuard, Sophos Mobile Control, Sophos Email Appliance and Sophos Web Appliance. We also have Cyberoam’s future-ready network security with its wide range of Next-Generation Firewalls and UTMs. These solutions are offering comprehensive solution to the corporate user of all size.”

UTM and NGFW solution offer a very strong value proposition to customers while still guaranteeing a very robust security model. With ROI being the prime focus of many CIOs and IT decision makers in the region, this makes for a very strong business case that is causing the market space for these solutions to grow. Furthermore, because of the evolution of the threat landscape, It would not be very wrong to say that the classic firewall platforms are almost obsolete today.

Chasing the Next level security

The next level of Network Security in my opinion is about collaboration and integration of adjacent technologies that can help businesses optimize their investment, resources, management burden, complexities etc., As the concept of UTM is more matured today, the fast adoption of cutting edge is not just in enhancement of this technology but also at the same time collaborating and adjacent technologies to give more effective and efficient way to manage end-to-end security with total control, visibility and simplicity.

While unleashing Palo Alto’s plans to combat the latest security threats, Saeed Agha also informed, “Palo Alto Networks is working with some of the most demanding industries to ensure their data and critical infrastructure remains safe from targeted cyber attacks. These organizations have learned firsthand the power of a next-generation security platform when it comes to safely enabling the use of all applications, maintaining complete visibility and control, and confidently pursuing new business ventures, while protecting the organization from the latest cyber threats. Our natively integrated platform brings network, cloud and endpoint security into a common architecture, with complete visibility and control, so your organization can detect and prevent attacks. This next-generation enterprise platform streamlines day-to-day operations and boosts security efficacy, and the one-of-a-kind, multi-layered defense model prevents threats at each stage of the attack lifecycle.”

Recently Palo Alto Networks had acquired CirroSecure, and with this acquisition, the company has enabled organizations to embrace SaaS as an extension of their IT infrastructure without security concerns. Aperture is Palo Alto’s latest addition to the security platform is developed as a direct result of this acquisition.

While commenting on the future of network security, Nicolai of Help AG added, “In Help AG we talk to our customers about the concept of the zero-trust network architecture. Its simplest sense, it means that we cannot trust anyone anymore. The three most basic principles of the model are- secured access for all resources regardless of location; stringently applied ‘least access’ control; and fine-grain monitoring and logging of all network traffic. The zero-trust model calls for the segmentation of infrastructure, and the creation of logical security zones, with more emphasis being given to having central security capabilities for controlling traffic between the zones.”

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HOW FSI INCUMBENTS CAN STAY RELEVANT THROUGH THE GCC’S PAYMENTS EVOLUTION

Published

1 week ago

June 28, 2024

Integrator Web-Editor

By Luka Celic, Head of Payments Architecture – MENA, Endava

Banks and payment services providers (PSPs) have been the region’s engines of economic growth for as long as anyone can remember. It is therefore jarring to imagine that this dominance is now under threat. After all, venerable banks and credit card companies have elegantly embraced the Internet, mobile banking, and the cloud to deliver self service banking to millions of customers. But consumers, especially digital natives, have never been known for congratulating an industry for a job well done. Instead, with each convenience, their expectations only grow. The siege reality of the pandemic accelerated a shift in consumer behaviour, and Middle East banks and PSPs now face challenges on three fronts.

The first is FinTechs. from Saudi Arabia’s BNPL (buy now, pay later) pioneer Tamara and Qatar’s unbanked oriented platform cwallet, to online financial services, Klarna, tech startups have been able to tap into rapidly changing consumer markets. New companies find it easier to pivot. And like speed boats racing against aircraft carriers, they weaved effortlessly to fulfil a range of desires amid high smartphone connectivity rates and a range of other favourable market conditions. By one estimate from 2022, BNPL alone accounted for US$1.5 billion (or 4%) of the Middle East and Africa’s online retail market.

The second threat is open banking, which comes in many forms, but one example is the instant-payments platforms being introduced by central banks such as those in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. To get a sense of how this could play out, we need only look to Europe, where players who once relied on payments through card schemes are now pivoting towards open banking enabled payments. Closer to home, Al Ansari Exchange recently announced its customers can now transfer money and settle bills via the recipient’s mobile number, enabled by the UAE’s Aani IPP.

And finally, comes big tech. To augment its e-wallet service, Apple has signed up to an open banking service in the UK. The open banking framework which banks enabled through their investments is being exploited by a Big Tech firm that has access to 34% of UK smartphone users. Unsurprisingly, this sparked a fierce antitrust complaint by UK’s banks. Other big names will surely follow as they continue to craft ways of offering the digital experiences that garnered them user loyalty in the first place.

THE BALANCE

Apple Wallet is aimed at blending payment methods, loyalty cards, and other services into a single experience. But such moves have raised regulators’ eyebrows regarding a lack of interoperability and the preservation of competitive markets. Hence, Apple’s open banking foray — a gesture to calm the nerves of a finance market that fears having to compete with a company armed with countless millions of user transactions from which to draw insights. The massive user bases of tech giants will give any FSI CEO goosebumps. How does a traditional bank lure an Apple user? Open banking initiatives open the door to greater competition and innovation, both of which are good for consumers. But the only way to ensure both is by building an ecosystem that balances innovation with regulatory oversight.

FROM INCUMBENT TO INNOVATOR

Yes, smaller businesses have freedom of movement that larger incumbents do not. But that does not mean that there are no paths for banks and PSPs. There are, in fact, several strategies that larger FSI companies can employ to capitalise on the open banking revolution.

The first of these is collaborating to create ecosystems that provide users with frictionless experiences. Established FSIs already have access to a wealth of information about their customers and must now consider how to integrate data sources to create highly streamlined and frictionless workflows. A customer applying for a loan could then see their details auto populated, and credit history already accounted — all without the hassle of lengthy phone calls, application forms, or submission requests. In an age when instant is everything, it’s easy to see why the former approach could foster loyalty, while the latter would only serve to drive customers towards more capable competitors.

Card companies and issuer banks could also work with acquirers to smooth out the rough landscape that has arisen from the advent of digital payments. Acquirers traditionally acted on behalf of the merchants that accepted payment methods to recoup funds from the PSP through the issuing bank. This system has served the industry well, but with more payment methods emerging, acquirers have branched out into mobile wallets, QR codes, and gateway services. Gradually the relevance of established players has dwindled as their lack of representation at the critical checkpoint has diminished their significance. Incumbents must work to turn back the tide by recognising that acceptance and acceptance ownership are becoming increasingly important for maintaining market relevance.

Another strategy is diversification. Veteran FSIs may feel like they’ve lost ground to nimble start-ups and Neo Banks, but history shows value in patience — established FSI players now benefit from the investments of early innovators, and double down on payments innovations which have already shown the most promise. Moreover, if they diversify their portfolios through acquisitions, innovations, and partnerships, they can secure their future. Mastercard presents an excellent example with their US$200m investment into MTM payments. This single move has given the company access to MTM’s 290 million strong subscriber base, allowing these customers to become familiar with Mastercard products before getting entrenched with mobile wallet alternatives.

WHO’S ON TOP?

If we look at the rise of BNPL services, we see an origin story with — at least — major supporting roles for large card providers. But open banking has sidelined them in just a few years. BlackBerry was a stock market darling just five years before it sought a buyer. Traditional FSI players must innovate; they must collaborate with emerging disruptors; they must diversify. They can survive and thrive if they do these things — after all, they already have much of the infrastructure, and experience required for success. Middle East banks and PSPs have the existing user bases, so they have the scale to get out in front in the era of open banking. All they lack is the kind of compelling use cases that will entice the banking public. PSPs and their issuers could offer embedded payments, for example. The right services at the right time will be warmly received by consumers, no matter the scale of the offering institution, so there is every reason to believe that incumbents will come out on top against FinTech and Big Tech.

Features

SEC paves way to approve spot ethereum ETFs

Published

1 week ago

June 27, 2024

Integrator Web-Editor

By Simon Peters, Crypto Analyst at eToro

Ethereum spot ETFs took a significant step forward to being available to US investors last week with approval of the 19b-4 applications, allowing US exchanges (namely Cboe BZX, NYSE Arca and Nasdaq) to list and trade ethereum spot ETFs.

On the back of this, ethereum has been one of the best performing cryptoassets this week, gaining 19%.

According to a recent survey by eToro with retail investors in the UAE, over 74% respondents agreed that the prospect of an ethereum ETF will significantly influence their decision to increase, decrease or maintain their current ethereum allocation.
Focus now turns to the S-1 registration statements from the ETF issuers, as these still need to be approved by the SEC before the ethereum spot ETFs can actually launch and investors can buy them.

As to when the S-1s will be approved we have to wait and see. It could be weeks or months unfortunately.

Nevertheless, with the 19b-4s out of the way, it could be an opportunity now for savvy crypto investors to buy ethereum in anticipation of the S-1s being approved, frontrunning the ETFs going live and the billions of dollars potentially flowing into these.

We’ve seen what happened when the bitcoin spot ETFs went live, with the bitcoin price going to a new all-time high in the months after. Could the same happen with ethereum? The all-time high for ethereum is $4870, set back in 2021. We’re currently at $3650, about 35% away.

We’re also going into a macroeconomic climate with potentially looser financial conditions, i.e. interest rate cuts and a slowdown of quantitative tightening, conditions where risk assets such as crypto tend to perform well price-wise.

Features

Harnessing AI and big data to transform Middle East’s retail industry landscape

Published

2 weeks ago

June 25, 2024

Integrator Web-Editor

By Saeed Alajou, Senior Sales Director, Enterprise Business

With the increasing dominance of technological advancements in the current era, the global retail industry is witnessing a massive shift in its operations. As the industry embraces a varied range of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics, it is redefining customer expectations and the conventional concepts of business operations. According to recent studies, The global artificial intelligence (AI) in retail market size is projected to grow from $9.36 billion in 2024 to $85.07 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 31.8% from 2024 to 2032. This transformative wave is compelling companies to harness the potential of these cutting-edge technologies to maintain their competitive edge.

One of the most evident trends in this era is the convergence of eCommerce, AI and data analytics, which is driving the evolution of the retail landscape worldwide. In the current omnichannel retail landscape, consumers expect consistency and continuity across various touchpoints, pushing industry players to integrate conversational AI. This integration ensures a seamless experience; for example, customers can begin a conversation with a chatbot while browsing online and effortlessly continue it via a mobile app when they visit a physical store.

However, the potential of the omnichannel approach and conversational AI platforms is not limited to supporting customers. They also provide retailers with valuable insights into customer behaviour across different channels. Conversational AI platforms can generate a vast amount of data from customer interactions, offering retailers valuable insights into consumer preferences, trends, and pain points. By analysing this data, retailers can uncover patterns, identify emerging trends, and optimise their product offerings and marketing strategies accordingly.

Furthermore, AI-driven analytics enable retailers to gauge customer sentiment, allowing them to address issues and enhance satisfaction proactively. These data-driven insights empower retailers to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve. Reflecting the vast potential of AI, the retail sector in the Middle East is rapidly adopting this technology, becoming a leading industry in AI investment. Reports indicate that AI spending in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) reached USD 3 billion and is expected to grow to USD 6.4 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.7 per cent.

The innovation of chatbots and virtual assistants has accelerated the integration of AI technologies in retail, revolutionising customer interactions by adding a human-like touch to digital engagements. These tools enhance the purchasing journey, making it more intuitive and responsive, providing customised and real-time recommendations based on consumer sentiment. However, retailers need to manage expectations of scalability and ensure AI complements rather than replaces human interactions.

Furthermore, integrating big data into retail operations helps understand customer behaviour and preferences. Retailers can leverage vast amounts of data to gain insights into customer needs and tailor their offerings accordingly. By analysing customer-generated data, businesses can conduct predictive analysis to anticipate trends and make informed decisions, keeping them ahead of the curve in offering products and services that resonate with their target audience.

When it comes to the impact of AI integration in the retail sector, one key segment where it is significantly visible is the supply chain. By integrating big data analytics, retailers are achieving more efficiency in their supply chain operations. Predictive analytics powered by AI aids in forecasting demand, optimising inventory levels, reducing waste, and ensuring products are available when and where customers need them. This enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction by minimising stockouts and delays.

AI integration supports a customer-centric approach in retail, and it positions technology as a key facilitator in meeting customer demand. Advanced technologies can identify and replicate demographic needs and pinpoint where investment is required to add value. The integration of various AI tools including price-matching technologies, pay-per-click advertising optimisation, and predictive analytics, aids the retailers in focusing on perfecting the customer journey, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience from the start to finish.

Although AI is widely embraced across the industry regardless of company size, delivering the best customer service requires empowering employees with the right tools and knowledge. When employees are equipped with AI-driven insights, they can provide more personalised and efficient service, enhancing the overall customer experience. This empowerment also promotes a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the organization.

Additionally, data integration and integrity are crucial for the effectiveness of AI and big data. Retailers must implement systems that can integrate data from various sources, ensuring that all information is accurate, consistent, and up to date. This collaborative approach allows retailers to offer a unified brand experience across all channels while maintaining data boundaries and complying with privacy regulations.

This widespread adoption of AI technologies in the industry underscores the importance of establishing a robust and adaptable regulatory framework. Given the growing concerns about data privacy and ethical use, retailers must ensure responsible and secure handling of customer data. Stagnant regulations can lead to compliance issues and erode customer trust, and this necessitates current and customer-aligned regulations to maintain a trustworthy data environment.

Another challenge in AI integration is utilising AI and big data to experiment with new ideas and strategies. In retail, embracing calculated risks is crucial for innovation and growth, viewing risks as learning opportunities. Being responsive to evolving customer needs allows retailers to navigate uncertainties and capitalise on opportunities for success.

With AI projected to contribute up to USD 320 billion to the Middle East’s economy by 2030, the region is increasing its investment in technology. This emphasises the need for a holistic approach in retail, integrating AI, big data, and a customer-centric mindset to thrive in the market. The industry players can maintain their competitive edge by focusing on efficiency in supply chain operations, understanding consumer behaviour, and empowering employees.