Tag Archives: Coronavirus

techENT Interviews Nicole Tan of Facebook

This whole COVID-19 situation has been quite trying for plenty of people. For Malaysia, the country is in its third phase of a state sanctioned quarantine, or Movement Control Order (MCO) in their words. The MCO means that there are some imposed restrictions to how you can move about in the region. No one can come into or out of Malaysia at this time too. In other words, we are under a limited lock down.

This also means that most organisations in Malaysia are on a work-from-home policy, including us. Working from home is not a new concept though. Funnily enough, it is not tech-based firms that has gone big with work-from-home concepts. Still, this is the time when everyone just must start adopting the work-from-home culture. Not like they have a choice anyway in Malaysia.

Facebook has been one organisation at the forefront of business transformations in the region. They have also transformed how businesses work and sell their products in the modern world. They are more than just a Social Media app you have on your smartphones. Facebook is more than an app just to keep in touch with your friends.

It has become a live news channel, where you can view live updates on the most current news. You can set up watch parties (limited to Facebook Watch and videos) to a live event. It has become a live event space, if you might for the public. With Messenger and WhatsApp, it is a communication powerhouse; an all-in-one tool for your daily communication needs.

If you need to, Facebook can be your marketplace, or the place where you shop with marketplace. With Facebook Watch, it is your source of entertainment. It can even be your calendar if you really need it to be. It is truly a one-stop, go-to, solve-it-all platform where you can find anything and everything.

That is also why when we were given the chance to sit down with Nicole Tan of Facebook Malaysia, we took the offer up.

Nicole Tan is not just a random person in Facebook Malaysia. She is the Facebook Malaysia’s Country Director. When you say top brass, she is it for Facebook Malaysia. The buck stops with her. Of course, no one is better qualified to talk about Facebook’s presence and efforts in Malaysia than her.

Source: Facebook

We started the interview with a burning question of ‘how?’ Everyone is in this trying period that is the MCO and plenty are forced to bring work home. In that case, everyone has to adapt to a completely new working environment and culture. Every other person is of course looking toward the big tech names for guidance and inspiration.

Facebook has always had a very flexible approach toward this issue of course. Being a tech firm there are already measures in place for a work-from-home situation. In fact, Facebook Malaysia has adopted the work-from-home policy even before Malaysia’s MCO is implemented. According to Nicole Tan, the firm has adopted to the situation very quickly. Naturally, there has been a lot more web-conferencing that is needed for daily operations. For Nicole then, it is almost just like any other day in the office; just with more video conferencing than ever.

There is one big concern for consumers who are on Facebook though. The platform has become one of the biggest news channels in the world. In Malaysia at least, plenty rely on Facebook for the latest updates in the region. In these trying times, more so rely on Facebook and its services for information. With fears of cyber attacks and scams related to COVID-19 as well, fake news is another big concern. In that, Facebook has been working very closely with their partners which include health institutes and certain government departments to verify news sources. They are not just doing it on Facebook as a platform though. They are also doing it on Whatsapp, Messenger and even Instagram.

Source: Facebook

All this accumulates to Facebook’s very own COVID-19 specific information center. The section is also an accumulation for your benefit. Facebook, through the center is working to bring forward tips and resources from experts and other certified sources to keep you healthy and informed at this time. This is not something new for Facebook. At this time though, to verify all the news, they have spent quite a significant amount of money to work with fact-check networks just so that you get the correct information.

That is not all they have been doing in the fight for COVID-19 though. Being one of the largest tech firms in the world, they could contribute plenty to the efforts around the world. They join other multinationals in donating relief funds and even development of vaccines. In total, they probably has put forth about US$ 70 million in the efforts of not just fighting the disease, but also fighting the side-effects of the global pandemic.

In that also, Facebook is using their platform to help Small Medium Enterprises (SME) even here in Malaysia. Globally Facebook will be offering grants for SMEs or even guide businesses to survive this period of MCO. If you need more information on that, do visit their website.

Source: Facebook

Nicole also added that they are also working with certain Non-Government Organisations (NGO) and Non-Profit Organisations; one of them is Yellow House KL. Of course, there are more that they are doing in the global fight of COVID-19. You can keep yourselves updated on their efforts on their newsroom.

Nicole also gave us a lot of good insights on how Facebook has adapted to the global pandemic situation. For that you should refer to the interview video. Facebook is a free Social Media platform that is available for free on Google’s Play Store for Android and Apple’s Play Store for the iOS.

COVID-19 isn’t Just a Biological Pandemic, It’s A Cyber Security Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most unprecedented events to have occurred in the past decade. In fact, the last time a major pandemic hit was in the 1910s. Since then, there have been milder pandemics which have occurred more recently in 2009 (Influenza A H1N1). The world has changed drastically since these pandemics. That said, the fact that the world is so interconnected and digitally dependent, makes the COVID-19 pandemic even more unique.

It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to say that with the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve learnt that pandemics aren’t just about being biologically compromised anymore. In fact, Flavo Aggio, the Chief Information Security Officer at the World Health Organisation (WHO) attributes more than 15,000 deaths worldwide in this pandemic alone to the cyber attacks that healthcare agencies such as WHO face on daily basis. What’s more apparent is the number of cyber attacks related to COVID-19 have increased substantially since the pandemic began. Great Horn, a cloud-based security platform, reports that currently about 2% of email traffic related to COVID-19 comes from malicious players looking to get access to pertinent, personal information. Other security companies have reported that the number of cyber attacks linked to the COVID-19 pandemic have more than doubled since its emergence.

Proof is in the Pudding – Increased Cyber Attacks are putting Patients& People at risk

In the most recent attack against the WHO, a malicious hacker group known as DarkHotel setup a site to mimic WHO’s internal email page in an effort to get login information of WHO employees to access sensitive information. The group’s activities were first detected by Alexander Urbleis, a cyber security expert and attorney at Blackstone Law Group in New York. Urbelis mentions that he detected the site’s activation on 13 March.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This attack comes from the group after it vowed not to attack healthcare agencies and research centers during the pandemic. That said, the WHO was able to fend off the attack without getting compromised.

However, this hasn’t been the only COVID-19 based attack. During the same time, Brno University Hospital was forced to shutdown their technological services. This was due to a breach in cybersecurity which forced the hospital to take preventative measures. The attack compromised the health of all of the patients who required advanced testing. It forced doctors and nurses to chart manually which caused delays in care.

Perhaps more alarming is how hacker groups have also been targeting research centers and pharmaceuticals. Hammersmith Medicines Research (HMR), one of the companies involved in developing a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, reported that it was part of a ransomware attack. This attack compromised the information of about 2,300 patients involved in trials. The group behind the attack demanded money after gaining access to the files. These patient files have since found their way to the dark web, making them vulnerable to further compromise.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that while malefactors are targeting healthcare institutions and companies, the ones who truly pay the price are the patients. With their data at risk and treatments being delayed or interrupted, we are seeing a larger, more worrying pool of victims.

Compromised Cyber Security Could have Lasting Effects

That is only the tip of the iceberg. With pertinent patient information in the wild, these patients have been exposed to a larger cyber threat; one that could be even more devastating to them after the pandemic. Information such as their addresses, social security and passport details are now available online – if you know where to find it. Another question remains: “Were these patients informed of such a data breach?”.

With the compromised information, malicious players will be able to gain access to a number of things including bank accounts and other important accounts. In fact, hackers will able to social engineer this information to gain access to emails, social media and more by simply connecting the dots. The fact of the matter is, most passwords and logins are linked to a person’s social history or items like their social security numbers.

Image by 1388843 from Pixabay

These breaches have potential psychological and physical repercussions that not many are aware of. Being the subject of a data breach or having an email or bank account compromised as a result will result in lost time and psychological stress. Keep in mind, that some of these attacks hold your vital information ransom and demand for money. This would definitely lead to increased anxiety.

Personal Hygiene Must Include Your Digital Footprint

It can’t be any more obvious that we are in an age where our digital lives are increasing intertwined with our daily lives. Even in an epidemic, we are seeing the effects of cyber attacks on our daily lives Hence, with attacks on the rise, users like you and me must also take precautions to protect our digital footprint. It is as essential as washing our hands and avoiding touching our face in this pandemic.

Source: Kaspersky

We can start with one simple step – pay attention to the details. Kaspersky has reported that there has been an uptick in look-a-like domains since the onset of the COVID-19. In particular, when it comes to authoritative domains. In particular, they’ve highlighted an email supposedly from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in America. The official domain for the CDC is cdc.gov; however, emails have been sent from an email from cdc-gov.org. The small difference when it comes to this domain could be the difference between getting compromised or getting official information.

The next step you can take is, like washing hands, spend a little time refreshing your passwords. Good password hygiene is essential to keeping your information secured. Look at changing your passwords on a bi-monthly, if not monthly basis. If you’re working in an industry that requires heightened security and privacy, you know that they have policies that require you to change your password every 3 months, at the very least. So, why are you worth any less?

One of the most basic things you can do for increased security is to activate two factor authentication (2FA). When you activate 2FA, you will be prompted to give an additional item for authentication. This will help verify your identity. That said, activating 2FA is no excuse not to change your password on a regular basis.

With these steps as a starting point, you’ll have better security on the internet. That said, it’s just a start. Don’t get too comfortable with yourself when it comes to internet security. With more and more attacks focused on taking advantage of lapses of judgement, we need to be more alert. Even when we’re searching for information, it’s important we pay attention to the details, check website addresses and keep vigilant on the links in your email. While things may seem bleak, it’s no excuse to stay away from the internet. Just be more alert and vigilant and enjoy one of the best inventions since sliced bread.

Coronavirus Puts Remote Work Security to the Test

*This article is contributed by Kevin Reed, CISO, Acronis*

As authorities worldwide work to contain the deadly coronavirus and try to keep it from spreading, the travel restrictions put in place are causing many organizations to rethink their operations. Rather than traveling to a region where their return flight might be at risk of being quarantined, many are turning to videoconferencing, file sync and share, and other remote work solutions to keep their businesses going. In China, where the disease started and where remote work policies are historically uncommon, the remote collaboration tool Zoom saw a single-day increase in downloads of 15%.

Source: Acronis

Remote work can certainly benefit a company, encouraging more collaboration and knowledge sharing. That’s why its adoption has grown significantly in the last several years. In fact, the global enterprise file synchronization and sharing (EFSS) market is expected to reach $24.4 billion by 2027, up from $3.4 billion in 2018.

Yet the wrong solution can put organizations at risk if they don’t address data security and privacy. To combat this predicament, businesses need to implement secure file sync and share technologies so that employees can work from home while also being able to access and transfer data in a manner that is both secure and safe.

What is file sync and share?

File sync and share technology is designed with the modern professional landscape in mind; a landscape where workforces rely on multiple devices and location flexibility in order to maximize productivity. File sync and share gives organizations the power to share files across multiple devices and with multiple people using file synchronization – allowing files to be stored in any approved data repository and accessed remotely by employees from any of their IT provisioned devices.

Security risks associated with remote work

Historically, remote work policies have been a sensitive topic for organizations. While some employers might fear that remote work creates a dip in employee performance, the larger concern is actually securing the proprietary and business-critical data modern companies rely on.

On a corporate network, IT teams can easily secure employee devices, but this becomes much more difficult to do once an employee accesses the system from outside the network.

Outside of the corporate network, devices are easily susceptible to attacks from third parties and cybercriminals. Attacking these unsecured endpoints can reveal the employee’s login credentials to cybercriminals so they can access the company’s system, or even use ransomware to lock company data – which happened to the NextCloud service last fall.

Benefits of secure file sync and share

Solutions that are built to deliver secure file sync and share give organizations the flexibility to enable employee collaboration and productivity while giving the IT department control over the protection of company data. Here are some of the ways that secure file sync and share technology protects and empowers businesses:

  • Secure File Sharing – It’s well known that when a file sync and share solution isn’t provided, employees will often resort to using their own personal devices and tools. Because these tools and devices exist outside of the control of IT departments, they’re inherently not secure and put sensitive company data at risk. With secure file sync and share, employees can easily share and access company files while IT maintains the privacy and security of the data.
  • Easy Anywhere, Anytime Access ­– Organizations are beginning to see the workday less as a clock-in/clock-out office environment, and have adopted an environment that supports the various schedules and lifestyles of their employees. With secure file-sync and share, employees are no longer constrained to a single corporate-owned device to be productive.
  • Data Loss Prevention and Disaster Recovery – When corporate data is centrally stored, it’s better protected against data leakage. This includes data lost to a cyberattack, employee error, or a lost or stolen device. With an enterprise-grade file sync and share solution, sensitive corporate data is kept secure and protected.
  • Easy Collaboration – File sync and share services are adapting to not only protect company data but to aid in remote workplace collaboration. Some file sync and share tools now provide users with tools to preview and edit files in-browser, search and find specific company documents and versions, and keep all employees on the same version of a document.

Final Thought

While global emergencies such as the coronavirus outbreak may highlight the benefits of having a secure remote work policy in place, the use of secure collaborative tools should be understood as part of a larger cultural shift. As more organizations adopt remote work policies, the IT teams, and MSPs that service these companies should adopt secure file sync and share solutions.

To help organizations introduce remote work policies in a way that is safe and secure, MSPs can offer their business customers Acronis Cyber Files Cloud, a secure enterprise file sync and share solution that features end-to-end encryption, user controls, and an audit trail.

Similarly, organizations that do not rely on an MSP can choose Acronis Cyber Files Advanced, an easy, complete, and secure enterprise file sharing solution that makes users more productive and gives IT complete control over business content to ensure security, maintain compliance, and enable BYOD.