TechTouch Asia

Kroll, the independent provider of global risk and financial advisory solutions, has announced research revealing that businesses in Asia Pacific are feeling the impact of cyberattacks, but many are yet to build appropriate response plans or have regular access to relevant cyber expertise. Highlights of the State of Incident Response: Asia Pacific report include: - In response to a cyber incident, 36% of organisations in Asia Pacific did not have an incident response playbook, a plan or policies in place; 38% did not have an appointed data protection officer or access to cybersecurity specialists on a retainer in Asia Pacific. - The two most-cited impacts of a cyber incident were data loss (51%) and business interruption (49%). - In order to address cybersecurity threats, the majority of organisations are planning to increase budgets (64%) and moving to the cloud (65%). Regionally: - Businesses in Australia were the least likely to have an incident response plan in place, and tho...

Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has released its Guide to Data Center Sustainability , an online resource for data centre owners and operators seeking to reduce the environmental impact of their facilities. According to a report by the International Energy Agency, data centres account for about 1% of global electricity demand. The report notes that the industry was able to limit the impact of capacity growth on total energy consumption prior to 2020 by improving operating efficiency. However, capacity growth figures changed in 2020, when global Internet traffic surged by more than 40%. Market Intelligence projects a 13% CAGR in data centre construction over the next five years. This trend, combined with increased focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption, has led some operators to seek new solutions that increase equipment utilisation and drive out remaining inefficiencies, phase out water-intensive ...

By Alvin Rodrigues, Field Chief Security Officer for Asia Pacific, Infoblox Cybercrime is Sisyphean* in nature – the efforts to battle it is a neverending feat. Cyberthreats are constantly evolving even as technologies that are developed to fight it advance, making cybersecurity a challenging endeavour that leaves no room for complacency. Country leaders are also cognisant of this. In Asia, regulators like the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have collaborated with international banks to hold joint cybercrisis exercises with the aim of testing responses to various cybercrime scenarios and upgrading their financial systems. Cybersecurity professionals now constantly upgrade their skills to keep up with threat actors who tirelessly find new ways to infiltrate defences and retrieve data, echoing once more how organisations cannot afford to drop their guard. Many traditionally office-based workers now work intermittently or completely from home. This means they have to access work d...

By Sumir Bhatia, President – APAC, Lenovo ISG The evolution of cutting-edge technologies has replaced the legacy chalkboards with touchscreens, evolving the game of football over decades. With the advent of AI, new technologies such as video assistance referee (VAR) and limb tracking are bringing the sport closer to fans and teams alike. For instance, video analysis uses conditioning technology to understand players' strengths and weaknesses. Through such technologies, team and club managers are empowered to make quick data-driven decisions. Ahead of the most-awaited football game of the year, Lenovo, in a recently concluded virtual chat show called Smarter Changes The Game , highlighted the role of smarter technology in transforming the game of football. Topics discussed during the show included the new technologies introduced this football season, such as stadium cooling, AI-driven VAR offside technology, sensor-based navigation for traffic management, AI, and drone-based crowd ...

by Chua Chee Pin, Area VP, ASEAN, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, Commvault The cloud has allowed organisations to operate with more efficiency and flexibility, and it has also brought about much cost efficiency. In a way, these benefits have also made it possible for organisations to stay competitive in today’s business landscape. However, the dynamic cloud environment also comes with increased exposure to cyber and data risks. A brutal irony is that the same transformed infrastructure that helps organisations scale, pivot and innovate also makes it harder for them to protect their data. Organisations cannot assume their current cybersecurity infrastructure and data management approaches will continue to work well once their data is off premise. Instead, they need a cloud-first strategy that can adapt to and capture the full potential benefits of their cloud deployments. Data security remains one of the biggest challenges faced by organisations even as they adopt cloud techno...

By Lim Teck Wee, Head of ASEAN, CyberArk Source: CyberArk. Lim. One often turns wary and perhaps cynical when considering what type of insurance coverage to get. Questions like ‘I have never required it before’ and ‘Is it necessary?’ race through one’s mind when faced with the steep costs of premiums. Unless you have generously deep pockets, you might never be at ease no matter how prudent you are. The same could be true for businesses surveying the rapidly increasing costs of cyber insurance. As more businesses grow their presence online, cyber insurance is slowly gaining traction as a protection against future catastrophes. Commenting on the insurance industry’s growth in 2021, the President of the General Insurance Association, Ronak Shah, shared that “For 2022 and beyond, cyber risks and sustainability will become increasingly pertinent issues for the sector”. As the name suggests, cyber insurance policies are designed to help organisations mitigate losses incurred in the even...

Following the successful rollout of six robots in high-traffic areas across Singapore and Japan, Ella, Singapore’s first fully autonomous AI-powered robotic barista, is facing increased demand from corporate offices in Singapore. Already present at SAP, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) at Changi Business Park and following a pop-up at The URA Centre on Maxwell Road, Crown Digital has seen an uptake of more than 100 enquiries from corporate clients, who are looking for innovative ways to boost employee morale and productivity, the company said. “Ella consistently brews high quality coffee in an efficient, convenient, and novel manner, which employees are seeing as a wonderful benefit as they return to the office,” said Keith Tan, CEO and Founder of Crown Digital. “The innovative spirit of Ella is also recognised; beyond providing excellent cups of coffee, Ella is a great conversation starter, and she sends a message to visitors and business partners that these organisations value their...