Category: Technology

Focused cyber attacks per organisation double in one year, says report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Globally, organisations face as many as 30 cyber security breaches per year, indicating the need for more investment in innovative technologies to improve cyber resilience, says a report.

According to a new study by Accenture, the average number of focused cyber attacks per organisation has more than doubled this year, compared to the previous 12 months.

For the 2018 State of Cyber Resilience study, Accenture surveyed 4,600 enterprise security practitioners representing companies with annual revenues of USD 1 billion or more in 15 countries.

There were 232 cyber attacks through January 2018 as against 106 through January 2017, the report said, adding that organisations across the globe are upping their game and now preventing 87% of all focused attacks compared to 70% in 2017.

However, with 13% of focused attacks being successful, organisations are still facing an average of 30 successful security breaches per year globally, which cause damage or result in the loss of high-value assets.

Despite making significant progress, only two out of five organisations are currently investing in breakthrough technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, indicating there is even more ground to be gained by increasing investment in cyber resilient solutions.

Organisations are, however, realising the benefits derived from investing in emerging technologies.

A large majority of respondents (83%) agreed that new technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine or deep learning, user behaviour analytics and block chain are essential to securing the future of organisations.

“While the findings of this study demonstrate that organisations are performing better at mitigating the impact of cyber attacks, they still have more work to do,” said Kelly Bissell, managing director of Accenture Security.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Netflix programming binge pays off with subscriber surge

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Netflix Inc’s blitz of original programs attracted a surprisingly high 7.4 million new customers from January to March, reassuring investors who are betting the video-streaming pioneer’s massive spending will fuel growth around the world.

New shows like “Altered Carbon” and “O Mecanismo” helped Netflix smash analysts’ subscriber estimates, and its better-than-expected second-quarter outlook soothed concerns about competition from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

Shares of Netflix jumped more than 7% in after-hours trading on Monday to $330.30. The stock is the top performer on the S&P 500 this year, gaining more than 60%.

“I don’t think this is a one-time thing,” said Chaim Siegel, analyst at Elazar Advisors. “It’s very similar to the results we saw last quarter. It’s getting better.”

Wall Street expected Netflix to add 6.5 million new subscribers, according to FactSet data. Netflix topped that and also said it would bring in 6.2 million more customers from April through June, 1 million more than analyst predictions.

Netflix says it will spend up to $8 billion on global TV shows and movies in 2018. As it has expanded to some 190 countries, investors accepted negative free cash flow in exchange for the potential of outsized growth in future years.

“We have big plans for content growth and you should expect that to continue,” Chief Executive Reed Hastings said on a post-earnings webcast.

In the first three months of the year, Netflix boosted original programming by 85% from a year earlier to a record 483 hours, according to Cowen & Co analysts.

The slate included science fiction series “Altered Carbon” and Marvel action drama “Jessica Jones.”

Non-English programming also is gaining traction, Netflix said. “O Mecanismo” is on pace to become one of the service’s most-viewed original series in Brazil, and Spanish-language heist thriller “La Casa de Papel” was the most-watched non-English series ever on Netflix, according to the company.

For the just-ended quarter, revenue grew 40% year-over-year to $3.7 billion, the fastest pace in the company’s history. The average cost of a Netflix membership rose 14% during that time, and customer ranks swelled to 125 million.

“Subscribers are accelerating even at higher pricing,” BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield said. “Content spend is having a direct effect on its subscriber growth.”

In a quarterly letter to shareholders, Netflix said it will “continue to raise debt as needed to fund our increase in original content,” adding that its debt levels were “quite modest as a percentage of our enterprise value.”

The company’s market capitalization stands at $137.2 billion, more than double a year earlier.

But it faces growing competition as technology companies such as Apple and Amazon pour money into premium programming, international rivals jump into streaming and traditional media companies pursue digital customers.

Walt Disney Co will stop supplying new movies to Netflix starting next year and will start its own streaming service for families.

Investors have appeared bullish on the company’s ability to add more members. Netflix recently traded at 93 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, versus Amazon at 133 times earnings and Disney at 17 times earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Net income rose to $290.1 million, or 64% per share, in the quarter ended March 31 from $178.2 million, or 40% per share, a year earlier.

Revenue grew 40% year-over-year to $3.7 billion, the fastest pace in the company’s history.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

iPhone X pocketed 35% of total handset industry profits in Q4 2017

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As global handset profits dipped 1% (year-on-year) in the fourth quarter of 2017, Apple X alone generated 35% of the total handset industry profits, helping the iPhone maker grow 1% (YoY) in the same quarter, a new report said.

According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Q4 2017, the premium smartphone market did not grow as expected while Apple remained the most profitable brand, capturing 86% of the total handset market profits.

“Apple grew 1% (YoY) even with the iPhone X being available for only two months in Q4 2017. The iPhone X alone generated 21% of total industry revenue and 35% of total industry profits during the quarter,” Research Analyst Karn Chauhan said in a statement.

“The share of iPhone X is likely to grow as it advances further into its life-cycle. Additionally, the longer shelf life of all iPhones ensured that Apple still has eight out of top 10 smartphones, including its three-year-old models, generating the most profits compared to current competing smartphones from other OEMs,” Chauhan informed.

The global smartphone market has already reached its peak with longer replacement cycles and key smartphone OEMs are now under pressure to book profits.

“Chinese OEMs cumulative profits crossed $1.3 billion during Q4 2017. This was driven by the increased mix of mid to high-end smartphones. In fact, the average selling price (ASP) of their flagship devices also increased YoY,” added Associate Director Tarun Pathak.

Key Chinese players like Huawei, OPPO and Vivo are now looking to scale up the price band, by leveraging their inhouse manufacturing capabilities and bringing innovation to their devices, he added.

iPhone X generated 5 times more profits than the combined profits of over 600 Android OEMs during Q4 2017.

Apple and Samsung flagship models lead in terms of profits as compared to other OEMs. Huawei was the leading brand among all the Chinese brands, with profit increasing 59% (YoY).

“With an increased mix of flagship sales for key Chinese brands, we expect profit share of Chinese players to grow in the coming quarters,” the report added.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US strike on China’s ZTE another blow for Qualcomm

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A move by the United States to ban American firms selling components to the Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp will also hit a target closer to home: Qualcomm Inc, a US company that is a major supplier of chips for ZTE’s phones.

The US Department of Commerce slapped a seven-year ban on sales to ZTE on Monday for breaking terms of an agreement reached last year after it was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran.

Caught in the crossfire is Qualcomm, whose products account for the lion’s share of chips inside ZTE smartphones. The Chinese company shipped an estimated 46.4 million phones last year, according to IHS Markit.

“If you look at ZTE it sells around 45 million smartphones per year globally, and almost half of them have Qualcomm chips,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Research.

“So if you look at an average of 25 dollars per chip set that’s close to half a billion dollars in revenue.”

Canalys, a technology consultancy, estimate that a higher 65% of ZTE phones contain Qualcomm chips.

Loss of business could be just the start for the US company, which had sales of $22 billion last year. As Washington and Beijing square off with threats of tariffs and trade barriers, Qualcomm is a clear target for retaliation.

Technology is the crux of the tensions.

China wants to boost domestic champions like Huawei, which also makes chips. The United States, meanwhile, concerned about China’s growing might, has shot down Chinese technology deals overseas, citing national security concerns.

That puts Qualcomm, which makes the bulk of its sales in China, in an awkward position.

“Domestically there are competing attitudes: for someone like Huawei, Qualcomm is the enemy,” said Andrew Gilholm, director of analysis for China and North Asia at Control Risks. “But for many smaller Chinese phone makers they are actually very dependent on Qualcomm.”

SNAPDRAGON

Qualcomm, which has government and defence contracts at home, is closely tied to the United States government; it is also grappling with regulator approval in China for a $44 billion takeover of NXP Semiconductors.

It may, ironically, get hit by the ZTE issues more in the United States than in China.

ZTE, while China’s second-largest telecommunication equipment maker, has dropped out of the top ten in terms of domestic smartphone sales in recent years, according to Canalys, as rivals such as Huawei, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi have surged.

But in the United States it is the fourth largest smartphone vendor after iPhone maker Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics of South Korea.

ZTE held 11.2% of the US market last year, according to data from the consultancy Canalys.

Its phones in the United States use chip sets and processors from Qualcomm, according to company specifications on its US website, which showed all its “signature” phones using Qualcomm chip sets such as Snapdragon 820 and Snapdragon 617.

“Most carriers want Qualcomm chip sets in the United States, so basically they are in deep trouble,” said Shah, referring to ZTE. He estimated the United States at close to one fourth of the company’s handset business. “They’d be losing one of their biggest markets.”

Qualcomm was not immediately available for comment.

TRIPLE THREAT

The ZTE issue could create a triple threat for Qualcomm: the loss of an important customer, rivals bolstered as they step in to fill the vacuum, and a potential hit as China looks to retaliate against the United States.

China’s commerce ministry said Tuesday that it will closely monitor the ZTE case and be prepared to take action to protect the interests of Chinese firms.

The impact of the trade war is already being felt. Qualcomm withdrew, and plans to refile, an antitrust application for its pivotal NXP deal on Saturday at the request of China’s commerce ministry, sources told Reuters.

Qualcomm’s shares dropped 1.7% on Monday. Smaller US optical components firms such as the ZTE supplier Acacia Communications fell more steeply.

Counterpoint’s Shah said ZTE could now look to rivals like Samsung, Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc or China’s Spreadtrum for alternative chips. Huawei on Tuesday repeated a long-held policy of not selling its Kirin chips to outside parties.

Shah added, however, that ZTE phones might need expensive redesigns and other chips wouldn’t have the same level of performance: “Either way the costs will be high for ZTE.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Microsoft unveils new security tools for Internet of Things, edge devices

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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To help enterprises secure their data and networks against growing cyber attacks, Microsoft has announced new intelligent security tools and technologies for Internet of Things (IoT) and edge devices.

The company introduced “Azure Sphere”, the industry’s first holistic platform to create secured, connected microcontroller unit (MCU) devices on the “intelligent edge”.

MCU-powered devices are the most populous area of computing, with roughly nine billion new devices every year.

The company also unveiled several new intelligent security features for its Microsoft 365 commercial Cloud offering — designed to help IT and security professionals simplify how they manage security across their enterprises.

“As last year’s devastating cyber attacks demonstrated, security threats are evolving and becoming even more serious,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement.

“The tech sector’s innovations need to accelerate to outpace security threats. Today’s steps bring important security advances not just to the cloud, but to the billions of new devices that are working on the edge of the world’s computer networks,” Smith added.

MCUs are found in everything — from toys and household appliances to industrial equipment – and with “Azure Sphere”, Microsoft extends the boundaries of the “intelligent edge” power and secure this category of devices.

To help teams stay prepared and ahead of threats, the company released “Microsoft Secure Score” and “Attack Simulator”.

“Secure Score” makes it easier for organisations to determine which controls to enable to help protect users, data and devices by quickly assessing readiness and providing an overall security benchmark score.

“Attack Simulatora, part of Office 365 Threat Intelligence, lets security teams run simulated attacks — including mock ransomware and phishing campaigns — to event-test their employees’ responses and tune configurations accordingly.

With the latest Windows 10 update, now in preview, “Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection” (ATP) works across other parts of Microsoft 365 to include threat protection and remediation spanning Office 365, Windows and Azure.

“Also available today in preview, and with the upcoming Windows 10 update, are new automated investigation and remediation capabilities in Windows Defender ATP, leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to quickly detect and respond to threats on endpoints, within seconds, at scale,” the company said.

It also announced a new “Microsoft Intelligent Security Association” for security technology partners so they can benefit from, and contribute to.

Members of the association will be able to create more integrated solutions for customers that provide greater protection and detect attacks more quickly.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Money Follows Eyeballs – Mobile Ad Boom Continues

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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One of the golden rules of advertising is that money follows eyeballs. And since people are looking at their smartphones pretty much all the time these days, it’s no surprise that advertising budgets are shifting to mobile devices as well.

According to Zenith’s latest global advertising forecast, advertisers will spend an additional $72.6 billion a year on mobile ads in 2020 compared to last year. Having overtaken desktop ads last year, mobile devices are now the second largest advertising medium worldwide, trailing only television. Mobile ad spending is expected to reach $180 billion in 2020, nearly double the estimated total for desktop advertising expenditure ($94 billion).

This story was first published on Statista.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Amazon, Infosys use radio to connect with staff and associates

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Amazon is now using a radio service to communicate and entertain their associates and employees, a report in The Economic Times said.

Amazon India has launched a radio service for its associates across fulfillment centres, sort centres and delivery stations, according to the report.

Similarly, Infosys has been using radio as a communication and entertainment tool for its staff since 2011.

The radio service allows the employees in both firms to come on air, request for songs and enter contests. Amazon has the radio streaming service in five languages, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada and Tamil.

“We have a set of five streams for fulfilment centres and sort centres and another unique set of five streams for the delivery stations…this is because the nature of work by the associates in a delivery station is very different and hence the programme design for this audience is very different,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

Infosys, on the other hand had revamped its entire streaming service last year and has included many new features. “We… added in a few new features like archives, playlists, more information on the shows and RJs, etc…Our experience of using radio as a communication and fun medium at the workplace has been encouraging,” Richard Lobo, executive vice-president was quoted saying.

The radio service, besides providing refreshment to the staff also provides a proper medium for conveying important information to the associates thus satisfying both entertainment and information needs of the firms and its employees.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Trai unveils beta site for comparison of telecom tariffs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Telecom regulator Trai on Monday unveiled beta version of a portal that aims to bring on one platform the telecom tariffs offered by different operators and in different service areas.

The move is expected to provide more transparency and information on multiple tariff offerings by telcos, helping consumers at large.

“To enable consumers see tariffs of different TSPs (telecom service providers) and different Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) at a single place, a beta version of portal namely www.tariff.trai.gov.in has been released by Trai today,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in a statement.

Emphasising that it has a mandate to ensure transparency in the sector, Trai said various tariff plans and other tariff instruments are being provided at its website in a downloadable format, for easy access.

At present, the operators offer information on various tariffs on their own websites.

Trai noted that the new platform would not only benefit the consumers but also help other stakeholders do a comparative analysis.

As a first step, Trai has made tariff data available for the Delhi circle, and sought user feedback about the new site.

“To get initial feedback on the look and feel of this portal from consumers, beta version of tariff data for Delhi LSA is also made available on Trai website www.trai.gov.in. The details on the website are as reported by the TSPs of Delhi LSA,” it added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

France builds WhatsApp rival due to surveillance risk

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The French government is building its own encrypted messenger service to ease fears that foreign entities could spy on private conversations between top officials, the digital ministry said on Monday.

None of the world’s major encrypted messaging apps, including Facebook’s WhatsApp and Telegram – a favourite of President Emmanuel Macron – are based in France, raising the risk of data breaches at servers outside the country.

About 20 officials and top civil servants are testing the new app which a state-employed developer has designed, a ministry spokewoman said, with the aim that its use will become mandatory for the whole government by the summer.

“We need to find a way to have an encrypted messaging service that is not encrypted by the United States or Russia,” the spokeswoman said. “You start thinking about the potential breaches that could happen, as we saw with Facebook, so we should take the lead.”

The US social network, which bought WhatsApp in 2014, has drawn heavy criticism since it acknowledged that information about many millions of users wrongly ended up in the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

The French government’s encrypted app has been developed on the basis of free-to-use code found on the Internet and could be eventually made available to all citizens, the spokeswoman said. She declined to give the names of either the codes or the messaging service.

Fond of Telegram

Macron’s inner circle – now government advisers or ministers – have grown fond of the Telegram app, which they used to plot his rise to power and his presidential election campaign last year.

Macron, an economy minister in the previous Socialist administration, wanted at the time to use an encrypted messaging service that even his rivals in the last government could not crack, a close adviser to Macron told Reuters.

Since then, most of his lawmakers have joined the app and the president himself can often be seen online on Telegram, sometimes in the early hours of the morning..

But privacy concerns started growing earlier this year, and security tools from French security firm Thales installed on officials’ work smartphones prevented the use of either WhatsApp or Telegram.

Telegram was set up by a Russian entrepreneur who has come into conflict with the authorities. Russia’s state telecommunications regulator said on Monday it had begun blocking access to Telegram after the company refused to comply with an order to give state security access to its users’ secret messages.

Both WhatsApp and Telegram promote themselves as ultra secure because all their data is encrypted from start to finish. WhatsApp relies on open industry standards created by the developers behind Signal, a rival messaging app, while Telegram relies on its own, home-grown encryption techniques.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

EU digital chief to meet with Facebook CEO amid privacy scandal

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The European Union’s digital chief will meet with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in San Francisco as the world’s largest social network faces increasing scrutiny over its use of personal data.

Privacy concerns have swamped Facebook since it acknowledged last month that information about millions of users wrongly ended up in the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, a firm that has counted US President Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral campaign among its clients.

Andrus Ansip, European Commission vice president in charge of digital issues will meet with Zuckerberg on Tuesday, as well as meeting with Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, to discuss issues such as data protection, online privacy, illegal content and fake news.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg spoke to Ansip’s justice counterpart last week in what was described as an open and constructive discussion.

A tough new EU data protection law entering into force on May 25 has acquired new prominence following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, with European policymakers saying it will set a standard worldwide.

Zuckerberg has also been asked to speak before the European Parliament to explain how Europeans’ Facebook data may have been misused.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow