Castillian
Quarterly Newsletter December 2020 © COPYRIGHT 2020 CASTILLE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Contents
03
04
A letter from our CEO & Founder,
Get to know us! Nikki, Gilbert, & Matthew
Matthew Camilleri
12
16
Let’s get techy:
Project management & delivery:
Java, .NET & what they mean to us
Labs, Digital, & Search
24
SEARCH
The 3 pillars of Castille:
LABS
20
DIGITAL
Which software method is right for you?
Q&A Olivier, Mokhdan, & Yudish
28
33 A background on Blockchain
Discover our headquarters in the heart of the Mediterranean
36
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Is Blockchain technology worth the hype for corporate client markets in 2020?
Remaining vigilant: Cybersecurity during COVID-19
Featuring Joshua Ellul
02
AGILE & WATERFALL
A letter from our CEO & Founder, Matthew Camilleri
t is with great pride and excitement that I
Castille has a unique and strong corporate
inaugurate this new initiative of our Brand
culture which now needs to grow beyond its core
team by welcoming you all to the first
team and evolve with the organisation. This
Quarterly publication of our Castillian Newsletter.
newsletter will be an important tool in this respect.
Castillians have embraced an ambitious vision over the next 5 years which will see our young
Enjoy the read and stay safe.
brand building innovation into our talent Matthew
platform to service many markets beyond our shores. 2020 has been a struggle for most people, sectors and countries. At Castille it has been a marathon to ensure we do not only survive the pandemic but use it as an engine of innovation and growth, executing our plans faster whilst at all times protecting our most powerful element – the human one. In order for our management teams to achieve our ambitious plans of mitigating the world’s 85 million+ tech and finance skills gap - we need more than motivated teams; we need the unconditional engagement of people who share our same values and aspirations.
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Get to know us! Nikki, Gilbert and Matthew, in conversation with Andrea Amato.
For a long time, Castille solely presented itself as the platform, newer and more exciting projections for Castille include employer branding alongside other services. As Castille continues to develop, I sit down with a few members of our team from across the board to share a few memorable moments during their careers at Castille.
04
Nikki Farrugia, Director of Client Services, Malta
Andrea: What does your role at Castille
entail on a day-to-day basis? Nikki: As team leader of the Search team, I touch base with all the members of the team (the and the tech side. Generally, we discuss daily updates and see what the plans for the day are, if anything’s happened since the last time I spoke to them. Once a week, individually for SWAT meeting; where we go through all the roles they’re they have, a good thorough meeting of an hour and a half.
I joined Castille when it was still at the beginning of its own journey . . .
AA: What was your journey like
to get to your current position? Then, I slowly started expanding NF: My journey was a great one! I
my knowledge of the skills on the
joined Castille when it was still at the beginning of its own journey, so
up managing people.
that was fun! I’ve literally started at the bottom and worked my way up
To cut a very long story short, I
to where I am today. I joined as a
became director and head of search
part-time junior recruiter on the tech of the whole business.
05
AA: Could you share with me a
AA: Lastly, how do you see
memorable achievement you’d
Castille evolving in a few years,
experienced with Castille?
and how do you see yourself growing with the company?
NF: Too many of them! NF: I think Castille is very enterprising, it’s got a good vision AA: Perhaps one memorable
of the market. It’s ahead of the
experience you can think of?
market and we adapt very quickly as a whole. I think search, which is
NF: Well, actually, I advised a candidate of mine not to take a job! I didn’t feel it was a safe move for him to make. He still decided to make the move but was very appreciative of my
my baby – my side of the business, I’d like to say it’s almost the foundation of the business and I feel my responsibility is to keep it solid and growing and consolidate that.
advice, and to this day he mentions it and refers me to clients. It was a good decision – because it’s followed me throughout all this time.
It was a good decision – because it’s followed me throughout all this time.
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Gilbert Galea, Chief Operations Officer
Andrea: How would you describe
AA: What was your journey like to
Castille as an organisation?
reach the position you are currently in?
Gilbert: I believe the best way to
GG: Been there from the start,
describe Castille is a 13-year old
practically when I met Matthew our
startup in that it is a very dynamic
CEO and Founder in the 2nd year of
organisation of forward-looking
business. I was a client back then in
Castillians continuously engaging
search for dependable tech teams
in the development of innovative
to join my own on long-term
talent products, but who also sport
assignments.
a degree of maturity and camaraderie across the organigram
While the customer experience
characteristic of more mature
back then was enough to setup a
companies.
deep-rooted relationship with Castille, I must say our Castille Labs
Character aside, Castille has grown
software teams proposition today is
into a full-blown augmented talent
by far more robust, scalable and
platform providing enriching
future-proof than it ever was back
career journeys to our global
then.
network and outstanding customer experience to our clients in search
That’s thanks to constant
for top talent from diverse
innovation and relentless work on
geographies.
constructive feedback we receive from clients, candidates and internal stakeholders alike.
Castille is a 13-year old startup in that it is a very dynamic organisation of forward-looking Castillians
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AA: Could you share with me a memorable
achievement you had experienced with the company? GG: Where do I start? The journey
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AA: What do you hope will change
My contribution to this is largely on
for Castille over the next few years,
the Tech side as we continue to
and how do you see yourself
strengthen and grow our remote
facilitating that change?
software talent platform, taking customer and Castillian experiences at every touchpoint to
GG: As the years unfold, I can see
new heights.
Castille’s vision which has never changed to date, come to its
Our Castillians make for a dynamic
fruition. While before our products
team: an expanding network and
could have been boxed in as ‘ahead
platform allows for our employees
of their time’, today the products
to engage in multiple talents,
and in tandem to how the world of
remote.
work is evolving in the Tech & Finance spheres supported by our Brand. Particularly in Software, the world is going remote and there’s massive shortages of top talent on the horizon compared to demand. Castille’s talent solutions are
My contribution to this is largely on the Tech side ...
strategically placed to facilitate the search for, and scaling of top talent so our clients can focus on their core business objectives.
... taking customer and Castillian experiences at every touchpoint to new heights.
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Matthew Camilleri, Founder & CEO
Andrea: How would you describe
Castille as an organisation? Matthew: The Castille brand has recommended specialist talent. We have been supporting businesses and professionals across a broad spectrum of sectors, in achieving their full potential for years our delivery model to clients has evolved from being that of a specialist agency towards being a Tech Platform in specialist talent. We continue to retain the people
We are committed to continue
element where there is real value in
adding value in the fast-evolving
human engagement. The ethos of
world of work. The recent crisis has
our organisation is all about
taken all the work trends we have
relationships and delivery. We
been championing for the last 5
value people of substance and
years and catapulted them into the
genuine commitment to the cause.
mainstream in as many months. With our platform model coming of age in a rush and the world becoming a much smaller
AA: What do you believe are Castille’s
playground, we now have a time
strengths, and where do you see
window of no more than 18-24
opportunity for growth? MC: Our strength lies in our people, from our core to all our people and extended client teams in all 14 countries.
months to achieve a global footprint. Our competition will be larger and better resourced, but we are keen to compete and dominate in our space.
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AA: Could you share with me a
memorable achievement you had experienced with the company? MC: I can honestly say that we have so many achievements (and disappointments) on a daily basis that it would be hard to choose one. Our biggest achievement is that Castille is driven by innovation and passion to the point that our journey has remained a dynamic back in April 2007. This is no more evident that in the current COVID crisis where most of
AA: What do you hope will change
our traditional sector has been
for Castille over the next few years,
decimated (in the words of many),
and how do you see yourself
whilst Castille has weathered the
facilitating that change?
storm and remains on course to achieve it ambitious, more global vision.
MC: Castille has always championed change and we have worked hard to keep ahead of the market.
Castille is driven by innovation and passion
The key change in the coming years is that the customer experiences we create need to be at world class, in order for us to transition from a strong brand in a couple of small client markets, to achieving global recognition. All of this at a time when the world of work has not gone through as much change since the industrial revolution. Therein lies the global challenge and opportunity for Castillians.
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Let’s get techy Java, .NET & what they mean to us. The professional network at Castille seeks deeper focus into particular verticals alongside technological software and trends.
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Before we begin. It is understandable that the acceleration of technology can cause
with the responsibility to remain up to date in its current affairs. Here at Castille, growth and development are at the core of our beliefs in order to maintain a professional and knowledgeable workplace ethos. Let us explore a few verticals we work on: Java and .NET Core.
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Java Developed in 1995, Java remains one of the
languages, and its resume is vast: android
more popular programming languages.
apps, software tools, and web applications
It’s compatibility with multiple OS’s
can all be made using Java. In 2016, 92% of
(Windows, Macintosh, etc) speaks for its
all websites use Java, including Google and
flexibility.
Facebook. Its long-term usability has left its open source library legacy and attests to its relevance today.
program in Java. It is a relatively easy program to learn compared to other
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.Net Like Java, .NET boasts its applicability of
and design. It’s open source and
diverse languages to build websites,
object-oriented platform allows for
applications, and other desktop or mobile
languages to be reusable and reliable,
developments. It’s family of languages
leaving developers with additional
include C#, F#, or Visual Basic. The choice
programming f reedom. Nowadays, .NET
of language depends on what you are writing, but the .NET approach is generally
which works as an extension of the .NET
adaptable to offer simplistic and targeted
platform as a web-development
design. .NET is primarily useful for object-
framework.
oriented programming, meaning objects are created according to its data
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Project management & delivery: Which software method is right for you?
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WATERFALL METHODOLOGY Requirements
Analysis
Design
Code Implementation
Testing
Maintenance
Figure 1: Waterfall development life cycle adapted from Widiaty et al. (2020)
A sequential model aimed for a targeted approach to meet your project requirements, Waterfall offers a step-by-step implementation. This is a linear methodology, meaning project requirements are discussed and outlined from the very beginning. In this way, a clear and scheduled outlook caters for a measurable performance review.
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AGILE METHODOLOGY
Deploy
Test
Develop
Review
Requirements
Design Figure 2: Agile development life cycle adapted from Feokistov
ith Agile, the priorities of a project are agreed upon
priorities change along the development process,
This approach works well if the project necessitates multiple individuals to discuss and agree upon its delivery. Its various components make project development versatile and this can come in handy when projects are more time constrained.
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The take-home message. The main difference between Waterfall and Agile is the linearity required by Waterfall, whereas Agile caters for continuous change in project development. Agile requires consistent consumer input whereas major decisions for Waterfall are discussed in the beginning of the project. At the end of the day, whichever route you’d like to take depends on the particular project and consumer style.
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The 3 pillars of Castille: Labs, Digital, & Search Labs, Digital and Search are the three pillars which make up Castille Resources. Together, they offer a forward-thinking front to pursue professional development with action-oriented targets. Here’s word from some of our team on what Labs, Digital, and Search are.
In conversation with Meldon Borg, Christian Xuereb and Nikki Farrugia
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Castille Labs
Change is unavoidable. At the forefront of change is technology and the perennial scarcity of tech talent. Fuelling the modern economies of today, software development teams have never been in so much demand and inundated with transformation requirements despite the global pandemic context we live in today.
and scalable remote software teams excelling in tightly integrating these with onshore client teams, whilst providing enriching career journeys for our Castillians coupled with stable worklife-balance.�
Meldon Borg Human Capital Consultant
21
Castille Digital
Castille Digital is an employer branding platform; to assist brands
and increase brand recognition. I would say the main advantage of Digital is that it is a niche website
positions. Another advantage of the platform is our network size; candidates can be recruited from a variety of countries across the globe. For example, we’ve developers at Castille working remotely for Labs. Our website can therefore serve as a
for a role within these sectors, you
In this way, our platform enables global, career-long relationships.�
Christian Xuereb Marketing Manager
22
Castille Search
and they themselves have failed. We have open
always need auditors. We have regular clients who reach out to us every time they have a requirement. These would stem from a successful and long-standing working relationship. We then have new clients who contact us because they’ve
aim is to convert new clients into regular ones. The process is simple. We get the brief, job description,
Once we have the relevant information, we start our search and selection process. Each candidate sourced is thoroughly interviewed. This is to
standard. We usually send in the top three candidates handpicked for our clients. The secret to our success is that we have highly skilled consultants who specialise on different verticals
constantly sourcing and creating pipelines of the most required skills in these sectors.�
Nikki Farrugia Director of Client Services Malta
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Get to know us! Mokhdan, Yudish, and Olivier, in conversation with Andrea Amato. Alongside our team based in Malta, our office in Mauritius presents an encouraging atmosphere in developing our talents. In leading a globalised organisation, we are in constant communication with one another through our shared values and goals: the fruition of Castille through a robust collaborative culture. Below I touch base with some of our onsite and remote developers.
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Mokhdan Salgiriev Remote Senior Software Developer at Castille
Andrea: What are three words you would
use to describe your role at Castille? Mokhdan: Make business smart.
AA:
What do you enjoy most
about your role? MS: The technical challenges. For example, I had an urgent task that involved preparing a dataset for PowerBI based on the OLAP cube and the data warehouse. After a few days of testing, the challenge became greater and more complex because it had to meet some reliability criteria. After some research and discussion with team members, I found a solution. What a relief that was!
AA:
to individuals interested in pursuing a career path like yours? MS: My advice is that there is no task without a solution. Even if you think that technically something Just take a step back and look at the bigger picture from
There is no task without a solution.
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Yudish C. Nundan Senior Software Developer at Castille Labs
Andrea: What are three words you would
use to describe your role at Castille? Yudish: Adaptive. Castille is a company which is continuously evolving to stay relevant, innovative and competitive in the market. We as employees must adapt to provide the correct services. Team Player. We aim to be a group of people who work together to direct our strength and competencies towards organisational objectives. Expressive. As an employee we are able to voice what we believe could be improved for the growth of ourselves and the company.
What are your greatest professional challenges, and how do you overcome them?
AA:
AA: What do you enjoy most about
working at Castille?
YN: The greatest professional challenge is YN: I like my job because of the fact that we get
always to settle in a new company you have just
to know more people. We get to share good times
joined. Every company has different cultures,
at work during team events and we are able to
different sets of ideas of how to make their
enjoy ourselves besides just working.
workplace better. Sometimes it’s challenging to adapt to those ideals and culture.
Where would you like to see Castille grow over the next coming years? AA:
YN: I would like to see Castille working together with different firms across the globe. This would definitely bring in more work and challenges.
The greatest professional challenge is always to settle in a new company you have just joined. 26 14
Olivier Sin Fai Lam Software Developer at Castille Labs
Andrea: What are three words you would
use to describe your role at Castille? Olivier: Teamwork, trust, and planning. AA:
If you could swap roles with one
of your colleagues for a day, who would it be and why? OS: Yujveen [a lead developer at Castille Labs], it would be a whole new experience to lead a team of your own. AA: Where would you like to see
Castille grow over the next coming years? OS: To see Castille grow even more as a worldwide organization. AA: What advice would you offer to
new entrants in the company? OS: Just be themselves and help us help them since we are all a team.
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Discover our headquarters in the heart of the Mediterranean by Andrea Amato
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Castille continues to extend its footprint, going from 3 country branches to a Malta in 14 countries and counting. Its diversity and growth led the localised, speciality services
Through its initiation of remote services in 2015, Castille is no longer contained within a small island, but now holds relationships with institutions worldwide. We celebrate Castille’s growth with an ode to its roots.
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What is Malta’s linguistic situation like?
languages: English and Maltese. Malta recognises two official languages: English and Maltese. The former was a result of British rule that reigned over 150 years, and this influence left more than the red telephone booths found around the island. Gaining its independence in 1964 and later its commemoration of uniting with the European Union (EU) in 2004, the Maltese holds the title as the only nationality to own a Semitic language with official status in the EU. The language continues to evolve from its rich Sicilian-Arabic influence with borrowed lexis from Italian, French, and more recently English.
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Is the cuisine as culturally diverse as the language?
Malta leads an eclectic culinary style with a
pastizzi (background image), a with mushy peas or ricotta. For the quick and delicious snack using local ingredients: Maltese bread (a treat in itself) rubbed with ripe tomatoes, and topped with tuna, capers, salt and pepper. Traditional main dishes include Sicilian inspired desserts can be found in Maltese confectionaries (such as Busy
variety of foods adds to the cultural bounty of the Maltese islands.
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What about traditions
Malta displays an honorary outlook towards the Roman Catholic faith. Malta displays an honorary outlook towards the Roman Catholic faith. Feasts and other events praising the achievements of saints are commonly held throughout the year; celebrated by great band processions which travel across towns, as well as the occurrence of quieter and more peaceful church ceremonies. Other feasts include Carnival, where locals determinedly prepare decorated floats to feature in the capital city, Valletta, alongside a wave of inhabitants dressed in costume. Typically, at the end of April, Malta lights up in its International Fireworks Festival; a meticulously organised event that presents a striking display of colours and shapes into the sky. Whichever event you choose to attend, you will undoubtedly be met by many others looking to celebrate harmoniously together.
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A BACKGROUND ON
BLOCKCHAIN
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Blockchain,
In theory, blockchain boasts several advantages. It utilises a carefully constructed
Blockchain, the engine that runs Bitcoin, originated in 1991 and was then described as a “cryptographically secured chain of blocks” by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta. Within the technological pipeline, the application of blockchain developed its transactions. The second generation of blockchain excited markets with upgrades in cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Bitcoin was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto
design which dominates the technology today. Bitcoin was introduced to the world in the now famous Bitcoin white paper; an academically constructed article proposing bitcoin as a novel system for electronic transactions. Nakamoto stated the necessity of Bitcoin as a medium of peer-to-peer transactions which “would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution”. The omission of a thirdparty ledger leaves many benefits for this technology, primarily autonomy and control between peers.
34
database; transactions are recorded and cannot be later modif ied. This encourages reliability and transparency for the technology. In practice, corporate services had initially adopted this technology to prevent double spending with third parties.
Blockchain’s quick responsiveness creates a competitive advantage to these sectors as carry out transactions across global networks. The production of high quality contracts between corporate peers is a quick sell to align with today’s modern economy.
From a practical perspective, the employment of blockchain has led corporate markets to reduce personnel. This is due to less need for human intervention in transactions. The preceding caveats are important to consider for organisations interested in adopting the technology for their own project requirements.
Blockchain has successfully expanded its financial roots into other industries. For example, the life sciences utilise the technology to support sensitive data
However, it is worth noting that this
transactions. This expansion attests to the
technology is not without limitations.
adaptability of blockchain across sectors,
Blockchain requires high energy consumption
simultaneously reiterating the need for critical
to run its engine and record transactions. It is
evaluation over the use of the technology as it
also notoriously costly; with high initial capital
develops.
costs and costs attributed to its energy consumption. Blockchain has been under
Albeit blockchain was originally developed to
threat from several cyberattacks, including
reduce human intervention, human
those attempting to crack its encryption
collaboration is still required to support a
methodology.
growing platform.
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IS BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY WORTH THE HYPE FOR CORPORATE CLIENT MARKETS IN 2020? Andrea Amato in conversation with Joshua Ellul
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I virtually met Dr. Joshua Ellul, the
a leader in the technology. At the time,
chairman of the Malta Digital Innovation
he was working on releasing his own
Centre for Distributed Ledger
everything just about implemented and
relevance of blockchain technology in
never got around to launching due to
Malta. Focused around DLT, Joshua lectures a masters programme in Nevertheless, Joshua looked towards
blockchain at the University of Malta.
see Malta taking a lead in this space – and I truly believe the laws passed had
time in an online forum, Joshua wasn’t initially too interested in the technology,
the creation of the MDIA, which supports regulating frameworks for the technology.
decentralise more than decentralised monetary systems had not yet been proposed. This opinion was overturned
“IT WAS GREAT TO SEE MALTA TAKING A LEAD IN THIS SPACE AND I TRULY BELIEVE THE LAWS PASSED HAD FORESIGHT.
when Joshua came across Ethereum
for a decentralised digital cash or rather gold, Ethereum allowed for the With this in mind, Joshua found promise in the technology and like other enthusiasts fancied the concept of a involvement. With Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ surge in popularity in 2017, Joshua offered his academic experience when Malta expressed its interest in becoming
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“IT WOULD BE IDEAL FOR MALTA TO ATTRACT SIMILAR INDUSTRIES THAT REQUIRE LIMITED SPACE AND ONLY ACCESS TO A COMPUTER ESPECIALLY WITH COVID-19
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On discussing the advantages blockchain technology brings to the Maltese economy, Joshua acknowledged established sectors in Malta, namely in recommendations stem beyond these attract similar industries that require limited space and only access to a suggestion is in light of recent workplace trends; teleworking. Joshua believes that blockchain should just be one of the various sectors to attract and that Malta
“MALTA IS STILL AHEAD IN THE TRUSTED SOFTWARE REGULATORY GAME AND SHOULD AIM TO BUILD A SECTOR AND BRAND THAT CONSUMERS AND INVESTORS CAN LOOK TO, AND TRUST WHEN IT COMES TO SOFTWARE ASSURANCES.
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Additionally, Joshua noted the
Through MDIA, Joshua believes
disadvantages to operate some aspects of blockchain in Malta, largely due to the energy consumption some types of
to their users, investors, and other stakeholders regarding their
ideal place to host such hardware given our sunny climate and cooling costs that would be required to keep the hardware He concluded the interview by noting the technology’s relevance in Malta
the need for a specialised workforce to implement the technology, as
software regulatory game and should aim to build a sector and brand that
professionals in the area understand
consumers and investors can look to, and trust when it comes to software
However, Joshua admits
education, knowledge, and collaboration, the technology can be implemented across industries and serve a multitude
specialised experts in
of purposes. Our job is to maintain its credibility
concern is later partially
through constant innovation and a willingness to adapt.
this reason, a multidisciplinary Masters in Blockchain and DLT was designed at the University of
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REMAINING VIGILANT:
Cybersecurity during
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As we adapt to new working conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, technological awareness and security has garnered the attention of many. The transition into remote-working exposes employees to novel cybercrime due to the rise in use of personal computers and devices. With this in mind, data training has become fundamental to ensure security in the workplace and home. The following article will introduce an understanding of cybersecurity alongside current affairs. Firstly, organisations must understand the particular risks associated with data exposure to later assess long-term information technology (IT) requirements. These concerns are targeted towards:
User awareness
Data privacy Phishing related to COVID-19
Fraudulent charities related to COVID-19
Policy communication
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The pandemic offers hackers and scammers novel opportunities to create fraudulent information including fake charities to support COVID-19 welfare. Further, sophisticated malware has been developed and tailored to news surrounding COVID-19. Nevertheless, resources and guidance to avoid falling victim to these scams exist after phishing patterns were noticed. Common recommendation examples include:
Do not click on unexpected links or attachments in emails
Report suspicious emails to your data security team if you are uncertain of its validity
If you do want to make a charitable donation to support COVID-19 efforts, look for reputable organisations (such as the Solidarity Response Fund by the World Health Organisation)
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Ensure your passwords are strong
Utilise software such as Multi-Factor Authentication which strengthens user and password protection
Ensure anti-virus software are reliable and up to date
Ensure your private WiFi Network is secure (for example, that it is password protected)
Re-visit your workplace policies for any uncertainties
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To conclude, the identification of cybercrime trends is important to be able to provide resources against them. Whatever concerns or doubts you may have in terms of data privacy and security should be communicated with your data team. Scams can be tailored to the company you work in, therefore reiterating the importance to maintain communication between teams. Data awareness training and open discussions alike will allow for the avoidance of negative data exposure and protect the security of your workplace. The above article was featured as a blog post on Castille’s website. Read more articles such as this one here!
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Castillian contributors EDITORIAL & WRITING
Andrea Amato Digital Marketing aamatogauci@castilleresources.com
EDITORIAL
Jasbeer Keramuth Human Capital | Senior Consultant jbkeramuth@castillelabs.com
EDITORIAL DESIGN
Luigi Muscat Filletti Brand Intern
EDITORIAL DESIGN
Eamonn Mifsud Brand Intern emifsud@castilleresources.com
Castille Human Capital team With great thanks to the Castille Human Capital team who contributed ideas and participated in discussion.
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We’d love to hear from you! Got any feedback or ideas for future newsletters?
Feel free to contribute!
brand@castilleresources.com
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Castillian
Quarterly Newsletter December 2020 © COPYRIGHT 2020 CASTILLE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
