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The Malta Independent | Thursday 5 March 2015
60% increase in UK cyber security concern
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new study reveals that 46% have been victimised by at least one cyber crime in the last year alone. Credit card fraud was the most prevalent form of such with 24% of respondents hit in the last year, followed by 16% having at least one social media account breached or defaced. The independent study was conducted for GFI Software by Opinion Matters and surveyed over 1,000 US adults, working for companies with up to 5,000 staff that use a computer or mobile computing devices. The findings examine the business and societal impacts of cyber security issues and reveals stark concerns over the increasing personal and business risks posed by cyber crime and the growing likelihood that cyber crime acts will escalate to physical retaliation. With multiple recent high-profile attacks targeting household names and large employers – including the Sony hack, the Netflix-user data leak and the hit on health insurer Anthem that exposed valuable employee and member records - the survey shows that individuals increasingly fear cyber crime and its resulting consequences at work as well as at home. 43% stated that they see banks as the main target for cyber criminals in the coming year. 17% fear that large business institutions will be targeted for crime and cyber espionage, but only 12% believe retailers will be a major target, despite the potential for high levels of credit card data theft. Furthermore, with the increased digitalisation of healthcare data, 10% are concerned that cyber criminals will target hospitals, HMOs (health maintenance organisations) and health insurers in the coming year.
The perceived threat from cyber attacks is hurting adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, with almost 60% either viewing Internet-connected home devices as too risky to own, or hesitating to purchase more devices. 57% of respondents believe malware still poses the biggest threat to both individual and business information security. The Business Impact of Cyber Crime The research revealed that almost all cyber crimes have a noticeable, detrimental impact on businesses, with 88% of respondents believing that a cyber attack against their employer would have measurable financial and productivity implications. An additional 6% believe that a single cyber attack against their employer could easily put the organisation out of business permanently. “Cyber attacks have profound consequences for the business community, whether companies are the target, or the victim of an attack elsewhere. In the last few months alone we’ve seen major corporations targeted in systematic acts of espionage and geopolitical retaliation, as well as hundreds of thousands - potentially millions - of individuals affected by the fallout of data being stolen and misused,” said Sergio Galindo, general manager of GFI Software. “Usernames, passwords, credit card data, health records – malicious use of this data by criminals can quickly create financial hardship and significant stress for affected individuals, while the negative fallout for organisations the data was stolen from can range from loss of reputation to fines, falling sales, civil and criminal legal proceedings and more,”
Impact of Cyber Crime on Public Services Until recently, companies and individuals rarely thought of hackers accessing everyday public and utility services to wreak havoc. Such services are at much greater risk, however, with everything from traffic lights and CCTV cameras to power stations and smart meters being increasingly computerised and networked to improve efficiency, centralise management and reduce cost. As a result, nearly three quarters (71.5%) of those surveyed now believe the hijacking of major services (utility services, traffic management, transport, etc.) by cyber criminals is a genuine threat to US national security. In addition, 50% believe that increased cyber crime is making life harder, by making it more challenging to access everyday services, and 37% believe the heightened cyber crime environment hinders productivity. Our reliance on digital devices makes us more of a target, according to 28% of respondents who believe that our everyday use of technology has left individuals and businesses more exposed than ever to virtual crime. Most worrying is that more than one third (35.3%) believe that acts of cyber crime and cyber terrorism are likely to spill over into physical acts of crime and terrorism. “Cyber crime is not a victimless activity – virtual acts of criminality affect real people, put jobs at risk and have lasting consequences for everyone impacted by them,” Galindo added.
more aggressive steps to protect themselves and their online footprint, both at work and at home: 63% now regularly change passwords for web sites and online services; 56% have taken steps to strengthen their anti virus protection; 51% have activated PIN or password protection on tablets and smartphones; 50% now avoid duplicating passwords across multiple sites and services and 32% have, where supported, activated two-factor authentication for logging in. However,5.5% have done nothing to improve their online security. “It is particularly encouraging to see that one third of those surveyed have embraced two-factor authentication. While some financial institutions now insist on this technology to protect online banking access, people are increasingly activating two-factor to protect social networking, email, e-wallet and other online services,” said Galindo. Comparison with the UK The same survey, conducted among a parallel demographic in the UK, produced broadly similar results – with one interesting difference: US respondents were between 4-5% more security conscious with regards to the steps taken to secure personal data and prevent unauthorised access to online services. In the UK, just over one quarter (27%) of those surveyed have begun creating dedicated email addresses for use with specific online services in an effort to minimise the impact of a security breach. In the US, the site of several high-profile username and password thefts, this number is as high as one third.
Taking steps to improve online security The survey also revealed that growing cyber security concerns have prompted people to take
Smartphone problems leading to customer frustration Within the last year, 7 in 10 consumers had experienced an issue or malfunction with their smartphone and 12% of those who looked to their mobile operator for help, would not return to that operator to purchase their next device based on their customer service experience. This was revealed in a global study that examines the extent of smartphone users' service issues and the business impacts of mobile operators' customer technical support abilities. The study was conducted by Cellebrite (a developer and provider of mobile diagnostics solutions) and Ovum (providing independent market analysis) and is based on a survey of more than 4,000 consumers in the US, UK, China and Germany, and in-depth interviews with executives in six mobile operators in these markets. Another point of concern for operators revealed in this study is that software-related problems which are outside operators' control - have increased from 10% to 40% of the proportion of total faults. No Trouble Found (NTF) claims, which fail to identify the actual problem, account typically for 1/3 of all handsets that are sent for repair, at a cost to operators that in some cases reaches $300 (€ 270) per
unit. “The findings from this study reveal the extent of the challenge facing mobile operators: a sizable percentage of consumers are growing frustrated with their mobile service providers after experiencing problems that are completely outside of the operators' control,” said Angel Dobardziev and Michael Philpott, co-authors of the report. “While hardware and operating system faults have stabilised, software-related or ‘soft’ faults, caused by such issues as malwareladen and faulty applications, have increased four-fold, leading to inc reased customer service costs and affecting customer satisfaction.” The Ovum study's findings highlighted the importance of an integrated, multichannel approach that addresses “soft” issues quickly and closer to the customer. Whether operators’ policies are to provide a loaner device or to furnish a permanent replacement, these are costly options for the operator and consume resources on the back-end. Further, the study cited three components of the technical service function that will mitigate costs and maintain customer satisfaction are self-help applications, remote diagnostic tools and advanced in-store technical sup-
port capabilities. “For the average consumer, the smartphone has become an indispensable device for work and play, but with that higher degree of capability comes added complexity and frustration when it fails,” said Amir Lehr, Executive Vice President of Products and Business Development at Cellebrite. “This study validates feedback from a growing number of our operator customers: rapid and accurate diagnostics do more than save cost as they can save end user relationships at a critical time in the customer lifecycle.” Additional highlights from the study include that mobile service providers face a range of direct and indirect costs of not being able to identify and address customer device malfunction issues, regardless of whether the operator is responsible for the actual fault. 68% of consumer respondents had experienced an issue or malfunction with their mobile device in the past 12 months. Approximately 1/3 of respondents suffering from battery and applications-related malfunctions claimed they first turned to their mobile operator or retailer for help. Consumers are calling for help and 1 out of every 4 calls to operators’
customer care centres involve trouble with a phone. 34% %of consumers who responded that they had experienced a software virus, and 39% of those that had experienced software crashing, stated that it had rendered their device unusable. Customer service is a top three reason for churn, cited by 25% of users that plan to change providers. 14% of respondents stated that, based on the operators' inability to fix their problem quickly and satisfactorily, they would look to purchase their next handset from a different provider. The number of consumers stating they would purchase their next handset from a different provider, due to unsatisfactory technical support, increased to 18% for respondents with an applications-related fault. 37% of consumer respondents indicated that they suffered a malfunction after their device warranty period was over and of those respondents, 33% resolved to put up with the issue that arose when their device was out of warranty. No Trouble Found (NTF) claims no faults found with warrantied hardware or software - typically account for 30% of all handsets sent
for repair. NTFs have a direct cost to the operator in terms of administrative services charges and in some cases handset loan and replacement stock, as well as an indirect cost in terms of customers frustrated by a lack of resolution. Ill-equipped to identify the true source of problems, technical support staff often resort to brute force resolutions – flashing the phone software or resetting the device to factory conditions. While offering temporary relief, problems resurface when consumers, unaware of what caused the original problem, reintroduce troubled apps or suboptimal configuration settings. Providers of mobile diagnostic solutions, like Cellebrite, are modernising the repair landscape for the increasingly sophisticated mobile devices introduced on a near daily basis. Diagnostic tools that work across all devices, operating systems, and points of customer interaction help operators and aftermarket service providers deliver the effective, consistent, omnichannel experiences their customers demand no matter where or when they encounter problems. For the full study visit: http://go.cellebrite.com/ML C-Ovum
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The Malta Independent | Thursday 5 March 2015
Roderick Spiteri
Roderick Spiteri is Marketing and Communications Manager at MITA and editor of Malta Independent ICT feature
The Malta Independent ICT Feature
T
oday is the last day of the KSU Career Convention in which MITA is participating. Professionals from MITA will be providing students with information about the different careers in the ICT sector and the required specialisations (including at MITA), the MITA Innovation Hub as well describe the different EU funds available
for budding startups. The realities of a digital world mean that more and more people and getting concerned of their security online. Growing threats from hacking groups, terrorists and government-sanctioned retaliation has individuals fearful of attacks and losses. A recent study shows that almost 50% of people have in some way or another fell victim to some sort of
cyber crime in the past year. All mobile operators are giving out specially reduced mobile devices to those who signup for a contract with them. A new study has shown that when consumers experience problems with their mobile device, they are very likely to attribute that distress with the mobile operator who provided them with the device rather than to the mobile device brand.
All ICT Features are available on www.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature
MITA part of KSU’s Careers Convention 2015 U
nemployment can be a headache for any country. It is for this reason that it takes proper long term strategic planning by any Government to invest in sustainable education and thouroughly perpare our children for their future careers. ICT has been on the agenda since a decade and it seems there’s no intention that this will change. In fact, the U.S Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), predicts that by 2020 employment in all computer occupations will increase by 22%. Malta is no less than any other fellow country and the Government’s Agency responsible for IT does its utmost to encourage students of any age to encourage students to embark in the world of IT. As part of this project, MITA is currently participating in the KSU Careers Convention 2015, in the section dedicated to ‘Science and Technology Expo’. University is a good platform for MITA to expose different career options in IT, varying from infrastructure to software development. From its end, MITA’s HR team will be promoting employment opportunities within the Agency itself and reasearch opportunties for students who are in the starting phases of their dissertations. Another aspect which is of MITA’s interest is to inspire students to become technology entrepreneurs. During the careers’ convention the EU & International Affairs Desk will present MITA’s positition with respect to EU and international policy on issues that fall within the Agency’s remit. It will also provide the necessary guidance in order to enable the full and most appropriate exploitation of EU funding that may be available to the Agency or through its initiatives. A project promoted by the EU & International Desk is one which is designed to solve latent needs in
ganisation such as MITA. Students will be exposed to different perspectives, uncertainties and factors influencing nationwide ICT programmes and projects. Exposing different opportunities to students at such a conven-
civil society. Students will be encouraged to team up to work on small proof-of-concept projects aimed to demonstrate feasibility of the proposed solution. The winning team will be awarded a 12-week summer placement through the Student Placement Programme. The Digital Outreach team will also be present at the KSU Career
Convention from where they will be promoting an ongoing project with the Faculty of Economics, Management & Accountancy (FEMA). Currently this faculty is offering a study unit called ICT Industry Insights which is targeting second year students and provides them with practical insight into the daily challenges of a large ICT-servicing public or-
tion is a must. This is a good platform for students to realise that ICT can take different forms, and this means that having a career in ICT is very viable, and thus should be encouraged and supported.