Digital Campaign to Mitigate Malware, Prepping 5G for Enterprise and More News

• The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has launched a campaign to review and remove malware nationwide this year. It aims to enhance the country’s network security.
• Thailand is well into its first phase of 5G development, focusing on using the technology for enterprise solutions in Bangkok and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
• Top emerging disruptors include Distributed Ledger Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Reality and Quantum Computing (DARQ) technologies, to improve workforce productivity and patient experiences.
• The DBS 2020 Digital Treasurer Survey has revealed that businesses in Singapore continue to lead in digitalisation efforts across the Asia-Pacific (APAC).
• DDoS incidents in India hit a record high in terms of total DDOS packets, which were well in excess of 10 billion making online services unavailable to users by interrupting them or suspending the hosting servers.
• With the new age of automation Industrial 4.0, preparation and training are fast becoming the critical factor as the new workforce would need new skills.

Digital campaign to mitigate malware launched nationwide

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has launched a campaign to review and remove malware nationwide this year. It aims to enhance the country’s network security.

The campaign intends to reduce the malicious code infection rate by 50%. It also aims to cut the number of Vietnamese IP addresses in ten popular botnets – a collection of internet-connected devices infected by malware that allow hackers to control them – in half. Statistics showed that the country has about 16 million IPv4 addresses, of which about three million IP addresses are regularly blacklisted by many international organisations, while two million IP addresses are regularly found in botnets.

The National Digital Transformation Program, approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in early June 2020, notes that ensuring network safety and security is key to digital transformation. All IT equipment, products, software, information systems, and investment projects have mandatory components on network safety and security. The ministry has clarified cyber safety and security as aprerequisite for e-government development and digital transformation.

The campaign will allow people to use malware prevention software for free. A representative from the ministry’s Department of Information Security said the campaign is for businesses and home network systems and equipment. The department would work with VNPT, Viettel, CMC, FPT, BKAV, and Kaspersky to implement the campaign. The project would assess ten major botnets that need to be treated with priority, build, and deploy tools on a large scale, whereby users get free downloads to inspect and remove malicious code from their computers.

The ministry hopes it will achieve positive results, contributing to clean malware from Vietnam’s cyberspace. This will help ensure safety for transactions of agencies and enterprises, as the country is accelerating digital transformation towards the development of digital government, digital economy, and digital society.

Prepping 5G for enterprise use in Thailand

Thailand is well into its first phase of 5G development, focusing on using the technology for enterprise solutions in Bangkok and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

“This year the company announced a deal with the nation’s second-largest operator by subscribers, to deploy IP/MPLS solutions that will enable network slicing in the EEC. Another deal was made with Thailand’s third-largest telecom, to deploy 5G solutions over the next year”, stated the Head of the Thailand branch of a Finnish multinational telecommunication, information technology, and consumer electronics company.

By 2025, some 30% of mobile traffic in Thailand will go through 5G networks, according to a study by AT Kearny, compared with 23% in all of Asia-Pacific. While Thailand’s roll-out of 5G preceded most Southeast Asian countries, it still lags Singapore and Vietnam. The rollout of 5G is necessary as the nation’s digital content industry is expected to soar. OpenGov Asia recently reported that Thailand’s digital content industry will likely surpass THB30 billion in value this year, driven by the rise in demand as users spend more time online in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Thai government is very important in the telecommunications space because it sets the direction on frequency and tariffs with the operators, and drives specific industries. A good working relationship with the government and the firm has enabled various solutions to roll out that has helped the overall economy. To stimulate the 5G development and alleviate some of the investment required for operators, the Thai government has introduced flexible payment terms that allow 700 MHz and 2600 MHz licenses to be paid over ten years. In addition to long-term planning well underway, Thailand has also proactively accommodated the needs of users dealing with social distancing and financial uncertainty with additional support for users including providing upgrades of FTTH services to 100Mbps and xDSL services to maximum capacity.

Singapore businesses take lead in digitalisation efforts in Asia-Pacific

The DBS 2020 Digital Treasurer Survey has revealed that Singapore businesses continue to lead in digitalisation efforts across the Asia-Pacific. Polling around 1,700 corporate treasurers, CEOs, CFOs and business owners across the region, the survey showed that in terms of digital readiness, close to half (45%) of Singapore businesses have a well-defined strategy – the highest proportion in APAC, overtaking Japan’s pole position in the bank’s 2019 Digital Treasury Survey.

Amid a more competitive landscape characterised by supply chain disruptions and with Covid-19 hastening the pace of digitalisation, almost all businesses in the region (99%) have indicated that they are facing external pressure to transform digitally. While businesses surveyed understood the need for change, the same businesses are also facing obstacles in adopting new technology with the top three challenges cited as the speed of change (80%), execution complexity (75%) and lack of digital talent (64%). In terms of digital spend, cash management (33%) and trade/supply chain financing (30%) represent the two biggest investment areas for APAC businesses. This mirrors the preference of businesses in the UK where six in ten (60%) are focusing their investments on trade and supply chain financing-related technology, while in the US, corporates are dedicating the bulk of their spending to risk & compliance reporting (34%) and cash management (26%) solutions.

Banks remain the most popular partner for businesses in APAC to keep abreast of fintech innovations and identify the right solutions, with seven in 10 businesses citing this preference – in line with last year’s survey findings (69%). Banks are less preferred in the US (47%), however, as businesses prefer to engage with fintech companies directly (89%). This trend is also prevalent in developed APAC markets such as Singapore (80%), Hong Kong (73%) and China (69%), where businesses prefer regular contact with fintechs.

The use of APIs and enterprise cloud solutions in bank connectivity is expected to continue gaining traction among businesses large and small across the region. Almost half of APAC businesses (48%) using it in their current operations as compared to cloud-based solutions (31%). But a big shift to cloud is expected in the next three years as it has proven to be a useful tool for businesses to migrate data seamlessly. Six in 10 (59%) businesses in APAC are looking to implement cloud-based solutions in the next three years – as compared with 50% and 68% in the US and UK respectively – with close to three in 10 (29%) businesses planning to implement cloud infrastructure in the coming 12 months.

Transforming Healthcare and Pharma with Digital Health Solutions

Early 2020 projections originally placed the country’s healthcare and pharma industries on the path of robust growth, with the Philippine government set to increase its healthcare budget by up to 12% from the previous year.¹ The additional fund would have allowed for medical infrastructure upgrades nationwide. However, the pandemic has since derailed these plans. In fact, many hospitals are currently facing tremendous pressure as they struggle to cope with the sudden surge in patient volume, which has caused shortages in intensive care unit (ICU) bed space, medical equipment, medical supplies specific to COVID-19 and personal protection equipment (PPE).

That said, it is possible to deploy the right technology as a force multiplier to maximize front-line staff efficiency and minimize medical errors, which can easily occur when clinical and nonclinical hospital staff are overworked and fatigued. Among the top emerging disruptors are Distributed Ledger Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Reality and Quantum Computing (DARQ) technologies, which have the potential to improve workforce productivity and patient experiences while also reducing the cost of care and infection exposure.

With mHealth technology, it is now possible to conveniently connect patients to healthcare professionals, regardless of distance, in a zero-touch setting. mHealth solutions are mobile software and technologies that help create seamless and secure patient care collaborations across the entire ecosystem of providers, payers, device companies and other involved parties. Mobile health apps provide many cost-effective ways to encourage and increase patient engagement.

Caretakers and medical professionals can streamline point-of-care processes through a single device that can access sensitive information, produce reports and record data in real-time with better accuracy. mHealth solutions are mobile software and technologies that help create seamless and secure patient care collaborations across the entire ecosystem of providers, payers, device companies and other involved parties.

By aggregating anonymized patient data, a pharmaceutical company could get a market-wide view of a drug’s efficacy in real-world use. Use cases for clinical, research and educational purposes are gaining popularity, but the potential is endless. RFID solutions offer pharmacists visibility into prescription stock without the need for manual data entry, and accurate unit-dose level data for all products.

The Department of Science and Technology, together with the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center (UP-NTCH), University of the Philippines Diliman – College of Engineering, DOST – Advanced Science and Technology Institute and the Department of Health (DOH), developed a telehealth device capable of remotely accessing a patient’s heart rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, blood pressure electrocardiogram readings and uterine contractions. With this technology, medical professionals are able to monitor and serve patients in far-flung areas and concurrently limit their exposure to COVID-19.

DDoS attacks are on the rise in India, says cyber security firm Radware

In August 2020 the number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) incidents in India hit a record high in terms of total DDOS packets, which were well in excess of 10 billion as per a study by global cyber security firm Radware. Not surprisingly, cyber attacks have increased in the last six months. There has been a surge in incidents aimed at compromising public and private assets.

DDoS attack makes an online service unavailable to users by interrupting them or suspending the hosting servers. The motives range from ransomware, pushing a certain ideology or cyber warfare. As per the findings by the American-Israeli cyber security firm Radware, the frequency of DDoS attacks in India saw a steady increase from January until June this year, followed by a drop in July. But the attacks were up again in August, which saw record packet volume. A DDoS packet refers to spoof requests or pings sent by attackers from multiple sources to penetrate the target system.

The web applications of high tech industries (33%), banking and finance (33%), government (17%) and transportation (17%) were the most heavily targeted by attackers during July and August 2020. India now has the second highest number of internet users globally and increasing digitization and cloudification must be accompanied by sharper focus on securing systems and assets as attacks could come from anywhere.” Says Pascal Geenens, Radware’s head of security research. Hackers target remote workers – phishing, DDoS, and video conferencing attacks are most common tactics used. Malware attacks such as ransomware also have increased during the pandemic, with companies reporting frequent cyberattacks.  Given the rising risks, all employees should undergo periodic cyber security training covering the best practices and how to identify phishing and other attacks. And companies must have a BCP (Business Continuity Plan) in place in the form of back-ups of critical data to the business pertaining to customers as well as employees.