TECHNOLOGY
Most employees fear robot hacking but believe they should be used more in production
December 2, 2022 12:54 p.m.
A recent Kaspersky study on the consequences of automation and increased use of robots showed the growing level of robotization in companies but highlighted the increased number of cybersecurity risks this causes. Today, 79% of employees believe that robots should be more widely used across different industries, however, 85% of them fear robot hacking.
Nowadays, robotics is being used to command industrial control systems, production processes and other information technology.
It replaces manual labor, improving efficiency, speed, quality and performance.
With this in mind, Kaspersky conducted a study to learn the opinion of employees of manufacturing companies and other large organizations around the world about the consequences of automation and increased use of robots.
The goal was to gather employees’ thoughts about the security of robots and automated systems in their companies. The survey was conducted across 15 countries: USA, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Turkey.
Employees reported an increase in robotization levels in their companies over the last 2 years. Forty-one percent of employees said their organizations already use robots, and 29% of organizations plan to use them in the near future.
One of the findings in the research was that respondents believe robots can help industries increase economic benefits as well as saving people from dangerous duties.
This point of view is shared by more than half of the surveyed employees, as 52% think use of robots can accelerate and increase the efficiency of production processes and cut down costs, and 60% believe robotization can free people from hard or dangerous duties, reducing risks to life and health in the future.
This, in turn, will help employees avoid routine and boring duties and retain more interesting and highly paid positions (36%).
More than one third of respondents consider that one of the key tasks that robots can successfully perform is to build a safe environment and reduce the likelihood of accidents due to human error.
This point of view was shared by 36% of employees.
Another important finding was that cybersecurity risks increase because of robotization.
The majority of respondents (85%) believe that robots can get hacked, and 51% know of incidents such as these occurring in their company or other local businesses.
Respondents are split in their assessment of how protected robots are: almost one half of employees (44%) believe that not enough cybersecurity measures are in place to protect the robots in different industries while 40% believe that sufficient protective measures are in place.
“Cyber-physical systems use industrial robots more often to increase production efficiency. However, new technologies like these bring new cyber risks because they are potentially vulnerable to cyberthreats. Kaspersky sees ensuring that cybersecurity remains at the forefront of robot technology adoption as its mission, helping to tackle the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities that robotization presents,” comments Andrey Strelkov, Head of Industrial Cybersecurity Product Line at Kaspersky.
“In our research, we asked respondents to judge not only how convenient and efficient robots are to use in production, but also their level of safety. It turned out that many employees believe that using robots causes risks. Robots, robotic controllers, automation systems, and supply chains are going to become the prime vector for cyberattacks in the coming years, and they need protection here and now. Before one integrates robots into production, one needs to guarantee network intrusion robustness and overall network security,” says Strelkov.
“Not all modern technologies are designed with security in mind, so only the use of defense-in-depth industrial network protection and multifunctional monitoring platforms will ensure uninterrupted operation of the company. Dedicated solutions like Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity may become an efficient assistant for protecting robotics in production,” adds Strelkov.
To keep your industrial computer systems protected from various threats, Kaspersky experts recommend:
- Conducting regular security assessments of OT systems to identify and eliminate possible cyber security issues.
- Establishing continuous vulnerability assessment and triage as a basement for effective vulnerability management process. Dedicated solutions like Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity may become an efficient assistant and a source of unique actionable information, not fully available in public.
- Performing timely updates for the key components of the enterprise’s OT network; applying security fixes and patches or implementing compensating measures as soon as it is technically possible is crucial for preventing a major incident that might cost millions due to the interruption of the production process.
- Using Industrial EDR solutions such as Kaspersky Industrial Cybersecurity for Nodes with EDR for timely detection of sophisticated threats, investigation, and effective remediation of incidents.
- Improving the response to new and advanced malicious techniques by building and strengthening your teams’ incident prevention, detection, and response skills. Dedicated OT security training for IT security teams and OT personnel is one of the key measures helping to achieve this.
The full presentation with results and more insights on the consequences of automation and increased use of robots are available via the link.
TECHNOLOGY
Ultra tough HONOR X9a 5G gets tested in an experiential launch in Philippines; priced at P16,990
January 23, 2023 3:01 p.m.
Celebrities, guests from the media, and partners have been gathered in an overnight event at Taal Vista Hotel Tagaytay to experience the toughness of the new HONOR X9a 5G.
“To see is to believe, that’s why we came up with this launch that really puts HONOR X9a 5G’s toughness to the test. Our guests have seen first-hand how durable our new phone is and we are very confident that the activities we laid out for have showcased the top-of-the-line performance of HONOR X9a 5G,” said Stephen Cheng, HONOR Philippines Vice President for Marketing.
During the afternoon festivities, guests were challenged to participate in games that highlighted HONOR X9a 5G’s top specs such as shooting its screen with a toy gun and in a paired drop test where one has to throw and the other catches. A selfie area in front of Taal also brings out the best in HONOR X9a 5G’s super triple camera capturing the crisp and accurate colors of the famous volcano. The viral phone has also withstood the outdoor badminton and smash challenges.
HONOR X9a 5G Specs
Sporting a 120Hz Premium OLED Curved Display, the HONOR X9a 5G brings users a large screen of 6.67-inch with an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 93%, guaranteeing an immersive viewing experience for all your favorite content.
An ultra-large 5100mAh battery in a compact body awaits you too. So far, the HONOR X9a 5G is the thinnest and lightest smartphone to feature a battery larger than 5000mAh, which allows it to support up to 2 days of daily use for a truly uninterrupted user experience. With just 30 minutes of charging, the HONOR X9a 5G delivers 12.5 hours of video streaming, sparing users from having to worry about their battery.
Designed for a style conscious audience, the HONOR X9a 5G is available in two stunning colors: Titanium Silver and Emerald Green. Starting from January 20 to February 3, the HONOR X9a 5G will be available to purchase via all HONOR kiosks and partner online stores – Lazada (http://bit.ly/3XHFPIC), Shopee (http://bit.ly/3XzEfrS), Tiktok Shop (http://bit.ly/3kfHhTS), and Home Credit.
HONOR fans can finally avail the HONOR X9a 5G via Home Credit, for as low as Php 661 per month with insurance, Php 765 without insurance, and on a 0% interest installment payment.
HONOR X9a 5G is priced at P16,990 with FREE HONOR Earbuds X3 Lite worth P3,999.
For more information and announcements, you may visit HONOR’s website www.hihonor.com or social media platforms: Facebook (Facebook.com/HonorPhilippines), Instagram (Instagram.com/honorphilippines/) and TikTok: (Tiktok.com/@honorphilippines).
TECHNOLOGY
Miscommunications in IT security lead to cybersecurity incidents in 62% of companies
January 12, 2023 5:58 p.m.
More than half of top-tier managers (62%) admit that a miscommunication with the IT department or IT security team has resulted in at least one cybersecurity incident in their organizations.
In terms of personal attitudes, the majority of non-IT executives cited a diminished sense of cooperation between different teams (34%) and said this situation makes them question their colleagues’ skills and abilities when communication with their IT-security employees was unclear (33%).
The recent Forrester analytics survey says that companies spend an average of 37 days and $2.4 million to detect and recover from a cybersecurity breach. To determine how much mutual understanding between executives and information security teams affects a company’s cyber resilience, Kaspersky conducted a global survey of more than 1,300 business leaders.
According to the results of the study, 98% of non-IT respondents experienced miscommunications regarding IT security. With regards to consequences, most often a breakdown in communications leads to serious project delays (67%) and cybersecurity incidents (62%). Almost one-third of respondents (30% and 27% respectively) even said that they had even encountered these issues more than once. Among other negative effects are a wasted budget, the loss of a valued employee and deteriorating relationships between teams –situations that occurred to 61% of respondents.
In addition to worsening business indicators, unclear communication with IT-security employees also affects the emotional state of the team and makes executives question IT-security employees’ skills and abilities. Also, 28% executives admit that misunderstandings make them lose confidence in the business’ safety and 26% of them find this situation makes them nervous, which affects their work performance.
“Clear communication between a company’s executives and IT security management is a prerequisite for corporate business security,” comments Alexey Vovk, Head of Information Security at Kaspersky.
”The challenge here is to put oneself in the others’ position, to anticipate and prevent serious misunderstandings. This means that, on the one hand, CISOs should know the basic business language to better explain the existing risks and need for safety measures. On the other hand, a business should also understand that information security in the 21st century is an integral part of business and budgeting for it is an investment in protecting company assets,” adds Vovk.
To make the communication between IT security and business functions within the company more transparent, Kaspersky recommends the following:
- Understanding professionals from another sphere requires not only empathy but also additional knowledge. While IT security workers could get more information about basic business terms and concepts in various training courses, non-IT executives have an opportunity to walk in a CISO’s shoes to get insights on the most relevant IT security challenges.
- Both IT and non-IT managers should not lock themselves in a professional “information bubble”. Staying aware of the agenda in both the business and cybersecurity worlds is another key to successful communication and mutual understanding between them.
- Cybersecurity specialists should use reliable and understandable arguments when communicating their needs to the board and justifying their cybersecurity budget. Use information about the threats and security measures most relevant to your particular industry and company size to prove the probability of risks and the protective measures needed. Resources such as IT Security Calculator and reports based on experts’ observations can significantly ease this task.
- Today when cyber threats are becoming more and more relevant and companies are forced to increase their information security budgets, it’s extremely important to allocate cybersecurity investments to tools with proven efficacy and ROI. This means tools that lower the level of false positives and reduce the time of attack detection, the time spent per case, and other metrics are important to any IT security team.
The full report and more insights on communications issues between C-level and IT security managers are available via the link.
TECHNOLOGY
WIKO to release Huawei-developed smartphones
January 2, 2023 5:46 p.m.
A few days ago, the French technology brand WIKO made its debut on Weibo, and its China official website was launched simultaneously.
According to the teasers, last December 27, WIKO release its flagship phone in China, which not only supports 5G, but also a device thats equipped with Harmony OS, with a 108-megapixel main camera, 66W super-fast charging and other familiar configurations.
The new flagship–WIKO 5G, uses a 6.78-inch 120Hz high-refresh screen, equipped with a Snapdragon 695 processor, a rear-mounted 108megapixel main camera + 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle + 2-megapixel macro + 2-megapixel depth-of-field lens, and the front camera is 16 million pixels, built-in 4000mAh battery.
It uses a 2.0GHz Octa Core CPU processor using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, an Adreno 619 graphics processor paired with 8GB of RAM, 128GB/256GB of internal memory and runs on the HarmonyOS operating system.
Equipped with 4 rear cameras, Quad Camera with LED flash consisting of
- Main camera, 108 megapixel resolution, Samsung HM2 sensor, aperture f / 1.9, 1 / 1.52) and PDAF system
- The second camera, Ultra Wide lens, 8 megapixel resolution, f / 2.2 aperture
- 3rd camera, depth lens, 2 megapixel resolution, f / 2.4 aperture
- 3rd camera, macro lens, 2 megapixel resolution, f / 2.4 aperture
According to reports, WIKO is officially licensed to release smartphones developed by Huawei technology. WIKO is a local mobile phone brand in France. Later, the mobile phone business of this brand was jointly acquired by Tianyin Holdings and Dongguan Financial Holdings. In addition, WIKO took the second place in the French mobile phone market in 2014, second only to Samsung in terms of local market share.
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