Under the theme “Innovation Meets Adrenaline,” the event facilitated discussions on modern cyber resilience, the integration of Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with Attack Surface Risk Management (ASRM), and effective strategies for cloud risk mitigation.

Sharda Tickoo, Country Manager for India & SAARC at Trend Micro, highlighted the strategic importance of Pune for Trend Micro, by saying “Our remarkable progress in this region underscores Trend Micro’s dedication to growth, technological innovation, and local engagement. As global security trends emerge here, local businesses seek not only comprehensive IT visibility but also technology consolidation, seamless integration with other cybersecurity products, fewer false positives, and enhanced cybersecurity resilience. Our ASRM empowers these enterprises with superior visibility, proactive risk management, and fortified security postures. Leading IT and financial companies in this market trust our Gen AI-powered Trend Vision One platform, which scales seamlessly across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, offering comprehensive threat visibility and actionable insights.”

The event also included a panel discussion featuring Manikrao Patil, Group CISO at Kirloskar Group, and Solkar Nagaraj, CISO at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd. on the theme “Winning Strategies for Cyber Consolidation & Communication” moderated by Kunal Kimatkar, Regional Head, West – Enterprise Business at Trend Micro. Talking about Trend Micro’s R2R event, Manikrao Patil emphasized the importance of CISOs collaborating to counteract malicious actors, as this shared knowledge enhances our defense strategies. Solkar Nagaraj stressed the necessity and critical role of IT security consolidation in a high-risk environment while Manikrao further added on how it aids in aligning business requirements with emerging threats. The panelists concurred that consolidation strikes a balance between security and operational efficiency. On the pros and cons of generative AI, the speakers concluded that, regardless of the sector, the use of generative AI must be approached with well-defined boundaries. Regarding talent retention, Manikrao suggested that developing clear career progression plans provides valuable opportunities to retain skilled personnel, while Solkar opined that a willingness to learn is equally essential.

A recent Trend Micro report places India as the fifth most targeted nation globally for ransomware attacks, with the Manufacturing, Government, and Banking sectors being the most affected by malware. In response to the increasing complexity of cyberattacks, especially with the rise of Generative AI, Trend Micro has extended its Risk to Resilience World Tour to seven Indian cities this year. This expansion aims to share advanced strategies for enhancing organizational resilience and building enduring partnerships.

Trend Micro also recently announced a partnership with NVIDIA to develop AI-powered cybersecurity tools for data centers.

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JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA:  KnowBe4 (www.knowbe4.com), the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform has just released its highly anticipated 2024 Security Culture Report (https://apo-opa.co/3Wr5p7a) for Africa, providing a detailed analysis of the intricate relationship between security practices and employee behaviors within organizations. Drawing insights from surveys conducted across thousands of organizations worldwide, the full report (https://apo-opa.co/3Wx9hng) offers a comprehensive five-year comparative view, highlighting significant trends shaping the cybersecurity landscape.

“In its section on Africa, the report reveals that organizations evaluated across 20 African countries exhibit an average security culture score of 72, consistent with the previous year,” says Anna Collard, SVP of Content Strategy & Evangelist for KnowBe4 Africa. “This shows a moderate level of readiness in security culture.”

There are noteworthy variations among sectors and countries, emphasizing the necessity for targeted interventions to enhance cybersecurity resilience. “The banking sector in Kenya is a standout performer, boasting an impressive average score of 83, attributed to its steadfast commitment to maintaining mature security cultures supported by robust security operations,” explains Collard. “However, industries such as public services, construction, education, and hospitality show lower security culture scores. This shows the importance of developing specific approaches to enhance cybersecurity awareness and practices in these sectors.”

Africa, with its diverse cultural fabric and youthful population projected to dominate the global workforce by 2100, faces escalating cyber risks amidst rapid technological advancements. Challenges, including limited resources, inadequate cyber awareness, and economic constraints, marked the continent’s cybersecurity landscape in 2023. “This shows the need to strengthen cybersecurity readiness given the critical development requirements.”

Kenya (76), Nigeria (75), and Ghana (74) lead the charge in cybersecurity readiness, showcasing robust strategies backed by local governments. Ghana’s significant progress in cybersecurity, evidenced by its climb in the Global Cybersecurity Index, reflects the region’s commitment to cybersecurity excellence.

“With a security culture score of 72, it’s important to address the findings from a separate survey (https://apo-opa.co/44upwDi) on generative AI (GenAI) adoption by organizations in South Africa,” adds Collard. “That survey identified regulatory gaps and a lack of training in countering AI-generated misinformation, highlighting the need for regulations, training programs, and partnerships to tackle cyber threats such as deepfakes, especially during the upcoming crucial governmental elections.”

The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) expects an increase in cyber attacks targeting important infrastructure and government bodies in the coming weeks until South Africans go to the polls. “This highlights the urgent need for stronger cybersecurity measures to protect both public and private sectors, communities, and national economies,” says Collard. “As organizations adapt to the changing cybersecurity environment, promoting a culture of awareness, education, and proactive risk management will be vital in enhancing cyber resilience throughout Africa.”

The security culture score is a global measure used to evaluate organizations based on their approach to security, explains Javvad Malik, Lead Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4. “This score reflects how much importance different entities worldwide place on cybersecurity within their organizational culture. In today’s interconnected world, where a mobile device in a remote area can access sensitive accounts, working in isolation on security is no longer effective,” adds Malik. “Collaboration between governments and regulators is essential not just for creating laws but also for demonstrating practical ways to strengthen security culture. Organizations need to prioritize the human element of cybersecurity by focusing on continuous awareness and training efforts rather than relying solely on technological solutions,”.

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“Targeted cyber-physical attacks are more than zero-day exploits that take advantage of an unknown or unaddressed vulnerability. Instead, they are now also about silent residency – using LotL attacks to wait until there is an opportune moment to turn a system against itself,” said Micheal Ruiz, vice president of OT cybersecurity for Honeywell.

Now in its sixth year, the report underscores the severe risk USB-borne malware poses to industrial and critical infrastructure facilities. Key findings in the report indicate that adversaries now have a strong understanding of industrial environments and how they operate. According to the report, most of the malware detected on USB devices by Honeywell’s Secure Media Exchange could cause loss of view or loss of control of an industrial process, a potentially catastrophic scenario for operators.

“As digital transformation and automation accelerate, so does the exposure to sophisticated and malicious cyberattacks that can have devastating consequences in terms of reputation, safety, and continuity,” said Ruiz. “There are numerous ways a bad actor can infiltrate an OT environment, including through USBs. With Honeywell’s advanced end-to-end technology and deep experience, we partner with our customers to improve their ability to protect their assets and data from these threats.”

The 2024 report is based on the Honeywell Global Analysis, Research, and Defense (GARD) team’s tracking and analysis of aggregated cybersecurity threat data from hundreds of industrial facilities globally during 12 months. 

Several of the report’s additional key findings included:

• USB devices continue to be used as an initial attack vector in industrial environments, as 51% of malware is designed to spread via USB, a nearly six-fold increase from 9% in 2019.
• Content-based malware, which uses existing documents and scripting functions maliciously, is on the rise, accounting for 20% of malware.
• Over 13% of all malware blocked specifically leveraged the inherent capabilities of common documents, such as Word, Excel and PDF documents.
• 82% of malware is capable of disrupting industrial operations, resulting in loss of view, loss of control, or system outages in OT environments.

To download the full report, visit: https://hcenews.honeywell.com/CYB-2024-Threat-Report-LP.html

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• BFSI-focused cyber security startup Zeron is the first in India to launch this game-changing solution to revolutionize risk management strategies
• QBER enables organizations to quantify cyber risks in monetary terms, empowering them to make accurate and confident decisions about risk mitigation strategies, resource allocation, and insurance coverage options owing to mathematical formulas applied which ensure closer to 0%

INDIA: With cyber threats evolving at an unprecedented pace and regulatory requirements becoming increasingly stringent, Zeron, a Mumbai-based cybersecurity startup, has launched India’s first advanced Cyber Quantified model called Quantified Business Exposure to Risks (QBER) for BFSI companies. As the inaugural CRQ model from India, QBER sets a new standard for cyber risk quantification, offering organizations a comprehensive and dynamic approach to cybersecurity management.

By quantifying cyber risks in monetary terms and furnishing actionable insights, this technology model empowers organizations to enhance their cyber resilience, streamline operations, and mitigate the financial repercussions of cyber incidents effectively. The market demand for CRQ, exemplified by QBER, is robust and growing rapidly. As cyber threats continue to evolve in sophistication and frequency, organizations across industries are seeking innovative solutions to quantify and manage their cyber risk exposure effectively. Statistics show that 97% of the organizations who adopted CRQ derived huge benefits in terms of their cybersecurity investments in the organization.

Unlike conventional approaches, QBER offers a dynamic and holistic view of cyber risk exposure, enabling organizations to adapt swiftly to evolving threat landscapes. By integrating QBER into insurance underwriting processes, credit risk analysis action insurers can tailor policies to clients’ unique risk profiles, fostering a more resilient cybersecurity ecosystem.

This upgrade comes at a time when there is an increase in cyber threats, data loss, and extortion cases affecting businesses. Zeron aims to harness advanced threat intelligence to provide financial organizations with timely insights into their cyber risk exposure. By integrating industry-specific data such as market cap, employee count, endpoints, security solutions, and regulatory mandates, QBER enables organizations to make informed decisions about cyber risk mitigation strategies, resource allocation, and regulatory compliance.

Sanket Sarkar, CEO & Co-Founder of Zeron, said, “The escalating complexity of cyber threats and the increasing regulatory scrutiny surrounding cyber risks have created a pressing need for robust CRQ solutions like QBER. With its ability to deliver actionable insights and empower organizations to enhance their cyber posture, QBER sets a new standard for cyber risk quantification.”

This launch marks a pivotal moment in India’s cybersecurity journey, addressing two critical challenges facing organizations today: the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape and the increasingly stringent regulatory environment. With cyber threats escalating at an unprecedented rate and regulatory requirements imposing greater accountability, the need for robust cyber risk management solutions has never been more pressing.

Zeron’s core mission is to bridge trust gaps among stakeholders and empower organizations to make informed cybersecurity decisions, ensuring the effective safeguarding of digital assets while maintaining compliance with industry regulations and enhancing overall cybersecurity resilience. Its innovative solutions have gained significant traction among a diverse range of customers across Indonesia, Canada, Singapore, the UK, the Philippines, and more. Notable clients include Affin Bank, NTUC, Aditya Birla Capital, and Bank Open, among others. The platform offers invaluable insights by contextualizing both tangible and intangible cyber risks from each stakeholder’s perspective. Moreover, Zeron’s robust tools enable the quantification of these risks, seamlessly aligning them with regulatory mandates and compliance requirements.

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These were some of the key points that emerged out of deliberations on the second day of the Asia Economic Dialogue (AED), the annual three-day geoeconomics conference organized jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Pune International Centre (PIC), from February 29, 2024.

The theme is ‘Geo-economic Challenges in an Era of Flux’. 

Other points that emerged at the conference included: 

India’s soft power was previously in yoga, ayurveda, Bollywood, etcetera, and now digital technology will be added.  IT industry in India is expected to double in size by 2030 to $5bn and is projected to become 10% of GDP. Winners of the Third Globalisation are the developed countries. 

With 46 speakers from 11 countries participating in the 12 sessions over three days at the international conference, day two witnessed insightful discussions on pressing economic matters facing Asia and the world at large. 

Sessions on ‘Generative AI: Impact on Organisations and Society’; a conversation on ‘India’s Role in Information Technology and Digital Diplomacy’; ‘The Third Globalisation’; ‘The Future Automobile and Future Fuels’; ‘Drones: Revolutionising the Future?; and ‘India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor’ were held on Friday.

The session on ‘Generative AI: Impact on Organisations and Society’ was chaired by Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Executive Chairman and Founder, of 5F World. The panelists were Rajesh Nambiar, Executive Vice President, Chairman and Managing Director, Cognizant India; Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft India and South Asia; Nitin Chugh, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Digital Banking and Transformation; and Jeff Walters, Managing Director and Senior Partner, The Boston Consulting Group. 

Dr. Natarajan predicted new multimodal chatbots, a whole lot of startups, multitasking for robots, text-to-video, and AI film festivals. He said AI videos are here whether for good or for bad and people like him were optimists, or “dangerous optimists, as Dr. R A Mashelkar says.

Panellist Rajesh Nambiar, Executive Vice President, Chairman, and Managing Director, of Cognizant India, said there is a role reversal so far as humans were trying to understand computers but now computers are trying to understand humans. He said the potential impact of AI on GDP will be 2.5 to 2.6 trillion. AI, he said, is an equalizer as its benefits are higher where the capabilities are lower, and can lead to higher productivity. He said that in the short run, the impact of generative AI is overhyped, but in the long run it is under-hyped. He said it can impact white-collar jobs, particularly where people use brains, such as statisticians and in equity calculations. 

Panellist Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft India and South Asia, highlighted key aspects of generative AI’s impact on organizations and society. One is the changing nature of work after the pandemic, where paradigms of work and personal lives have changed, as dimensions of time and space regarding work have undergone a shift and AI has introduced a third dimension. Second, concerning previous tech innovations, AI is not new; generative AI is just one new technology and it’s not going to be the last innovation. Third, generative AI combines the functions of an intelligent agent and a reasoning agent to effectively function as a co-pilot. She said AI needs to be assessed in three orders – first is assistive; second is augmentation such as where AI can help a school teacher create interesting lesson plans; and third is autonomous.  She said AI is changing the nature of jobs as business models are changing for effective adoption of AI and creating new revenue streams. She said AI has impacts on education, healthcare, and the judiciary. 

Nitin Chugh, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Digital Banking and Transformation, said by nature generative AI is transformational and will change geopolitical dynamics. It holds the potential to cause a divide between data haves and have-nots. The West, he said, has more availability of public data, whereas India has a mix of personal and public data. The financial services and banking sector has advantages and challenges for the adoption of generative AI. However, there is a need to bring about an ethical and responsible framework for the adoption of AI. One of the most crucial aspects regarding generative AI, he said, is to make it inclusive so it becomes an equalizer and facilitator of a level playing field. Otherwise, some will disproportionately benefit from it. He said there is scope for changes in governance frameworks and these need to be designed with customer protection at the centre. 

Jeff Walters, Managing Director and Senior Partner, The Boston Consulting Group, said one characteristic of companies using AI is that leaders are using it faster. He said the function of AI is like a “co-pilot” and it can be used to reshape business such as through better customer engagement. 

A conversation on ‘India’s Role in Information Technology and Digital Diplomacy’ featured Kiran Karnik, Chairman, of Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, and Dinanath Kholkar, Independent Advisor and Former Senior Vice President and Global Head of Partner Ecosystems and Alliances of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). 

Dinanath Kholkar, Independent Advisor and Former Senior Vice President and Global Head of Partner Ecosystems and Alliances of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said there is a mismatch in demand and supply for jobs in cyber security, and at present 3.5 million jobs are available in cyber security even as there are concerns regarding cyber security with a rise in cybercrimes. He said women rejoining the workforce after a career break can be trained to join in cyber security roles. Technological opportunities, he said, will create more jobs. Kholkar said the IT industry in India is expected to double in size by 2030 to $5 billion and is projected to become 10% of GDP. 

On the success of India’s IT industry, Kiran Karnik said India’s IT sector started late but the pioneers wanted to compete globally. Young Indians took it up as a challenge and worked on innovation in business models, and the government played a crucial role in supporting and creating a conducive ecosystem through policy frameworks. He said AI is a challenge at present and in the future and the IT industry will overcome it. He observed that the industry has a key role to play in the development of the education and IT industry, especially in R&D.

Kholkar said the banking sector has seen phenomenal payback with the application of AI. Technological advancements need to be supported with favorable ecosystems and policy implementation can enable faster adoption of tech innovations, he added. Data privacy, he observed, is crucial. He said MCCIA’s cyber security initiative in collaboration with the United States Consulate is the first-ever US-India Cyber Security Initiative to strengthen IT connections between the two countries and lead Pune City to become a cybersecurity hub. He said India’s soft power was previously in yoga, ayurveda, Bollywood, etcetera, and now digital technology will get added.  

The session on the topic ‘The Third Globalisation’ was chaired by Prof. Jyoti Chandiramani, Director, Symbiosis School of Economics, Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Symbiosis International University. The panelists were Anniken Huitfeldt, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Norway; Rahul Bajoria, Chief Economist, Asia Pacific, Barclays Bank; Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh and Non-resident Fellow at Atlantic Council; and Prof. Lars-Hendrik Röller, Professor at the European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, and former Chief economic advisor to German Federal Chancellor Merkel, and former G7 and G20 Sherpa. 

‘The Third Globalisation’ session focused on the geo-economics paradox of the third globalization, where the winners are the developed countries and losers are the under-developed countries. 

Rahul Bajoria said globalization is a “normative” perspective and not an “idealistic” perspective. This makes developing countries like India go for FTAs and to abolish trade protectionist policies. He said the future of Indian industrialization depends on where it invests. 

Prof. Jyothi said that in the third globalization, there has been a geo-economic flux and a shift from the plurilateral regime to the multilateral regime.

Anniken Huitfeldt, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Norway, said that third globalization and the SDGs are more about security. 

Dr. Fahmida Khatun said the current world is at the end of the third globalization and the beginning of the fourth. She said globalization is a means to progress, not automatic, and should be more focused on the accumulation of wealth, advancement of technology, trade, and simplified financial transactions. She said challenges to globalization including inequality, and disparities between countries are growing rapidly. She said this will hurt developing countries in the long run. She said issues faced by the underdeveloped countries are that there is the least transfer of technology to the UDCs, and there is a lack of financial outsourcing and investments.

Prof. Lars-Hendrik Röller said the government must work together in the area of carbon emission regulations.

The session on ‘The Future Automobile and Future Fuels’ was chaired by Amit Paranjape, Co-founder of ReliScore. The panelists were Ramkripa Ananthan, Head of Design of Ola Electric; C V Raman, Chief Technology Officer, Suzuki India; and Yogesh Umbarkar, Vice President, Business Development, Valtech Mobility. 

On data protection, Amit Paranjape said data that cars capture is so a geopolitical issue. At a national level, it raises concerns regarding national security and at a personal level, it raises issues about privacy. Increasingly, there are challenges regarding the hacking of cars.

Ramkripa Ananthan suggested making EVs at the price of IC vehicles. She said the weightage of battery cost is the highest in the overall cost of the car. She said the solution to reduce these costs is to promote in-house technologies, select the right technologies, and improve the efficiency of the battery to reduce costs. There is a need to increase software to reduce dependence on hardware, she said. She said long-haul vehicles require a mix of three solutions– battery swapping, and portable batteries. and behavior change. Ramkripa said there was a need for talent in future technology at designing, manufacturing, and so on; not just knowledge but application of that knowledge; and also road safety.

C V Raman said there is a connection between economic development and mobility. He said sustainable mobility, energy security, and society are the three key aspects for determining the future of automobiles and fuels in India. Sustainable mobility, he said, will require customer focus, infrastructure development, and digitization. With the expected increase in per capita incomes, passenger vehicles are expected to grow at a rate of 5-6%, he said. He said energy security at present in India is dependent on fossil fuel imports, and as fossil fuel dominant energy grid has adverse impacts on the environment. He said there is a need to reduce emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2070. He said the question to be addressed for the future of mobility is “How can we move a billion people?” He listed solutions such as electric mobility, alternate fuels, gas-based mobility, waste-to-fuels, ethanol blending, and enhanced electrification. He said EVs are significantly heavier than their IC counterparts. There is a need to change the material in EVs. He said a key aspect of increased uptake of EVs is developing avenues for home charging. Space for parking also plays a crucial role. He said, “60% of India doesn’t have parking space”. He said hybrid vehicles present a better solution for the future of mobility and reduce C02 emissions. He said renewable energy in the energy mix needs to increase. He said all fuels will have a space in the future of automobiles and that hybrids will be a first vehicle and EVs will be a second vehicle.

Yogesh Umbarkar said the future of cars can be understood as pre-Covid and post-Covid. Pre-Covid was focused on autonomous, connected, electric, and ‘shared’; and post-Covid has shifted to autonomous, connected, electric, and ‘personal’. India is somewhere between “least autonomous” and fully autonomous. He said that with an increase in digital connectivity and the adoption of 5G networks, ‘personalized and connected’ features are becoming prominent in vehicles. A vehicle is getting transformed into a smartphone on four wheels. Increasingly, the experience of home, office, and lifestyle is getting connected with the vehicle. These aspects are shaping business models as well.  However, these are also raising issues of data privacy and protection.

The session on ‘Drones: Revolutionising the Future?’ was chaired by Anish Michael, Lead, Centre for Future Mobility, OMI Foundation. The panelists were Mark Yong, Co-founder and CEO of Garuda Robotics; Aniruddh Gupte, Founder and CEO of Podrones Logistics; and Sunil Jha of ideaForge. 

Mark Yong: Constraints – autonomy, energy, safety; Drones have to take care of themselves once they are out of sight from the pilot’s eyes; Today everything is based on batteries hence energy storage is important; Multiple levels of safety system is required; Airspace utilization – integrated national air space – unaccrued instead of unmanned; Commercial drones can be the future. 

Aniruddha Gupte: Drones will replace some humans in the delivery business; Policy suggestion for government – encourage drone engineers; embrace technological solutions to boost the economy.

Day 3 will have sessions on ‘Reimagining and Revitalising the World Trade Organization’; ‘Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET): Securing our Future’; and ‘Expanding Regional Connectivity: Towards a More Integrated South Asia’. The Chief Guest at the Valedictory Session will be R K Singh, Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy, GoI. It will be chaired by Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Vice President, of PIC, and Chairman of the 13th Finance Commission. 

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Eight Key Cybersecurity Considerations for 2024

1. Meet customer expectations, and improve trust – With cyber threats and data privacy concerns growing, CISOs should be seeking to work closely with stakeholders across the organization to maintain trust by ensuring operations are resilient in the event of an accident.
2. Embed cybersecurity and privacy, for good – The act of embedding security across the organization should be viewed as an exercise in driving operational excellence.
3. Navigate blurring global boundaries – A central consideration that organizations should examine is how to most effectively navigate the increasingly complex global business landscape to ensure resilience and business continuity.
4. Modernize supply chain security – Despite the challenges and competing priorities, ensuring the supplier and partner ecosystem is secure should not be a bottleneck; it should be a business enabler.
5. Unlock the potential of AI – carefully – Security and privacy leaders should be supporting the business objectives reliant on AI and determine how to harness this game-changing technology effectively and responsibly.
6. Supercharge security with automation – As operating models digitize, security teams should automate and update their processes to keep pace.
7. Make identity individual, not institutional – Driven by expanding business models, it’s vital that organizations now view identity not in isolation but from a broad perspective.
8. Align cybersecurity with organizational resilience – Organizations should find a way to create a broad-ranging culture of resilient security throughout the enterprise and seek to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page.

Cyber Strategies for 2024

Following are some recommendations for CISOs to consider as they seek to accelerate recovery times, reduce the impact of incidents on employees, customers, and partners, and aim to ensure their security plans enable — rather than expose — the business.

People

• Connect with your organization’s ESG team to determine whether they consider cyber a key aspect of their mandate. If not, work to build awareness of how and why it’s important to all three areas of ESG
• Bring a new perspective to the board on what could disrupt the business and what should be done to manage those risks without impacting operations and customer experience.
• Foster organization-wide behaviors and cultural alignment to prioritize what truly matters to the organization in terms of data, services, and infrastructure.

Process

• Run the cyber team like a business, which means you must give up a degree of control over what other parts of the organization are doing from a security perspective.
• Define your initial vision and strategy for automation.
• Enhance transparency to build trust across global supply chains
• Take a risk-based approach to assessing third-party processes rather than a blanket approach

Data and Technology

• Identify what data the organization has centrally accessible and define an automated continuous controls monitoring plan
• Ensure the purpose of AI algorithms, whether developed in-house or externally, is clearly defined and documented and training data is relevant, appropriate for the business objective, and secure consent
• Leverage intelligent automation to gain higher visibility into the changing supplier risk profiles and build a sustainable and scalable forward-looking third-party program.

Regulatory

• Sharpen your global regulatory intelligence around cyber in general and ESG and privacy in particular to ensure timely compliance and reporting
• Align your AI framework with current standards and develop solid AI governance by aligning the priorities of the various business leaders in the organization
• Maintain an understanding of the global regulatory landscape

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The first phase of the campaign involves interactive audio bytes of open-ended conversations between seniors and scammers. These engaging audio bytes have been designed to empower seniors with insights into the dynamic landscape of banking policies, including officious terms such as OTP and KYC. Columbia Pacific Communities has roped in Karnataka Bank as its knowledge partner to amplify the impact of this campaign with a comprehensive 60-minute online awareness session, ‘Unmasking Cyber Fraud for Seniors’ on August 17, 2023.

Renowned actor Poonam Dhillon has teamed up with Columbia Pacific Communities to empower seniors against cyber scams. In a compelling video message, Dhillon sheds light on the surge in cyber scam cases in India, particularly targeting seniors. She emphasizes the campaign’s goal, which is to transform seniors into #FraudFighters and safeguard their hard-earned money.

Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Marketing, at Columbia Pacific Communities, said, “Our campaigns on the occasion of World Senior Citizens Day each year attempt to spark awareness and discussions around issues faced by senior citizens in our country. Considering the growing number of cybercrimes against the elderly, Columbia Pacific Communities decided to address the issue and empower seniors to safeguard their hard-earned money from cyber scammers.“

Various educative content, including an infographic around cybercrime, quizzes, and a video session helping seniors learn more about cybercrime, can be found on a dedicated microsite on the CPC website. Seniors are encouraged to share their personal experiences of online deception on the microsite. By sharing stories, seniors can contribute to collective learning and awareness.

The ongoing marquee annual event of Columbia Pacific Communities, Platform 2023, will culminate in the grand finale on August 21, World Senior Citizens Day. The recent campaign aligns with the brand’s core mission of amplifying the voices of seniors, nurturing their interests, and promoting the brand philosophy of positive aging.

Columbia Pacific Communities is India’s largest and most experienced senior living community operator with close to 1750 residential units under management in 5 cities and 10 locations across south India. It is committed to reimagining the concept of senior living in India and creating world-class practices that exceed the expectations of all stakeholders. It is part of the Columbia Pacific group, one of the foremost developers of senior living communities in the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia.

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Speaking of the ‘splinternet’ concept, Dr. Pant pointed out, “Because of this splinternet and lack of cooperation between nations, the criminals are taking advantage as there are no international laws and regulations which help the agencies for solving cybercrimes,” he pointed out.

“The World Economic Forum has been saying that cybercrime is the biggest manmade risk to the economic progress of a nation. Last year the total loss was estimated to be $ 6 trillion,” Dr. Pant said.

Discussing India’s role in dealing with cybercrime, Dr. Pant said, “At the national level, we created the National Counter Ransomware Task Force under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Other national-level initiatives include the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre which handles the cybercrime portal cybercrime.gov.in where one can report cyber crimes.”

He said, “India also has the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) which has about 580 people that monitor and predict cyber threats. Some 7 critical sectors have been identified out of which 2 supercritical ones are power and telecom.”

Talking about international-level solutions for cybercrime, Dr. Pant said that like-minded nations including India, Australia, the UK, and the US, were getting together. “We have created an International Counter Ransomware Task Force where perpetrators are put under sanctions. It has saved about $150 million,” he mentioned.

Closing his speech, Dr. Pant highlighted the three hard truths of cyber security – vulnerability, cyber-attacks, and attribution. He added that the two mantras for the post-Covid digital world were: personal health and cyber hygiene.

IDS 2023 will bring together over 150 speakers, including policymakers, regulators, industry captains, and subject stalwarts in more than 60 sessions, with a representation from over 500 digital brands, and the participation of over 3000 delegates.

Highlights of IDS 2023:

*2 DAYS * 5 TRACKS * 60+ SESSIONS * 150+ SPEAKERS, * 500 + DIGITAL BRANDS * 3000+ attendees. For more information on IDS 2023 visit – India Digital Summit

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