Archive for the ‘Interview’ Category
Friday, March 2nd, 2018
Based on countless conversations over the past 12 months with customers, partners, government officials, Blackberry’s internal cybersecurity experts, and leaders from both the security and research communities, Alex Manea – Chief Security Officer at BlackBerry – shares what he believes are the Cybersecurity Trends for 2018.
As BlackBerry’s Chief Security Officer, Alex Manea regularly speaks to Fortune 500 C-Suites and leaders representing the world’s top global brands, listening and learning about what security concerns keep them up at night. Alex also tries to spend just as much time speaking with security researchers – ethical hackers devoted to discovering security flaws and vulnerabilities.
While many other things will impact the cybersecurity industry this year, I believe those I elaborate below will be some of the biggest trends for 2018.
Though these trends may seem bleak to some, they too present many opportunities and possibilities if we are well prepared.
So here goes…
#1: 2018 will be the worst year to date for cyberattacks
IT departments are being tasked to manage increasingly complex networks, support new types of endpoints, and protect more and more sensitive data.
Legacy systems are still rampant throughout most industries and cannot be easily upgraded or replaced.
“With 2017 being the worst year ever for cyberattacks, it is tempting to think that we have hit rock bottom, but what we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
The fundamental issues that have caused the majority of recent cyberbreaches have not been resolved.”
These systems often contain publicly known software vulnerabilities which can be exploited to penetrate the corporate network.
At the same time, attackers are getting increasingly sophisticated and have more incentives than ever to mount cyberattacks.
From building ransomware or mounting DDoS attacks and demanding bitcoin payments, to working with organised crime and even national governments, malicious hackers have numerous ways to monetise their skills and to protect themselves.
Governments and enterprises are recognising these new threats and deploying modern security solutions, but it will take years to decommission all of the legacy systems.
2018 will be yet another year where the shortcuts of the past come back to haunt us.
(more…)
Tags:BlackBerry, cybersecurity, opinion, security, trends
Posted in BlackBerry, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Interview, Opinion, Press Release, RIM, Security, Wiki | No Comments »
Friday, March 3rd, 2017
Get the scoop from Chandra Sekhar Saripaka, who is a Senior Data Engineer at DataSpark.
Chandra is an experienced software engineer with more than 10 years in the IT field that included stints in major banks.
An aspiring Big Data scientist should look no further than Chandra Sekhar Saripaka.
Chandra has had an illustrious career since graduating from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, India.
He began his career with Laser Soft Infosystems (a Polaris company) in 1995 where he progressed rapidly to become a senior software engineer leading a team of 13 before joining Franklin Templeton Investments one-and-a-half years later as a senior software analyst.
Chandra went on to join OpenText as an Advanced Software Engineer for two years, Standard Chartered Bank as a Senior Software Engineer and Framework Specialist for a further two years, and Barclays Investment Bank as a Big Data Lead for a year – before commencing his current job with Singtel and DataSpark in May 2014 as a Data Scientist.
As a Senior Data Engineer with DataSpark, he was one of two speakers from the company who participated in Strata + Hadoop World 2016 in Singapore, a conference which attracted the top minds around the world working on Big Data and analytics.
Chandra spoke on how to go “from telco data to spatial-temporal intelligence APIs”, by “architecting through microservices”.
He explained in detail the production architecture at DataSpark and how it works through terabytes of spatial-temporal telco data each day in PaaS mode.
Chandra also shared with fellow data scientists attending his talk how the platform operates in SaaS mode.
Chandra’s in-depth knowledge of Big Data makes him the best person to give pointers to an aspiring IT engineer in the field.
I’ve asked Chandra to share his valuable insights on carving a career in this intensely competitive arena.
What must today’s IT worker do to get a foothold in Big Data?
Chandra: There is a paradigm shift in the way traditional software is being transformed into data-driven software.
With the rise of many small and medium startups in the market, various cloud-ready tools – in terms of storage, compute, processing and visualisation – have emerged.
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Tags:analytics, Big Data, data, data science, DataSpark, Government, Hadoop, mobility, Singapore, SingTel, Spark, Strata, telco
Posted in Big Data, DataSpark, Enterprise IT, Events, events, Interview, Interview, Opinion, SingTel | No Comments »
Thursday, March 2nd, 2017
Ying Shao Wei – Chief Operating Officer, DataSpark – was one of the distinguished speakers in Strata + Hadoop World Singapore to helm a session attended by fellow data scientists and C-suite leaders as he shared his insights into the analysis of “mobility as a vital sign of people and the economy”.
Strata + Hadoop World Singapore 2016 saw the congregation, in Singapore, of thought leaders in the Big Data analytics and insights arena, enabling practitioners to learn through the sharing of experiences and exchange of ideas. It also provided participants the opportunity to network for future collaboration.
To understand more about Big Data and where it is heading, I sat down with Ying to tap his insights into the trends and prospects of Big Data in this fast-paced sector.
Big Data is the buzz word in the world of Enterprise IT. However, to the man in the street, how does Big Data affect them in their daily lives?
Ying Shao Wei: There are significant ways in which Big Data is already benefiting the man in the street.
Ying is a veteran in the Big Data sector with deep expertise in telecommunications and Government sectors in multiple geographies across Asia.
The Imperial College graduate had served as a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore, and was an Associate Principal in McKinsey and Company, before joining Singtel as Head of Strategy and Analytics in the Digital Life Group of the leading telco in Singapore.
Since 2014, Ying has led DataSpark as its COO, transforming the fledgling startup into an innovative Big Data analytics and insights powerhouse which leverages a variety of datasets and technologies to address geo-spatial needs across multiple industries.
Big Data enables the huge amount of customer feedback – through online reviews and social media – to be processed so that companies have a better chance of responding to and acting quickly upon such feedback.
So with Big Data, customers are more likely to have their preferences addressed.
When you visit an e-commerce website, you will be provided more relevant recommended products and services, thanks to recommendation systems enabled by Big Data.
Because of Big Data, I am able to see and sense my surrounding environment with better clarity than ever before.
When I use online maps to navigate or plan for a journey, I am using Big Data to save tremendous time and effort in getting from one place to another.
With Big Data, mobile subscribers are also now getting better network experiences when they use their mobile broadband connections.
(more…)
Tags:analytics, Big Data, data, data science, DataSpark, Government, Hadoop, mobility, Singapore, SingTel, Spark, Strata, telco, Ying Shao Wei
Posted in Big Data, Business IT, DataSpark, Enterprise IT, Events, events, Interview, Interview, Opinion, Technology | No Comments »
Saturday, October 29th, 2016
The “Beyond Boundaries” photo exhibition showcases Laxmi’s photos from multiple visits to the Kashmir. This story first appeared on The Travel Memoir.
Here you can see the photographer, Laxmi Kaul with one of her subjects.. A juxtaposition of the modern Indian woman with one in traditional garb.
Beyond Boundaries presents Laxmi Kaul and her journey with the people and nomads of Kashmir, where life is about simplicity, serenity and sincerity.
“After shooting in a highly turbulent & conflict–ridden area, I have realized that it is the everyday lives of the people living there that matter to me. They are the ones who makes me want to go back to and continue to narrate their stories. Their daily lives & cultures. I have discovered there is something special in the everyday; for one, we are alive,” said Laxmi Kaul.
What goes on around the borders?
Sometimes life is about the unplanned moments, the appreciation of nature and how civilisations interact.
Laxmi Kaul is a self -taught professional photographer, having started photography at a young age when she saw her father’s passion for making images.
Since then, she has never looked back.
Despite being a commercial photographer, she still holds people and documentary photography closest to her heart.
Laxmi connects with spirituality in daily life and travels with a patriotic zeal.
This photo is one of many beautiful shots that Laxmi Kaul is exhibiting at the Leica Galleries Singapore at Raffles Hotel Singapore from now till 5 December, 2016. Photo credit: Laxmi Kaul.
She believes the camera is her tool and photography is an extension of her very being.
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Tags:exhibition, Laxmi Kaul, Leica, photography, photos, Singapore, travel
Posted in audioVisual, events, Interview, Leica, Opinion, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Press Release, travel | No Comments »
Saturday, June 11th, 2016
As a follow up on the opinion piece that Tony Jarvis contributed yesterday on Endpoint Protection, I asked him to share his take on the Singapore Government’s move to cut Internet access from work computers used by civil servants from May next year.
Tony Jarvis is the Chief Strategist (Asia, Middle East and Africa) for Check Point Software Technologies.
Below are some of his personal views
Question: Is banning internet the right approach to securing government?
There is no right or wrong approach around banning the Internet.
At first glance, the decision to ban Internet access might seem extreme.
Background
The Singapore Government is cutting off Internet connections from work computers used officially by public servants from May 2017, in an effort to plug potential leaks from work emails and shared documents – amidst today’s advanced security threats.
Employees can still surf the Web on their personal smartphones and tablets since these devices are not connected to the government network.
Dedicated Internet terminals will be issued to those who need them in work.
However, it is important to note that this decision will have been made after careful review, taking into consideration a number of factors.
For example, removing access to the Internet will bring with it the benefit of reducing exposure to many threats.
Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of the productivity and effectiveness of the organisation and its employees.
These are policy decisions made by organisations, in this case, the government, and we are certain that they have considered multiple aspects.
This particular case highlights the ongoing challenge organisations have remaining secure in a connected world.
(more…)
Tags:byline, Check Point, civil service, endpoint, Government, guest blog, Hyperwise, Internet, interview, opinion, security, Singapore, Tony Jarvis
Posted in Business IT, Interview, Opinion, Security | No Comments »
Friday, June 10th, 2016
The Singapore Government is cutting off Internet connections from work computers used officially by public servants from May 2017, in an effort to plug potential leaks from work emails and shared documents – amidst today’s advanced security threats.
I invited Tony Jarvis from Check Point Software Technologies to share his opinion on how best to secure an organisation’s network and IT assets. This guest blog is written by him.
Tony Jarvis is the Chief Strategist (Asia, Middle East and Africa) for Check Point Software Technologies.
With every detection of a new threat, the security landscape evolves and attackers are no longer just looking at inventive ways to infiltrate a network but also innovative evasion techniques and the damage it will inflict.
“To say the security landscape is constantly changing would be an understatement,” says Tony Jarvis, Chief Strategist (Asia, Middle East and Africa) for Check Point Software Technologies.
What really matters is how vendors respond to the ever-evolving landscape and not just make incremental enhancements to existing solutions that still predominantly focus on detection, rather than prevention.
With the numerous acquisitions and layoffs being announced, the real question that CIOs and CISOs need to ask is: “Is my security vendor in for the long run?”
Central to any effective security strategy is the ability to stop threats before the initial compromise.
The only way to do this is with prevention.
Many vendors simply can’t do it, which is why they talk about detection.
I also asked Tony specifically for his take on the Singapore Government’s move to cut Internet access from work computers used by civil servants from May next year.
Here are more of his opinions in a Q&A format.
The majority of solutions being deployed today rely on a detection capability, with some requiring users to choose whether infected files should be quarantined or allowed to pass through.
Not only is this intrusive to the user experience, it’s also prone to human error.
Inflexible deployment models calling for an all or nothing use of cloud or private malware analysis fail to meet many customers’ requirements.
To make matters worse, the sandboxing process often takes too long, giving malware plenty of time to get to work before its presence becomes known.
(more…)
Tags:byline, Check Point, civil service, endpoint, Government, guest blog, Hyperwise, Internet, interview, opinion, security, Singapore, Tony Jarvis
Posted in Enterprise IT, Interview, Opinion, Security | No Comments »
Friday, July 31st, 2015
The portal – launched by social enterprise iCare Life Pte Ltd, Singapore – is an initiative aimed at empowering the workers in family life support sectors.
Sudhamoy Khasnobis, Founder Director, iCare Life Pte Ltd.
The portal www.iCare.Life offers training courses benchmarked to global standards.
These training and certification courses will empower family support service providers to deliver superior and professional service thus enhancing their careers.
Details in the press release below.
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Tags:courses, family support, iCare Life, portal, training, website
Posted in Announce, Education, Interview, Launch, newArrivals, Website | No Comments »
Sunday, May 31st, 2015
Dato’ Chef Ismail is the food ambassador of the Malaysian Tourism Ministry and owner of Restoran Rebung in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
tech4tea.com was invited by Tourism Malaysia to check out the restaurant and meet with the affable owner-chef. Here are some pictures that Wee Wu Neo has sent back to Singapore. Text by John Tan.
Chef Ismail shares how he helped his grandmother in the kitchen since he was five, learning how to cook Malay heritage dishes over the years.
Restoran Rebung is located at No. 4-2 Lorong Maarof, Bangsar (59000) in KL, near to the bustling nightlife in the capital’s Bangsar district.
Siput Sedut or Belitung cooked in curry. In case you’re wondering, it is a species of Sea Snail.
The interior decor is very traditional and reminds one of the typical Malay home.
Get a taste of Negri Sembilan at Restoran Rebung.
The 55-year-old celebrity Chef Ismail Ahmad grew up in a small village in the Malaysian state of Negri Sembilan and includes in his menu a huge list of local cuisine that diners can order a la carte or through a buffet.
Nasi Lemak – fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf – wrapped in banana leaf and old newspaper.
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Tags:Bangsar, Chef, cuisine sightseeing, Food, holiday, Ismail, Johor, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Malay, Malaysia, restaurant, tourism, travel, vacation
Posted in Events, events, Food, Interview, Lifestyle, Photos, Prices, Travel, travel, Visits | No Comments »
Friday, May 29th, 2015
Andrew Milroy, Senior Vice President, ICT Practice, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan and CommunicAsia2015 Summit speaker shares his top technology predictions that will transform the digital landscape in 2015. This guest blog was contributed by Milroy.
Andrew Milroy, Senior Vice President, ICT Practice, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan and CommunicAsia2015 Summit speaker.
Asia Pacific is dynamic, engaged, and more connected than ever, proving that the Internet has revolutionised the way individuals, communities and businesses communicate.
Three technology trends in 2015
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Proliferation of wearables
- Software Defined Everything
Both immense opportunities and pressures have been created for businesses to tap into and keep up with the rapid adoption of all things digital.
Below I share my view on three technology trends set to transform the digital landscape in 2015, and their impacts on enterprises and consumers of today.
1. Internet of Things (IoT) gets real
The IoT is a network of IT enabled devices communicating to each other.
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Tags:CommunicAsia, CommunicAsia2015, conferences, EnterpriseIT, EnterpriseIT2015, exhibitions, MBS, Singapore, trade shows
Posted in Brief, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Internet, Interview, Opinion, Tech Focus, Technology | No Comments »
Sunday, May 17th, 2015
Celebrity photographer Russel Wong shared some of his tips on portrait photography using a smartphone in a workshop at the OPPO Concept Store in Suntec City Tower 3. Here are three of the tips attendees found most useful.
Celebrity photographer, Russel Wong sharing his experiences of taking portraiture using a smartphone.
Russel Wong is one of the most profiled photographers in Singapore and Asia.
Described as a “celebrity photographer who also photographs celebrities”, Wong enjoys the acclaim of being the first Singaporean to break into the notoriously difficult Hollywood movie industry.
Below are 3 smartphone portraiture photography tips that Wong shared during the workshop using the OPPO N3 smartphone that was launched in Singapore back in end October 2014.
1. Hold the camera as vertical as possbile
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Tags:Amber Valetta, Andy Lau, Anna Sui, Black Eyed Peas, Chow Yuen Fatt, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Gong Li, Jacky Chan, Jet Li, Joan Chen, JPEG, Ken Watanabe, Lee Kuan Yew, Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Naomi Campbell, OPPO, OPPO N3, Pavarotti, photography, photos, RAW, Richard Gere, Russel Wong, smartphones, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tang Wei, Tony Leung, Wang Lee Hom, Yo Yo Ma, Zhang Ziyi
Posted in Cameras, cameras, Events, events, Gadgets, gadgets, Howtos, Interview, Opinion, OPPO, Phones, Photography, Photos, Seminars, smartphones | No Comments »
