Category: National

Integrates Zero Touch Provisioning for quick and easy deployment at user premises I nfinity Labs, a leading provider of technology and network solutions, has recently launched Infinxt Secure SD-WAN, the next generation leading software-defined wide area network solution with inbuilt next-generation firewall (NGFW) powered by Palo Alto Networks, the leading global provider of cybersecurity. Large businesses as well as medium and small enterprises across India will now have access to Infinxt Secure SD-WAN, an indigenously built solution that offers unmatched feature rich technology with ease-of-deployment and ease-of-use coupled with enterprise class security. The next-gen secure SD-WAN solution will help enterprises optimize existing network connections between distributed sites across geographies and achieve enterprise-class network performance, stability, and security for critical applications. The solution also provides centralized management and control for enterprises to steer traffic on an application level basis, or by access type, enabling the remote sites to make efficient utilization of the available pool of bandwidth.   Highlighting the launch, Rakesh Goyal, CEO, Infinity Labs said, “Enterprises across segments are increasingly recognizing the business benefits and value addition offered by SD-WAN technology. The high costs of enterprise quality bandwidth coupled with the impact of the pandemic and the subsequent shift towards remote working has further emphasized the need for a solution that provides enhanced network security and enables bandwidth aggregation and optimization. We are proud to partner with Palo Alto Networks to bring Infinxt – an industry leading SDWAN solution that bundles the benefits of dynamic path selection, network optimization and application performance routing. Infinxt will deliver enterprise-class SD-WAN technology with compelling RoI for small businesses across distributed locations and users.” Built on SDN architecture defined in RFC7426, Infinxt SD-WAN offers a series of benefits to customers such as business agility by rapid and easy deployment, inherent economics by offering same level of QoS of MPLS at a fraction of cost and optimized cloud architecture with inbuilt NGFW. This has an added advantage of centralized and easy control & management and ability to have integrated hybrid WAN with traffic prioritization. With the adoption of SAAS and IAAS, WAN has witnessed multiple levels of traffic accessing applications across the globe. The solution provides dynamic routing of SAAS application traffic for faster and efficient delivery and enhanced user experience with optimized performance. The SD-WAN approach to network connectivity helps reduce operational costs and increases resource usage. The partnership with Palo Alto Networks brings next generation firewall capabilities into Infinxt SD-WAN, making it a most agile, feature rich and secure solution available in market today. The solution focuses on delivering high-quality experience with business-centric applications without compromising on security. It combines routing, network security features, and firewalls into a single point network solution improving the overall performance and reliability of the network while also significantly lowering cost of operations. Using an Infinxt SD-Wan solution, a business owner or CIO can get a real time visibility of all network components through streaming telemetry built into the SD-WAN. Another advantage is the zero-touch provisioning and AutoVPN capabilities, which makes equipment deployment quick and easy, barring the need for a specialized IT resource. Access to real-time performance data is facilitated through a simplified cloud-based console and mobile application. Infinxt SD-WAN also provides. portant benefits to multi-site customers. It allows branch offices to easily connect to each other, without building VPN connections, managing routing tables, and other complex networking configurations. The solution has been designed to interoperate and co-exist with existing gateway security investment and provides enterprise with the flexibility to adopt the security features of the Palo Alto Networks solution at a later stage. Keeping multiple enterprise requirements in mind, the Infinxt portfolio currently includes two solutions to provide users the choice to decide on the features, arrangement and security standards. For example, if the enterprise requirement is only to connect branches for bandwidth aggregation and integrate this with a pre-existing security configuration of their own, it can choose the Infinxt SD-WAN solution. Those looking to integrate next generation security along with the Infinxt SD-WAN, can opt for the Infinxt Secure SD-WAN, powered by Palo Alto Networks.  

Fortinet® recently announced the findings of the latest semi-annual FortiGuard Labs Global Threat Landscape Report. FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence from the first half of 2020 demonstrates the dramatic scale at which cybercriminals and nation-state actors leveraged a global pandemic as an opportunity to implement a variety of cyberattacks around the world. The adaptability of adversaries enabled waves of attacks targeting the fear and uncertainty in current events as well as the sudden abundance of remote workers outside the corporate network, which quickly expanded the digital attack surface overnight. Although many compelling threat trends were related to the pandemic, some threats still had their own drivers. For example, ransomware and attacks targeting Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices as well as operational technology (OT) are not diminishing, but are instead evolving to become more targeted and more sophisticated. At a global level, the majority of threats are seen worldwide and across industries, with some regional or vertical variation. Similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, a certain threat might have started in one area but eventually spreads almost everywhere, meaning most organizations could face the threat. There are of course regional differences in infection rates based on factors such as policies, practices, or response. Highlights of the report: Seizing the opportunity in global events Attackers have used subjects in the news as social engineering lures before, but this moved to the next level in the first half of 2020. From opportunistic phishers to scheming nation-state actors, cyber adversaries found multiple ways to exploit the global pandemic for their benefit at enormous scale. This included phishing and business email compromise schemes, nation-state-backed campaigns and ransomware attacks. They worked to maximize the global nature of a pandemic that affected everyone around the world combined with an immediately expanded digital attack surface. These trends were seen with other newsworthy items and demonstrate how quickly attackers can move to take advantage of major developments with broad social impact at a global level. The perimeter gets more personal The increase in remote work created a dramatic inverse of corporate networks almost overnight, which cyber adversaries immediately started to leverage as an opportunity. In the first half of 2020, exploit attempts against several consumer-grade routers and IoT devices were at the top of the list for IPS detections. In addition, Mirai and Gh0st dominated the most prevalent botnet detections, driven by an apparent growing interest of attackers targeting old and new vulnerabilities in IoT products. These trends are noteworthy because it demonstrated the network perimeter has extended to the home with cybercriminals seeking to gain a foothold in enterprise networks by exploiting devices that remote workers might use to connect to their organizations’ networks. Browsers are targets too For attackers the shift to remote work was an unprecedented opportunity to target unsuspecting individuals in multiple ways. For example, web-based malware used in phishing campaigns and other scams outranked the more traditional email delivery vector earlier this year. In fact, a malware family that includes all variants of web-based phishing lures and scams ranked at the top for malware in January and February and only dropped out of the top five in June. This may demonstrate the attempt of cybercriminals to target their attacks when individuals are the most vulnerable and gullible – browsing the web at home. Web browsers, not just devices, are also prime targets for cybercriminals, perhaps more than usual, as cybercriminals continue to target remote workers. Ransomware not running away Well-known threats such as ransomware have not diminished during the last six months. COVID-19-themed messages and attachments were used as lures in a number of different ransomware campaigns. Other ransomware was discovered rewriting the computer’s master boot record (MBR) before encrypting the data. In addition, there was an increase in ransomware incidents where adversaries not only locked a victim organization’s data but stole it as well and used the threat of widescale release as additional leverage to try and extort a ransom payment. The trend significantly heightens the risks of organizations losing invaluable information or other sensitive data in future ransomware attacks. Globally, no industry was spared from ransomware activity and data shows that the five most heavily targeted sectors for ransomware attacks are telco, MSSPs, education, government, and technology. Unfortunately, the rise of ransomware being sold as a service (RaaS) and the evolution of certain variants indicates that the situation with ransomware is not going away. OT threats after Stuxnet J une marked the 10th anniversary of Stuxnet, which was instrumental in the evolution of threats to, and security of, operational technology. Now, many years later, OT networks remain a target for cyber adversaries. The EKANS ransomware from earlier this year shows how adversaries continue to broaden the focus of ransomware attacks to include OT environments. Also, the Ramsay espionage framework, designed for the collection and exfiltration of sensitive files within air-gapped or highly restricted networks, is an example of threat actors looking for fresh ways to infiltrate these types of networks. The prevalence of threats targeting supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and other types of industrial control systems (ICS) is less in volume than those affecting IT, but that does not diminish the importance of this trend. Mapping exploitation trends A review of the CVE List shows the number of published vulnerabilities added has risen over the last few years, sparking discussion over the prioritization of patching. Eventhough 2020 looks to be on pace to break the number of published vulnerabilities in a single year, vulnerabilities from this year also have the lowest rate of exploitation ever recorded in the 20-year history of the CVE List. Meanwhile, vulnerabilities from 2018 claimed the highest exploitation prevalence at 65%, and more than a quarter of organizations registered attempts to exploit 15-year-old CVEs. For cyber adversaries, exploit development at scale and distribution via legitimate and malicious hacking tools continues to take time. The urgency to secure the network perimeter extending into the home With the increase in connectivity, devices, and ongoing need for remote work, the digital…

ITC Infotech, a global technology solution and services provider, has chosen LogMeIn’s Bold360 and Rescue products for its Digital Workplace Center of Excellence (CoE). ITC Infotech provides business-friendly solutions and services focused on banking & financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, consumer goods, travel and hospitality industries and is a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd, one of India’s most admired companies. The Digital Workplace CoE by ITC Infotech will leverage LogMein’s Bold360 and Rescue products. The CoE will run proof of concepts (PoCs), a fully automated end user IT service desk and other digital workplace solutions for ITC Infotech’s global clients. The CoE will also incubate solutions to enhance efficiencies across ITC Infotech’s internal departments & processes including HR, finance, projects, admin and travel – to enhance interactions for ITC Infotech’s 8700+ global employees with their service teams. ITC Infotech’s Digital Workplace solution uses extensive automation to enhance the end user experience and LogMeIn’s technology stacks will help drive adoption of new ways of working within well-defined processes, while providing a robust governance framework. The CoE is an integrated platform, which is powered by industry leading technologies and provides optimization and digital enablement to migrate the IT teams from standard service level agreement (SLA) management to ITC Infotech’s unique experience level agreements (eXLAs). ITC Infotech’s Digital Workplace solution also uses rapid deployment processes which are Cloud enabled and offer a customized knowledge base to improve employee experience. “LogMeIn has significant experience in delivering differentiated solutions for consulting companies like ITC Infotech, who offer professional solutions and services to vertical industry sectors globally,” said Rahul Sharma, Managing Director, India & SAARC, LogMeIn, “We are proud to support ITC Infotech and be a trusted partner as part of their digital transformation journey. With our AI-enabled chatbot software like Bold360 and our remote infrastructure support products that include rescue and rescue lens, LogMeIn has delivered solutions that create user experiences providing highest level of dependability.” “We are delighted to have partnered with LogMeIn who is one of the leading employee and customer experience companies in the world,” said Prasad Natu, Sr. Vice President & Head – CIO 360, ITC Infotech, “This partnership will further strengthen our dedicated Digital Workplace CoE, which already uses extensive automation to enhance the end user experience. LogMeIn’s tech stack & solutions will strengthen our Digital Workplace solution and redefine how the industry manages end-user computing.” ITC Infotech is a leading global technology services and solutions provider, led by Business and Technology Consulting. ITC Infotech provides business-friendly solutions to help clients succeed and be future-ready, by seamlessly bringing together digital expertise, strong industry specific alliances and the unique ability to leverage deep domain expertise from ITC Group businesses. The company provides technology solutions and services to enterprises across industries such as Banking & Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Travel and Hospitality, through a combination of traditional and newer business models, as a long-term sustainable partner. LogMeIn, Inc.’s category-defining products unlock the potential of the modern workforce by making it possible for millions of people and businesses around the globe do their best work, whenever, however, and most importantly, wherever. A pioneer in remote work technology and a driving force behind today’s work-from-anywhere movement, LogMeIn has become one of the world’s largest SaaS companies with tens of millions of active users, more than 3,500 global employees, over $1.2 billion in annual revenue and more than 2 million customers worldwide who use its software as an essential part of their daily lives. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with additional locations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.  

Array Networks India Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of Array Networks Inc., a Network Functions Platform Company, recently announced their undertaking into the production of hardware and software products reinforcing its commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Array had broached about the company’s plan to go beyond application delivery and launch its security product this year and the plan is now a reality, where the Company will be focusing on producing Networking & Security products. “Array’s operation in India is one of the top contributors to the company’s overall global growth. The large percentage of this impressive growth has come from the Government, BFSI, aviation, entertainment and education verticals. With the Government as our key customer, we believe that the customers’ confidence will increase with our commitment towards the Make in India initiative. As the government is now focused on digitization and cyber security, the network and security products produced in India will receive a major boost,” said Shibu Paul, Vice President – International Sales at Array Networks. The product manufacturing unit has been set up in Bengaluru and is expected to generate employment in India. As the hardware products being produced are for Networking and Security, it will benefit the PSUs, state and central government agencies, and the defense sector. In the coming years, Array Networks will continue to design cutting-edge solutions for Enterprise and Government customers and join the government’s Make in India bandwagon. India is a Key Market for Array Networks I ndia is one of the fastest-growing regions for Array Networks and has good growth momentum. Array has considered India to be one of the key focus markets and growth engines. With the country’s excellent talent pool for software development, R&D and support, the company is providing a huge opportunity for the local workforce through this initiative. Array has the advantage of being the first mover in this product segment that will aid in creating and delivering value to all stakeholders.  

EZVIZ has introduced its latest range of secure and smart home cameras, which is Wi-Fi enabled, offers 2 way communication, has an alert system, and where no installation is required. EZVIZ makes use of technologies such as smart hardware and internet cloud services to create an intelligent work and life for users. The secured environment enables people to enjoy the relaxed, comfortable and pleasurable life of technology in a safe, convenient and green living environment created by smart technology. EZVIZ provides intelligent products and services for residences, offices, shops, schools, hotels and other places of residence. They can be also used for patient monitoring at the hospitals. The next-generation of indoor and outdoor smart surveillance cameras and intruder alarm systems, the EZVIZ range will transform households with smart life experience by making it easier for individuals to connect to everything happening in their life – all while ensuring their home is safe.   The smart products have all been created to provide peace of mind for users, while making them as easy as possible to use. The entire range is ideal for use in a number of settings such as in children’s rooms to keep an eye on pets, and by families with elderly relatives. However, the solutions also provide the perfect security for business premises. Each high-quality camera comes with a huge list of features such as crystal clear 720P-1080P imagery, IFTTT-compatible, cloud services and SD card storage options. The smart home alarm kit is the first smart home alarm system. Adding another level of security and connectivity for users, it links flawlessly between existing indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi cameras, smart locks, garage doors, and light bulbs. Once a sensor or detector is triggered, a linked EZVIZ camera will commence recording and send users a notification that they can click to see what triggered the alarm. The wireless range (866Mhz) is up to 100m from detectors to main alarm hub. EZVIZ alarm kit consists of alarm hub, a remote control, PIR motion detector (pet immune detector) and open-close detector (for windows or doors). All products are IFTTT compatible, and can work seamlessly with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. Working with just one app, the hi-tech products offer the ideal solution for numerous applications around the home. All EZVIZ customers need to do is simply say, “Alexa, show me the camera in the living room,” and the feed from an internet-connected camera will send the video to the Amazon Echo. EZVIZ cameras deliver the best value and user experience to customers by merging video and voice control in the smart home. The Alexa integration offers yet another level of value to EZVIZ customers. EZVIZ smart home security cameras are available online and through the distribution channels. Its latest models include, C6CN, alarm starter kit, C1C, C3A, C3W colour night vision cameras. EZVIZ smart home cameras come with smart features like Wi-Fi connectivity, two way communications, motion detection alerts on mobile, motion tracking and easy installation. The latest EZVIZ cameras can be operated in 100% wireless mode and they come with an inbuilt battery. The C3W cameras are weatherproof cameras, it can be used for outdoor installations. C3W colour night vision camera enables users to see the vibrant colour images even in darkness. EZVIZ products are available pan India through the authorized distributors and e-commerce channels. The best-inclass EZVIZ products have cost effective pricing.  

Fortinet®, a leading global provider of broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions, recently unveiled the 2020 Remote Workforce Cybersecurity Report. The report investigates the cybersecurity challenges that organizations faced as a result of the dramatic shift to telework early this year and the planned investments to secure remote work in 2020 and beyond. This report is based on a survey conducted in June 2020. Participants are employed in 17 different countries, representing nearly all industries and the public sector. Highlights of the report follow: The sudden shift to telework was challenging for most organizations As the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly in the first half of 2020, many organizations were required to shift to telework practically overnight as teams around the globe were asked to stay home. Nearly two-thirds of the firms surveyed had to rapidly transition over half of their workforce to telework. In addition, most respondents said the rapid change presented a challenge to their organization, with 83% citing it as moderately, very or extremely challenging. Only 3% were not at all challenged. In addition, the evolving remote work environment, increased reliance on personal device usage, and overall influx of workers outside the corporate network opened an opportunity for unprecedented cyber threat activity. From opportunistic phishers to scheming nation-state actors, cyber adversaries found multiple ways to exploit the global pandemic for their benefit at enormous scale as evidenced by a recent FortiGuard LabsGlobal Threat Landscape Report. Threats included phishing and business email compromise schemes, nation-state backed campaigns, and ransomware attacks. In fact, 60% of organizations revealed an increase in cybersecurity breach attempts during the transition to remote work, while 34% reported actual breaches in their networks. With a spike in employees remotely connecting to the corporate network, an increase in breach attempts and overall cyberattacks, organizations cited the most challenging aspects of this transition as ensuring secure connections, business continuity, and access to business-critical applications. At the time of the survey enterprises had already invested in key technologies as a result of the pandemic. Nearly half of organizations invested further in VPN and cloud security, while nearly 40% invested further in skilled IT professionals or network access control (NAC). There is still room for improvement: Almost all enterprises will invest more in secure telework Given the number of attempted breaches and overall waves of cyberthreats targeting remote workers, organizations need to carefully consider what technologies and approaches are needed to secure telework moving forward. Defense strategies need to be adjusted to fully account for the extension of the network perimeter into the home. As of June this year, a long-term shift to telework is anticipated, with nearly 30% of organizations expecting more than half of their employees to continue working remotely full time after the pandemic. Almost all organizations expect to invest more to secure telework long-term, with nearly 60% of enterprises spending more than $250,000 in secure telework investments in the next 24 months. Moving forward, the majority of enterprises surveyed intend to make unplanned upgrades to their existing systems to secure telework. Many also plan to add new technologies not previously in place.   Only 40% of organizations had a business continuity plan in place prior to the pandemic. Yet, as a result of the pandemic and the rapid shift to remote work, 32% invested further in this area. While organizations have made improvements in securing their remote workforces since the beginning of the pandemic, survey data reveals several areas that could be considered opportunities for improving secure remote connectivity. These areas include: Multi-factor Authentication (MFA): The survey revealed that 65% of organizations had VPN solutions in place pre-pandemic, but only 37% of organizations had multi-factor authentication (MFA). While VPNs play an important role in ensuring secure connectivity, they are simply one part of securing access. Therefore, if not already in place, it is recommended that organizations consider integrating MFA into their remote security plans. Endpoint Security and Network Access Control (NAC): 76% and 72% of organizations plan to either upgrade or adopt NAC or endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions respectively. As employees work remotely, organizations face challenges to control the influx of non-trusted devices on their networks to enable remote work, creating new security challenges overnight. By adopting NAC solutions, IT teams get increased visibility and control over the users and devices on their network. EDR solutions deliver advanced, real-time threat protection for endpoints both pre- and post-infection. Software-defined Wide-area Networking (SD-WAN) for the Home: 64% of organizations plan to either upgrade or adopt SD-WAN, but specifically for the home office. The critical advantage of extending secure SDWAN functionality to individual teleworkers, especially super users, is that they can enjoy on-demand remote access as well as dynamically scalable performance regardless of their local network availability. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE): 17% of organizations made investments in SASE prior to the pandemic, and 16% invested in SASE as a result of the pandemic. Still, 58% plan to invest in SASE to some degree going forward. Although SASE is an emerging enterprise strategy, it is increasingly seen as an opportunity to combine network and security functions with WAN capabilities to support the dynamic, secure access needs of today’s organizations. Skilled Security Professionals: At the start of the pandemic, only 55% of organizations had enough skilled IT workers in place to support the shift to remote work. And while 73% of organizations stated their intention to invest further in skilled IT workers in the next 24 months, the historical lack of skilled IT security professionals could present a challenge.  

I DEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, launches iCube, an innovation and incubation program to support and assist Indian startups that leverage Augmented Identity. In a fast-changing digital environment, Identity has become an in dispensable building block for making businesses and cities safer and smarter in a vast range of environments and usages including financial services, healthcare, education, food sustainability, smart cities, IoT, e-Governance, e-commerce, travel & mobility, telecom, defense and more. IDEMIA addresses these new challenges and needs with the launch of iCube, a program designed to assist and speed up startups and innovators in their product development and commercial roll-out. Pierre Barrial, President & Chief Executive Officer at IDEMIA, stated, “IDEMIA has always been at the cutting edge of innovations in making the world a smarter and safer place. We are delighted to enable startups and developers to leverage the innovations we originally developed for corporations and governments across the globe. I am thrilled that the IDEMIA Innovation and Incubation program – iCube – is launched in India, one of our most vibrant markets globally. Not only do I look forward to help startups to succeed in India, but I am equally excited about taking some of their solutions to our customers across the world. I look forward to this mutually rewarding and exciting journey of co-creation.” Sanjeev Shriya, Managing Director IDEMIA India added, “Innovation is the core of IDEMIA’s identity. Over time, we have developed cutting edge solutions with a global impact in domains like Financial Services, Citizen Identity, Telecom, IoT or M2M. Thus, we are delighted to announce the launch of iCube – the IDEMIA Innovation and Incubation program that will help build compelling solutions for a safer and better world. This program is designed to assist startups and innovators by providing them access to our expertise and technology. It aims to speed up their product development and help them get to market faster.”   To further support developers and innovators, IDEMIA has open edits application program interfaces (APIs) and launched a credit program. In addition, IDEMIA’s engineers and its industry experts will share their insights and knowledge during several sessions and talks.   iCube will also work closely with corporations in curating and co-creating solutions that may be mutually beneficial. IDEMIA will engage with startups and innovators through the following programs: Startup Assistance Program: An ongoing program providing eligible startups credits to use IDEMIA and partner organizations’ technologies and products, APIs, SDKs, and other support. Accelerator Program: A curated 3-month program to help developers and startups become better prepared for market. Developer Program: A selected opportunity for startups to co-create solutions with IDEMIA’s technology teams and business teams. Scale Fast-Track Program: A selected access for startups to IDEMIA’s global client base and opportunity to jointly go to market with IDEMIA. iCube may also provide selected startups with office space in their world class incubation facility located in Noida, India. iCube has already partnered with Lumis Partners Supply Chain Labs and Freshworks to reach out to a wider range of startups and support them in their journey. IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space. Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets – our identity – whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries.  

The award of ‘Excellence in Manufacturing Telecom Equipment’s’ was conferred on Matrix at the virtual National Telecom Make in India Awards & Summit ceremony held on 21st July 2020 from New Delhi, organized by TEMA and CMAI Association of India.The Award has been instituted to promote manufacturing of world-class telecom products in India.   On winning this prestigious award, Ganesh Jivani, Chief Executive of Matrix said, “We are happy to win this award for Excellence in Manufacturing Telecom Equipment. We thank TEMA and CMAI for recognizing Matrix for our technologies, products and solutions. Matrix offers cutting-edge telecom and physical security solutions in more than 50 countries including many first-world technologically advanced nations. With 250+ R&D engineers, world-class processes and infrastructure, Matrix is committed to designing and manufacturing cutting-edge solutions. This award is a validation of Matrix’s innovation, design and manufacturing capabilities and will go a long way in motivating us towards building world-class technology solutions.”  

Fortinet recently announced the findings of its 2020 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report. The survey finds that operational technology (OT) leaders are highly respected in their organizations and that their teams are vital to their companies’ bottom lines. Cybersecurity continues to be an integral part of their daily work and that work continues to be a struggle. The survey of OT leaders conducted by Fortinet indicates that only 8% of respondents had seen no intrusions over the past 12 months. The finding also shows a significant percent age of organizations have not extended some elements of basic security hygiene into their OT environments. A deeper look into the data highlights: OT infrastructures still lack core cybersecurity protection: The majority of responding organizations reported that they had been largely unsuccessful at preventing cyber criminals from exploiting their systems. Among those surveyed, it was also found that: 90% have experienced at least one intrusion in the past year. 72% have experienced three or more intrusions in the past year. 26% have experienced six or more intrusions in the past year. The impact of these exploitations was also noted by respondents, with more than half 51% documenting lost productivity, 37% seeing operational outages impacting revenue, and 39% having their physical safety put at risk – a significant concern considering the inherent dangers of industrial facilities. OT leaders also noted the commonality of specific attack methods, including malware (60%), phishing (43%,) hackers (39%), ransomware (37%), denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks (27%), and insider breaches (18%). OT leaders have broad responsibilities that often include cybersecurity: OT leaders typically report to higher-ranking individuals within the organization such as a VP, COO, or the CEO. The overwhelming majority (80%) are also regularly involved in making cybersecurity decisions, with half having the final say in those decisions. 64% of OT leaders have also taken on the responsibility of embedding security within the operations process, and 71% are regularly involved in IT cybersecurity strategy. Because cybersecurity is a top priority for these individuals, trends show that matters related to OT security will soon become the responsibility of the CISO, if they are not already. The inevitability of this shift is highlighted by the fact that most 61% respondents stated that they expect their CISO to take on all OT security responsibilities in the coming year. This is likely due to the increased risk of connected OT systems and their impact on business continuity. OT leaders still struggle with security measurements and analysis: The survey found that between 36% and 57% of organizations lack consistency when it comes to measuring items on a list of standard metrics. Among the most commonly tracked and reported areas are vulnerabilities (64%), intrusions (57%) and cost reduction resulting from cybersecurity efforts (58%). Conversely, less than half of organizations (43%) are known to report on tangible risk management outcomes, and 39% to 50% do not routinely share basic cybersecurity data with senior executive leadership. Respondents also cited security analysis, monitoring, and assessment tools as among the most essential features in security solutions, with the majority 58% ranking these specific attributes in the top 3. Despite the prioritization of these features, however, 53% reported that security solutions hinder operational flexibility and half reported that they create more complexity. Rajesh Maurya Regional Vice President, India & SAARC at Fortinet, “OT leaders find it challenging to deploy the right security tools and keep up with increasingly sophisticated cyber threats that await their newly-connected systems. As OT systems lose their air gaps and become integrated with IT systems, OT leaders will need to reinforce security awareness by Implementing best practices, bolster their systems with centralized visibility and take a proactive approach to security to turn the tables on cybercriminals and help protect their critical OT infrastructures”.  

Drones are being used in diverse industries including defense, entertainment, agriculture With the increasing use of autonomous machinery in our day-to-day lives, the influence of drone technology across verticals is extraordinary. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are turning out to be game changers in multiple sectors with special emphasis on defense, entertainment, agriculture, and ecommerce sectors. Their applications are known for real-time monitoring, wireless coverage provision, remote sensing, delivery of goods, photography, precision in agriculture and surveillance. The most recent examples are the use of drones in managing on ground situation for Covid-19 and spraying of pesticides to rid large tracts of agricultural lands of locust infestation. However, one of an interesting application involving drones or UAVs is to prevent birds from causing damage to assets present in the aerial territory. To avoid the risk of collision with birds, deterrence methods have concentrated on various methods to scare birds from active airspace. DEP has made its contribution to solving the problem. DEP’s product engineering team set out to develop an application specific unmanned aerial system (UAS). DEP’s approach consisted of designing the airframe, deterrence method, radio control & autopilot, camera, power, ground control, drive train, and pre-flight systems. For the airframe, Garuda incorporates the conventional twin propeller airplane layout rather than flying wing type, which was initially proposed. DEP also provides a comprehensive list of pre-flight system checks and failure management tips. Karthik Shankaran, Chief Innovation Officer, Detroit Engineered Products said, “For the aviation industry, aerial territory holds equal importance as land territory and so does its protection. When dealing with million-dollar assets, the protection of these assets is of utmost importance. Birds often fly into the line of assets, putting their lives at risk as well as causing damage to the assets. Of current relevance is the use of drones in agriculture. The infestation of locusts in India has necessitated the use of drones to spray chemicals in order to protect crops.” “The technology of UAVs may not be immensely used at this point; however, its importance cannot be undermined to protect the aerial as well as land territory. Since we have technologies to protect and benefit the lives, manufacturers and product designers should aim to build on existing technologies. Detroit Engineered Products (DEP), an engineering solutions and product development company, has been working to design drones that are operative even for the most complex situations with better productivity, cost efficiency and flexibility,” Sankaran added. Detroit Engineered Products (DEP) is an engineering solutions and product development company. Since its inception in 1998 in Troy, Michigan, USA. DEP is now a global company with presence in USA, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, China, Korea, Japan and India. At the soul of DEP is a passion to transform the product development process associated with vehicle and powertrain systems. Knowledge together with partnerships across various global automotive OEMs has led to MeshWorks, DEP’s proprietary CAE platform, which rapidly reduces the development time of products across industries. Products like IC sensor and processes like 3G+ optimization, MDO etc., coupled with proactive development and enhancements into electric and alternative energy fields assisted DEP’s robustness in the electric vehicle arena leading e-Powertrain technology.