A
PUBLICATION
Providing Unparalleled Technology Intelligence
ISSUE 26 // www.intelligentcio.com
Global
Cooling Partner
Intelligent
Education Partner
Intelligent
Security Partner
Intelligent
Supporting Partner
Intelligent
Cabling Partner
Intelligent
Manufacturing Partner
Intelligent
Data Centre Partner
Intelligent
Energy Partner
IMPROVING
EFFICIENCY
Omani water company sees operations enhanced
by function-rich ERP from IFS Applications
MOBILE
MALWARE
Industry experts discuss why mobile
devices are so appealing to attackers
VIRTUAL
FUTURE
A Virtual Reality system launched by
TRA helps UAE students decide their future
CONVENIENCE AT
YOUR FINGERTIPS
DIFC Wills and Probate Registry has created the world’s first ever
online will registration programme to take the hassle out of an
onerous task for Dubai residents with the help of EmQube.
COUNTRY FOCUS | INDUSTRY WATCH | LATEST INTELLIGENCE
EDITOR’S NOTE
W
elcome to our January edition.
It’s the start of a new and
exciting year. Who knows what
2018 will bring?
No-one knows for sure but we hope this
edition of Intelligent CIO will give you some
idea. In this month’s Final Word we have a
detailed look at a Threats Predictions Report
for 2018 from McAfee Labs. This identifies
five key IT trends to look out for in the new
year. The report focuses on the evolution
of ransomware from traditional to new
applications, the cybersecurity implications
of serverless apps and the privacy
implications of corporations monitoring
consumers in their homes. It also looks at the
emergence of a machine learning innovation
race between defenders and adversaries.
It certainly makes for a thought provoking
read especially as it predicts that
corporations will become more aggressive
in gathering user-generated content from
younger users with parents more aware
than ever about how companies could,
potentially, abuse this data. An interesting
read certainly and one that illustrates how
ethics need to keep pace with the rapid
progress of technology.
Our cover story is a perfect illustration of
how technology can be used in a positive
light to make our daily lives that bit better.
Making a will has traditionally been a
long-winded and onerous task but we take
a close look into how technology has been
www.intelligentcio.com
taking the hassle out of doing so with the
introduction of the world’s first online will
registration programme.
The virtual service from the DIFC Wills and
Probate Registry in Dubai is built on the
considerable expertise of EmQube and it
means overseas customers can create and
register their will through video conferencing.
Furthermore, because the will is digitally
encrypted and stored, customers can be
certain convenience is more than matched
by security.
While we are on the subject of security
this edition’s Tech Talk looks at how to
stop lateral movements in data breaches.
We talk to Brad Hibbert, Lead Solutions
Strategist at BeyondTrust, about limiting
the chances of being successfully attacked
by malicious actors.
We learn 75% of attacks come from the
outside sources and a whopping 81% of
hacking-related breaches leveraged either
stolen and/or weak passwords. Hibbert tells
us that: “While the specific tactics may vary,
the stages of an outsider attack are similar
and usually follow four steps.” Fortunately, he
talks us through them.
and threat detection. And the good news is
that even if the bad guys get in, following
Hibbert’s 10 recommendations can help you
to stop them, slow them down, and detect
them faster in order to mitigate the impact.
This month we also consider the dangers
posed by mobile malware which is becoming
an increasingly prominent challenge to
enterprises. We spoke to industry experts
who told us how we can all safeguard
ourselves in a new era of threats and got
them to explain why mobile devices are now
so appealing to attackers.
We learn that although any industry that
utilises mobile devices opens themselves up
to the risk of mobile malware attacks, the
verticals most likely to come under fire are
those who have ‘crown jewels’ that can be
monetised or used for hacktivism.
We have all the usual news from around the
region and you can also keep up-to-date
with the latest exciting projects.
Enjoy the read and have a great 2018!
We discover that in today’s sophisticated
threat landscape, one product will certainly
not provide the total protection enterprises
need against all stages of an attack. This
all serves as a reminder that we still need to
attend to basics such as patching, firewalls
INTELLIGENTCIO
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