Tycoon Diary Archives

Cloud Gaming – The New Medium Entertainment

Since its appearance in the 1960s and its progression with the rise of micro-computing, video games have regularly benefited from the advances of the digital world to become an art form in its own right and a globalized and intergenerational leisure activity.

As streaming (or Cloud Gaming) reshuffles the cards in the video game industry and 5G promises to accelerate its democratization, let’s take a closer look at its contributions in terms of convergence, uses and business models, and why we think it will be the video game medium of tomorrow.

Computers have never been able to do without video games. Proof of this is the 1960s and 1970s, which saw the appearance of the first so-called popular games such as Spacewar in 1962, Pong in 1972 (a very basic tennis game) and Space Invaders, which were often accessible primarily on desktop machines, the ancestors of our current microcomputers.

With the miniaturization of the computer will come the time of the consoles connected to the television set and which will propel the game in the domestic universe. The video games leave the closed framework of the game rooms to invite themselves in the heart of the living rooms and families.

Over the next 40 years, screens will have so invaded our daily lives that the use of games will now be based on a wide variety of media: televisions, computers, arcade terminals, smartphones, electronic tablets, Smart TVs… and of course consoles, the latest of which are in 3D.

The video games devices will also see many changes in the field of fixed consoles (e.g. PlayStation, Xbox, GameCube, Wii®) or transportable consoles (e.g. Game Boy, DS and PSP). In addition to wireless joysticks, there are gyroscopes that detect the position of players’ movements in space.

Futhermore, virtual reality is becoming more and more present (for example, immersive interactive simulation: visual, sound, haptic). In addition to technological advances and thanks to the emergence of social networks, the world of video games has become more social and cultural.

Pokémon GO and World of Warcraft have become social phenomena and confirm what everyone has already understood.

Video games have now become a key sector in the entertainment industry and a multi-billion dollar industry.

Indeed, the world of video games is populated by characters that have become famous such as Pokémon, Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man, Rayman or even Lara Croft, which will give rise to as many franchises and animated or cinematographic adaptations.

Cloud Gaming or the emergence of a medium

With the arrival of Cloud Gaming technologies, video games are on the verge of a third revolution marked by:

– Ultra availability: This is the possibility for everyone, everywhere and all the time to indulge in the joys and pleasures of video gaming. This promise is about to be fulfilled thanks to the deployment of 5G, among other things, but also to the ability of Cloud Gaming solutions to adapt to bandwidth constraints, particularly in emerging countries where economic barriers and low bandwidth have long restricted access to video games.

– Ultra pricing: It is characterized by a variety of business models: unit purchase, unlimited subscription, introduction of a digital currency NFT to obtain virtual objects, freemium, more or less immersive and personalized advertising spaces and which all correspond to as many user profiles. They will cautiously but surely relegate to the background the ecosystems associated with console-type media and the closed ecosystems symbolized by the Apple App Store.

– Ultra playability: Servers managing sophisticated games in agnostic mode, strong involvement of players from game creation to participation in metavers, disappearance of social, demographic and geographic boundaries.

– Ultra-convergence: Video games inspire and aspire other art forms and converge with other disciplines such as medicine, which have integrated them into the therapeutic field (neurology, autism, cancer…).

One of the most striking examples of this convergence, born during containment, is the development of virtual concerts. The most recent example of experimentation in this field is certainly the concert of the rapper Travis Scott which took place on Epic Games’ license: Fortnite. By launching a game, players were able to enjoy a creatively staged virtual concert, in which they could move freely around the star’s avatar in a performance realized through motion capture techniques.

In another turn of events, the video game world, after having plundered the musical heritage to provide soundtracks like the GTA franchise for Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Authority, sees this same publisher investing directly in the discovery and production of talent, with the objective of having original music directly available and appreciated by its community, while playing the game of distribution via music streaming platforms.

Generation Z had adopted YouTube as the single screen for their video explorations, overtaking their parents’ television and platforms like Twitch.

Generation Alpha will probably be the one of the Metaverse, a concept at the crossroads of virtual reality and social networks using video games and their uses.

Microsoft’s recent acquisition of the giant Activision-Blizzard for $68.7 billion will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse”as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed.

Of course, the virtual world is not in its infancy. Gaming, in particular, has been investing it for several years. Second Life, a virtual world that created a buzz among some 30 million users in the early 2000s, is a good example. Since then, the gaming industry has been offering its own virtual worlds, with increasingly elaborate and interactive content, like the virtual mini-concerts of the game Fortnite and their 12 million spectators.

But these universes remain limited to their own game, whereas the metaverse intends to sign the advent of an interconnected virtual world and draw the contours of a future Web 3.0.

Everything will then be a question of the virtual experience’s quality. A few milliseconds too much delay in an interaction, the expression of a face (the metaverse promises to reach this level of detail) or worse, an interruption of service, and these new virtual offers will disappoint.

So, metavers and other virtual worlds will only take off, if they can rely on storage, connectivity and network infrastructures that are up to the challenges that Cloud Gaming is currently facing.

Cloud Gaming reinvents and democratizes the gaming experience

Cloud Gaming technologies, which are omnipresent among telecom operators, are now at the heart of the development strategies of console manufacturers and video game publishers, and are on the way to converting almost all gamers, thanks to an increasing improvement in performance in terms of accessibility, playability and graphic quality.

They still have to find the right balance between economic models and creativity, mass consumption and inclusiveness, openness and respect for ethical rules.

Author – Karen Seror CMO at Gamestream

Why do we need more digital leader in the insurance industry?

The insurance industry is working on digital process optimalisation. They are learning a lot: how can we develop new business models and special new service models, to support the needs of clients and to achieve the „heart of customers“.

For this purpose they use a design thinking approach, analyzing trends and using business model canvas. But they shouldn‘t learn only methods, but also how new technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, internet of things or predictive analytics work. This combination is very important to be „fit for the future“, to be a digital leader!

Because the digital leaders will be the winner and as you know „the winner takes it all“! I think, most of our challenges are coming from the complexity of digital transformation and the complexity of the insurance branche. How should we start? Should we start with processes, products, organization, clients or employees? Should we cooperate with a startup or should we be a startup, as digital insurer or should we found a venture and invest in startups? I realized, there are so many questions and also so many ideas developing step by step the digital insurance DNA for the next generation. As you know, today, to develop a digital approach, to change your legacy system, to develop your culture and organization, to „teach“ your clients to use your apps. It takes time to see the results and appropriate profits. If you invest into the future, you need enough resources (time, money, quality) to develop a long term perspective. The insurance industry is only on the starting point of this transformation journey.

I`ve prepared an „insurance landscape“ about the status of startups and insurance companies/corporate ventures from the perspective, whether they are cooperation or competition.

Our exponentional developing business life required a exponentional learning developing.

The insurance world was very closed world. From closed value chain from developing new insurance products, through sale the product and in case of damage regular the claims.

But the technology is supporting us to do our process more efficient, quick, to develop more customer convenience. Our InTa – Insury Talent Network supports young (re)insurance professionals & brokers to understand the new insurance innovation world and act like a “Champion“.

The insurance industry has the power to do the right things in the right direction with understanding the customers, education talents, develop the right vision, strategy and company culture, use the most important technology. If your „Innovation House“ ready is, you can do your job with passion and enthusiasm every day. Are you ready to understand and create a great insurance industry together?!

Author: Erika Krizsan | Managing Director | Insurance Factory Innovation Store /Austria

www.inta-network.com | www.insurance-factory.eu

Kaleem & Madeeha: They revolutionised the South Australian businesses

“Taking a deep dive into the numbers is a not-so-secret passion for Kaleem and Madeeha, while finding their real joy in creating opportunities for the migrants. They are not just Business Partners but a lifelong companion”

The fearless couple, who revolutionised the South Australian Industry. Meet Kaleem Ulah and Madeeha Usman, the young entrepreneurs of Adelaide. When Usman, was offered her first role as an external auditor in PWC, within 20 days of her arrival in Australia, she was mentoring students of her age. The job was a well sought position, overseeing the external audits for a global organisation. While Kaleem, a well-trained engineer, found his passion in numbers. Being recognised by the official Institute of Public Accountants for his extraordinary vigilance and passion for accounting. Kaleem is known to be the support system for many SMEs. They are taking the accounting industry by storm. And, if you are visiting Adelaide, you are sure to be recommended by many!

This is the story of two most enigmatic leaders, who share the same vision but believe in bringing a different approach to the table and giving back to the community.

Going into Business…

In April 2016, Mr Ulah and Mrs Usman decided to start their own accounting firm. Every night, they would sit in their garage and brainstorm. Kaleem was quite popularly known by his Australian friends as Kaleem ‘Kal’. And one night, when Usman was trying to scribble and brainstorm, she was struck by an idea – And it was The Kalculators.

The Kalculators in two short years was supporting variety of entities – factory workers to multimillion – dollar turnover businesses such as pharmacies, retail stores, construction companies and service providers.

“Many of my clients are high net worth individuals, which we define as anyone with over $5 million in liquid financial assets. These clients are often either retired or run successful businesses including franchises, and managing stock portfolios and estates

When asked Usman, about the vision she brings,

“Everything we do, and the success we have, is due to our root vision of treating customers with transparency and equality”

While, Kaleem’s home-made tax form, was hitting a speedy road to success. Madeeha’s business vision towards creating a sustainable firm became the backbone of the organisation.

“I remember back in the day a client asked me why I was using my own Word printout. Everyone else was using computers and there I was with my piece of paper. But clients liked my resourcefulness, and years later my very first clients are still with me,” reveals Mr Ulah.

Two short years later, Madeeha and Kaleem were managing 10 offices throughout Adelaide and over 10,000 clients.

The couple owes their success to the fellow migrants. And believe, a leader must give back to the society to create a stronger root for the generations to come.

Kaleem and Madeeha have helped countless newcomers adjust to life in Australia.

“Most of my clients have migrated from other countries. They don’t know any accountants and they don’t know enough about the local laws. So, they need someone who can teach them and who can speak their own language,” says Mr Ulah.

“My wife and I thought, ‘we have the resources, we have everything, so let’s go and offer international students the opportunity to learn how to do tax returns’,” he explains.

“International students spend a lot of money on their studies, but finding employment for them, is very hard. The reason is that students are learning the theory, but lacking the practical experience,” says Mr Ulah.

“we have hired a professional trainer who trains the international students on how to use software and how to execute tax returns in real time. They also observe our accountants while they are on the job. Slowly we bring them to a professional level.”

“Once they complete it, we offer the dedicated ones a job in one of my offices,” he says.

So, eager to grow with their community, the couple allows international students to develop practical experience with the aim of easing their integration into the Australian workforce.

Madeeha, who is known to be the philanthropist by some, mentors for many, and Tax Lady by her team. Mentors students at the Oxford University, who are working towards their PHD dr.

Being recognised as one of the most powerful women in the accounting industry, Madeeha was honoured as an Ausmumpreneur in 2021. Usman encourages and supports young mothers to create a life of their own dreams.

Madeeha’s mentoring was a compelling one, she always conveyed the inspirational thought

– “If you fail don’t lose hope because as the wise saying goes, we can’t change the direction of the wind but we can certainly adjust the sales”

Yet being one of the most influential women in business, you can’t just dismiss Madeeha as an accountant. She is also the author of her recently launched book, “The Women Changing The World” – A story of her life and other powerful women, who choose to lead life the harder way – to set an example for women, who are still doubting their abilities to build themselves.

As per Madeeha, “This book is not only for women, but to inspire daughters, and sons, for the generations to come”

“Getting to the top at the expense of another woman is not a sustainable way to get ahead, and, most importantly, doesn’t help our case. The only way that women will be seen as equal in business is by making sure that there are more women accomplishing what they deserve in the workforce, and that takes encouragement”

“This book is not just stories, but real life journeys, relatable role models – where women in Australia are changing the world through entrepreneurialism, education, conscious living, advocacy and innovation”.

“Game Changers”

Madeeha and Kaleem both used their positions to encourage the young migrants to pursue their dream. As a result, The Kalculators earned recognition for “Diversity Inclusion” in 2021.

Employing over 100 young individuals from various cultural backgrounds. They believed opportunity is inclusive to all.

Also, being recognised as a finalist by Xero, a multimillion cloud accounting organisation. The Kalculators was recently recognised for its “Consulting service” and as a “Boutique firm” of 2021.

Creating ability through disability

Working with the clients in disability, they realised the provided service level suffered for the vulnerable. Even with the proper funding, many individuals with disabilities were unable to create an independent lives for themselves.

This is when, Care Assure was born…

Madeeha and Kaleem founded Care Assure – a disability housing and support provider in South Australia.

As the directors of Care Assure, we are not about making money; the role requires empathy and value creation. And working towards value creation is not easy, it is about constant quality assurance, to ensure your clients are being treated with care and respect.

Providing disability accommodations all over South Australia, Care Assure is recognised for the seamless service experience it provides.

Wielding Soft Power

As directors, it’s about more than the sales you do or the money you create; your clients are your centric value. In the current times of uncertainity, as organisations we must be sustainable, realistic and exercise quality control. The day you start working through hierarchy and consider yourself as a boss! You start to lose your ground as a leader.

Management should value transparency and respect. Not just profits or expenditures! Provide your team with the right resources and respect them for their own individuality. You will end up having a team of passionate individuals exceeding expectations.

Witness Shubha Rawal, changing the Customary way of Businesses

Meet Shubha Rawal, a proficient, focus-driven, and decisive leader acting as Head-Sourcing at IG International Pvt. Ltd. She has been associated with the company for the past 12 years. During her tenure, she has attended many professional development programs from premier institutions; Executive Education Program, Artificial Intelligence from Indian School of Business Hyderabad, Digital and Social Media Marketing Strategies from IIM Bangalore, Organizational Excellence Through Leadership from Delhi University, and many more to be updated and well-versed in the industry. She has opted to be a practical businesswoman and has developed absolute clarity for what she does. This has helped her professionally in achieving many milestones in her pathway.

Additionally, she manages Corporate Communications and Public Relations, Relationship Management with international business associates; manages end-to-end promotions for global brands in the fresh produce industry, among many others. Also, she is the running Head of IG Wrapple Street, the company’s newly launched retail venture.

Exemplary Offerings by IG

For more than 50 years, IG International has been a prominent leader in supplying fresh fruits all over India; making it the largest importer in the country. “We import premium fresh fruits, from established and leading growers all over the world, to a tune of more than 1,20,000 Metric Tons annually from around 22 countries,” she adds. The company equips a plethora of infrastructure of temperature-controlled warehousing spread across the country, a large cold-chain logistics of more than a hundred reefer trucks, and an organization aptly developed to support its business. In the central state of India, Madhya Pradesh, the company cultivates premium blueberries, licensed by Australia’s Mountain Blue for domestic market and exports. It also owns farms and orchards in states like Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, and Telangana to grow apples, kiwis, and other fruits. Moreover, its orchard-based fruit growing is spread across the globe, specifically cultivating cherries and apples in Czech Republic. It is also indulged in a logistics venture named IG Logistics providing third-party logistics in India.

Shubha Rawal and her team, recently, have offered a brand-new concept in the culinary world—IG Wrapple Street and Fruitisserie. It is a concept-eatery and a takeaway, first opened at Bandra, Mumbai. Like there are patisseries—Fruitisserie is about the unique assortment of gourmet desserts and delicacies with fruit as the core ingredient. The specialty of the place is its innovative Apple Wrapples. “Both IG Fruits and IG Wrapple Street have a robust online presence with fully developed e-commerce and eco-system,” she asserts with pride.

The promise of IG BRAND is the bond that holds its customers. IG’s commitment to bring them the best fruit of the world, farm fresh at their doorstep, anywhere and everywhere in India—is what ensures their patronage. “The quality and the taste they find in our fruits holds them with us for a very long time. It is something like—once an IG customer, always an IG customer,” she highlights.

A Glimpse into the Future

“Going by our brand tagline, I would say our future is Fresh & Sweet, Always! That’s because the imported fruits category is growing its popularity in India, especially among the youth,” she mentions. “Even in smaller cities and towns, our fruits sell.” The health and nutrition aspect has increased the demand for health products propagating IG’s business. Imported fruits have become trail-blaze in India as these fruits are not only good to look at but also highly nutritious. Though the pandemic has hit almost every business in the market, it has miraculously boosted the demand as people’s choice of healthy options became a lifestyle aspiration. This may secure the targeted market but, securing market share is more essential. She optimistically feels in aiming to capitalize on this market opportunity for the company.

Moreover, she and her team are excited about IG Wrapple Street, as this venture will be a trendsetter in the Fruitisserie business. It is futuristic, youthful and healthy, and meant for today’s consumer, and people like it. “We had an encouraging start with our first café and we have clear blueprints of our expansion in near future,” she says. Hopefully, the business will be available across the places in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and other metro cities. Whereas, the company is already available on eCommerce and blooming robustly as the demand increases. “Health is going to stay and so is the demand,” she says.

Note-worthy bits of Advice

Shubha Rawal recommends that, first and foremost, the companies should lean towards the merit of meritocracy by defying any discrimination, especially gender’s, whatsoever. They must realize that man or woman can do any work with equal efficiency. It is this belief that forms the core of gender equality at the workplace. She desires that every company should change its mindset to eradicate any sort of gender discrimination. “From the top person to the most bottom level, gender sensitivity and gender equality must be promoted throughout,” she emphasizes. She further utters, women employees should be given equal opportunities to work breaking the gender barrier and supports teamwork in the organization. She also comprehends prioritizing safety of women employees in enterprises by taking appropriate measures like adequate surveillance and security within and around the office premises. Also, strict compliance of prevention, prohibition and redressal of harassment of women at workplace and companies should assure the women workers of its commitment to adherence to zero tolerance policies.

She understands the obstacles a businesswoman might face while building the success path for herself. Amidst such instances, Shubha Rawal advises one to be authentic and not try to force-fit oneself in any kind of mold. “Always remember, you are who you are. Be your own voice. You don’t need to prove yourself every time.” She recommends one to march confidently and grasp every opportunity put forth. “During these times, it’s important to remember why you started to begin with. Focus, prioritize and things will fall in places. After all, it’s not that difficult,” she concludes.

Quote: “Enjoy the sweet fruit of your work every day and don’t store it for future use. It’ll just rot.”

The New Era of Business – What’s More to it? By Prerna Sinha

Covid – 19 was a shock to mankind, but a grace to Mother Earth. Humanity collapsed, and nature rose…Mankind was forced to stay indoors after going through decades of globalisation, commercialisation and more. The shock and the fear resulting from the pandemic shook the earth, unprecedented in the history of mankind. Yet the ‘Phoenix’ was preparing to rise…

Businesses collapsed, industries shut and millions lost their jobs. In the middle of all this, the e-commerce sector rose like a ‘Phoenix’. The pandemic created a huge demand in the market, that was being catered to by the e-commerce sector. According to a study, the Indian e-commerce sector is set to grow at least 80% in the next 4 years, the impact brought on by Covid-19.

E-commerce sector was flourishing even before the pandemic, however there is a need to relook at the business strategies for the sector after covid-19. The tectonic shift in this sector has also called for some major changes in the way businesses operate. Some of the strategies, that are in line with sustainability that need to be adopted are mentioned below:

Sustainability the big way – There is a need to ‘introduce ‘sustainability’ as a business strategy by all firms irrespective of their industry. E-commerce firms definitely need to focus on ‘sustainable’ products. Any product/service that is in alignment with nature would be the need of the hour. Sustainability, in all forms – business models to packaging products has become increasingly important after the pandemic has hit almost every family living on earth. Promoting and selling ecological products will nourish Mother Earth and go a long way! Consumers’ approach towards health and wellness will lead to them preferring sustainable products over others.
Leaders as ‘Compassionate Mothers’ – Taking cues from Mother Earth who always nurtures its people, leaders also need to reshape their personalities, and play the role of compassionate mothers in the lives of their teams/ people. The leaders must create a ‘trusting & transparent’ environment, ensuring there is trust amongst teams. Trust, during these times can be one of the ‘winning’ strategies. In times of uncertainty it’s very obvious for ‘people’ to feel lost and unmotivated. Along with this, if the organisation doesn’t trust them their mental health and immunity can be compromised.
Empathy as a strategy – 90% of those who are working from home are doing it for the first time. While the leaders/ bosses may get insecure about their ‘people’ it is not the right time to display such insecurity. They are struggling with the ‘perfect’ phone/ internet connection (*pun intended). Or they may be trying to help their mothers/ wives in wrapping up a household which has mounted a double fold in the absence of the household help or they may be trying to soothe a restless child who is frustrated being home. Organisations need to ensure an ‘empathetic’ view towards the employees. The more empathy that’s shown towards ‘people’ at this stage will ensure they stay performing in these times. Isn’t ‘performance’ that one thing the organisation is expecting from its people?
Dynamic & Sturdy Logistics – While e-commerce is progressing at the speed of lightning, those cardboard boxes and plastic packaging are creating tons of waste that end up in landfills worldwide annually. The e-commerce firms need to revamp their logistics system, making it dynamic, sturdy and eco-friendly. Organisations need to give their packaging a complete makeover, and source sustainable and ecological packaging materials.
Eco-friendly approaches in the supply chain – Organisations need to adopt eco-friendly approaches in all areas of business, including supply chain. Using materials that are recyclable, implementing processes that are sustainable will help the organisations contribute to a happy and healthy planet.
Make shipping environment friendly – Developing an environment friendly shipping solution for transporting goods will help the firms stand for ‘environment’. Firms must educate and convince the consumers to even pay extra for environment friendly shipping cost.
Optimisation of Waste Management – E-commerce firms need to optimise their waste management, and eliminate the packaging waste. ‘ Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ mantra needs to be followed by one and all.

Our planet needs our attention and care, since today’s world is dominated by businesses they can be the change makers! Changing the way business operates, the way employees are treated, the way nature is preserved. E-commerce, the Phoenix, has disrupted the way people shop, eat, travel and live. Am sure, it can also change the way our planet feels 🙂

Author: Prerna Sinha, Founder of Urbane Essence.

Nilo T. Divina: Leading the Legal Industry with Exemplary Insights

A distinguished personality, Nilo T. Divina is a seasoned Corporate and Banking Lawyer with rich experience from more than three decades in the industry. He founded DivinaLaw in 2006 and worked meticulously towards the growth and development of the firm. With his determination and competency, DivinaLaw stands today as one of the biggest law firms in the Philippines.

Before he entered private law practice, Nilo was the former Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of a leading Philippine bank. Nilo is equally active with his roles in the academic forefront, serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Civil Law of the University of Santo Tomas from 2009 to the present. He also teaches at the University of the Philippines College of Law. He was formerly president and chairman of the Philippine Association of Law Schools.

Nilo is the author of five Commercial Law books which serve as primary resource material for law students and lawyers alike. Recognized for his exceptional work, Nilo became one of the top 10 highly recommended lawyers in the inaugural list of Asian Legal Business (ALB) Philippines Client Choice Lawyers 2021. He has also consistently been named among the Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines by the Asia Business Law Journal since 2018.

With sheer dedication and excellent performance, he was recently recognized as Managing Partner of the Year in the 2021 Asian Legal Business (ALB) Philippine Law Awards in a virtual ceremony held last November 19, 2021. Asian Legal Business magazine, a leading legal publication owned by Thomson Reuters, received more than 270 entries for the competition which was evaluated by a panel of judges from the legal academia, in-house lawyers, firms, and legal associations in the region.

Nilo received this award in recognition of his leadership, professional accomplishments, community development initiatives, and his contribution to the firm, the Bench and Bar, and the general public.

Turning a Childhood Dream into a Lifelong Reality

Nilo wanted to be a lawyer as early as the age of six. There was no other profession for him except to be a lawyer. Nilo’s source of motivation was his dad. His dad told him that being a lawyer was an ideal profession for him as he loves to talk, discuss, be in front of crowds, and more. His dad told him, ‘perhaps you are meant to be a lawyer’.

“Of course, we do not know what life would present along the way. So many opportunities presented themselves along the way but what is clear to me is that at the very outset, I knew what I wanted in life, I wanted to become a lawyer,” said Nilo.

“My vision is that I want to be the best lawyer that I can be, not necessarily the best lawyer in the Philippines, but the best lawyer I can be, given the talent and the skills that God has given me.”

A Journey to the Forefront

When he established the firm in 2006, Nilo never expected that within 15 years, it will become one of the biggest law firms in the country. All he envisioned was to establish a boutique law firm that would focus on select areas of practice and make enough money to live a comfortable life.

However, opportunities came one after the other and before he knew it, the boutique law firm metamorphosed into a full-service law firm.

About DivinaLaw

It is a full-service law firm in the Philippines that provides prompt, proactive, and results-oriented service to ensure client satisfaction. The firm offers depth and range in experience and resources while fostering a professional and collaborative work ethic.

The firm’s 10 major practice areas are Litigation, Corporate & Special Projects, Labor, Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution, Tax, and Estate Planning, Intellectual Property, Immigration and Naturalization, E-Commerce & Technology, Risk & Crisis Management, and Legal Education, Legislative Advocacy & Policy Reform.

A Top-Notch Client Base

DivinaLaw clients belong to the top echelon – business leaders and titans. These industry experts refer DivinaLaw to their peers, which is why the firm’s clients are conglomerates, top corporations, and high net worth individuals.

The firm has a wide range of clients, including leading corporates in banking and finance, manufacturing, retail, power, oil and gas, education, health care and insurance, realty and property development, technology, construction, hospitality, mining, transportation, shipping, and media.

Standing out amongst the Peers

Dynamic Lawyering encapsulates the philosophy of the firm. DivinaLaw will do everything necessary within the bounds of ethics to deliver outstanding results to its clients, to make them happy, smiling, and victorious. So, the firm focuses on innovating, thinking out of the box, and exploring uncharted territory. The firm believes in finding ways, opening doors, seeking solutions, and more. Client satisfaction is the burning passion of the organization.

“Back in 2006, this was fairly novel because many law firms were into, and I suppose they still are, the traditional approach. Lawyers should tell you what the law is. We will tell you what the law is, and how we can use the law to suit your objectives consistent with the law. We find solutions for the clients. We don’t just tell the clients what the law is, but we tell them there’s a legal and ethical way of finding solutions.”

Moments of Triumph

Inspired by the quote, “Work as if everything depends on work, but also pray as if everything depends on prayer.”

DivinaLaw started with 80 cases and four clients in 2006. Today, it is handling almost 3,000 cases and has hundreds of clients. From having only five lawyers (including Atty. Divina), today the firm has 80 lawyers. Over the years, it has received recognition for its exceptional work in law. Here are a few of them:

The Asia Business Law Journal has recognized DivinaLaw as an award-winning firm in the categories of Banking and Finance, Corporate and Commercial, Litigation, Private Equity and Venture Capital, and Restructuring and Insolvency in 2020
Immigration Law Firm of the Year in 2018 in the Asian Legal Business Philippine Law Awards
Recognized as the Labor and Employment Law Firm of the Year in 2016 by ALB
The firm is ranked among the best in the region, honored as a finalist for the SE Asia Law Firm of the Year category of Asian Legal Business Southeast Asia Law Awards in 2018 and 2019
It was also a finalist for Regional Litigation Law Firm of the Year in 2018 and 2019, and Tax and Trusts Law Firm of the Year in 2019
Employer of Choice for 2018, 2019 & 2021 from Asian Legal Business magazine
Data Privacy Law Firm — Silver Award in the 2019 Datos Privados Awards of the National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines
Silver Anvil, 54th Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines

The Path to Cover Ahead

DivinaLaw continues to innovate. It has recently organized a financial advisory company. The firm intends to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that the Financial Institution Strategic Transfer (FIST) law is likely to bring. This law allows banks and financial institutions to dispose of their bad loans and assets to an SPV for a large-scale discount. It is investing in technology and has many more projects in the pipeline. With an active presence and aiming towards a bright future, the firm does not intend to run out of trailblazing initiatives.

Zack Blakeney: Capitalizing Expertise and Passion To Help Leaders Maximize their Potential at Invincible Intelligence

In 2019, a visionary took the entrepreneurial plunge with Invincible Intelligence LLC, a unique and innovative blend of science-based methodology, consciousness, and accountability that quickly shifts your limiting perceptions and rapidly accelerates the development of your emotional intelligence and authentic habitual alignment.

Among the few pioneers to bring innovation in the industry, Zack Blakeney has been graciously awarded as one of the best influences on the Austin, Texas health community by Austin Fit Magazine. He has also been recognized by Fox, NBC, and CBS for his work with business leaders and founders.

He is the CEO of Invincible Intelligence and works as a peak performance and consciousness coach, published author and accomplished public speaker. His mission is to help raise the collective consciousness of the world by guiding business leaders, founders, and businesses to develop emotional intelligence to master their emotions and navigate through change efficiently and effectively.

Empowering Entrepreneurs & Businesses

There are two verticals that they serve in both B2C and B2B.

For B2C, Zack Blakeney works 1-on-1 with the support of his team to guide leaders and founders to maximize their potential and create sustainable balance with their Freedom 4 Framework: Physical, Emotional, Relational, and Financial. They provide one of the most in-depth analyses of their client’s current state using their proprietary Invincible Intelligence© Assessment, hormone, cell, and metabolic testing, and gut intelligence testing. We use this data to create one of the most in-depth and truly personalized programs that unlock their peak performance and maximum potential.

For B2B, they package their Invincible Intelligence© Assessment and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) coursework for HR Departments to optimize their hiring process for the best candidate selection, team EQ discovery, and team workshops to foster emotional intelligence development.

What Influenced Your Decision to be an Author?

“Writing stimulates my version of the flow state. It allows me to express myself fully and truthfully and unlocks new understandings of myself and my teachings. I also enjoy the challenge of creating consumable analogies for complex concepts and offering perceptions that can create instantaneous understandings and, in some cases, healing”, said Mr Blakeney.

Clientele & Unbreakable Faith

The visionary works 1-on-1 with business leaders and founders and he finds it both challenging and fulfilling. He creates the opportunity for his clients to achieve an invincible self-belief from his own certainty while showing up for them consistently with love, truth, and my intention to serve them to the best of his ability. His passion for emotional intelligence and personal development drives him to continuously learn, teach new relevant concepts, and stay ahead of the game.

Major Hurdles & The Driving Force

The biggest challenge was overcoming Zack’s own pride and trusting his team to do the tasks he no longer needed to do. He told them when he brought them on he only wanted to create content, coach, and do deals and they have stepped up to the plate to make that happen for him. He is so incredibly grateful for his life because he gets to wake up every day doing what he loves, with the people he loves.

For Zack Blakeney, it’s been a journey to discover his authentic self, as it is for all. It was filled with a string of painful experiences stimulating from addiction to substances and porn that ultimately led to a divorce. He learned so much from the emotional intensity of these experiences that granted him the vision to know what he wants, and who he wants alongside him. He has had many mentors in his life across business, mindset, and spirituality that have given him the guidance and permission to be the man he is today.

Creating a Balanced and Equal Industry

The leading man does not believe the industries should be balanced and equal because it’s not about the industries, it’s about the people in them. It is his belief that there is more than enough for all to succeed. Infinite resources are available to anyone wanting to live their purpose and passion, but many do not recognise this. Instead, they allow fear, uncertainty, and doubt to imprison them into limiting beliefs that contribute to the imbalance industries. In order to create balance in the industries, they must create balance within themselves first.

A Day in Zack Blakeney’s Life

He wakes up at 5:30 am every morning and immediately drinks 16 oz of ice-cold water to wake up, then he takes his two dogs out and enjoys some fresh air. After he comes in and starts his meditation with morning devotion to the Creator, practice singleness of thought, set his intentions for his day, and give gratitude for his life. Then he hits the gym for a little over an hour, eats breakfast, and begins looking over his schedule to create priorities and affirm his intentions. Most of Zack’s workday is filled with communicating with his team, coaching clients, creating content, and creating strategic connections and partnerships. He ends his day by reviewing his tasks and looking ahead to the next day and week to ensure he knows his priorities and direction for the next day.

Favourite Book

Zack’s go-to book for his clients because of the sustainable impact it made on his life is Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza

Road Ahead

“We find ourselves in a market with emotional intelligence that is an immediate need and desire by businesses, but sorely under-resourced. I believe we are in the next phase of business evolution that has come from the technology and internet integration of the late ’90s and early 2000s. This integration has created a need for greater empathy, compassion, and trust in both company cultures and with customers. We are most excited about developing our proprietary technology that will house our Invincible Intelligence© Assessment and EQ position-specific courses to support emotional intelligence development in organizations, specifically for non-supervisory roles”, Zack Blakeney further apprised.

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

Do not sacrifice your feminine energy to conform to the predominantly masculine marketplace. Your intuition and empathy are superpowers needed now more than ever to create sustainable change that fosters a new standard of business excellence with trust and transparency leading the way.

Favourite Quote

“Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.” – Thucydides

Dare to Win: Industry digitization enabled by unique actionable insights from a tech startup for improved operational efficiency

By Mika Tienhaara

Over the recent years we have seen industry moving towards digitization and automation, in order to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. This is also supporting ESG measures and enabling the reduction of the overall carbon footprint.

However, a key area of improvement potential in process industries and manufacturing, is linked to operating conditions where unwanted matter such as solid deposits and unwanted emulsions, a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Such harsh process conditions are cause for sensors and measuring devices failures, which in turn leads to faulty process signals ruining monitoring and control. What can happen is sudden process shutdowns, with high costs for maintenance, loss of production. Also, various reports and research shows that very high pollution and emission levels occur.

At ROCSOLE, we are commercializing academia research, utilizing electrical tomography paired with AI and machine learning, which has led us to being able to provide unique actionable insights from own sensor data. Our focus is on the harsh conditions which are cause for major upsets, shutdowns, cost and emissions. Our solutions have brought us to work with major international corporates globally.

Many entrepreneurs and startups stall at the objective of scaling up – a scary phase with so many unknowns with time of the essence and constant troubleshooting. Every startup should however attempt to scale-up, there is so much learning and competence gathered in this phase, and the result might be very rewarding. Dare to win – go for the scale-up.

Of course, there are several elements that needs to be in right shape and size. What is your most important asset? People – your team. If you have the right diverse core team, you will have the capabilities to execute your plans. For the implementation you will need funding to have a sufficient cash runway to get to your next major milestones. Ensure to have the right finance people in your team to ensure you have good control. Marketing and sales need to ensure that you are providing something valuable to the right customers. The users’ feedback will also be highly relevant, as the assessment of this, can help you to pivot and improve your offerings. You might detect some unserved niches and allow you to enter and dominate this area. Additionally, you need the product, service or technology, that is part of your core and unique identity.

Bringing these above aspects together and you will have the right implementation capabilities. Always remember that the scale-up course needs constant supervision with a strong hands-on mentality. Don’t love your product – love your business, meaning that you need to have an agile mindset and be ready to improve and pivot, again and again. At the end you might become the master of the universe!

At ROCSOLE we started commercializing in the oil and gas with the “worst first” approach. The oil and gas operations have a variety of operational inefficiencies that we are tackling with our data. The target is to integrate our type of insights into our clients’ business solutions, this way you can get scale and portfolio-wide improvements. We are also seeing the ripple effects, as a variety of industries have the similar challenges with deposits and solids. Our mission is to make industry safer and better, that also is good for our planet.

Most recently ROCSOLE closed the Series A fund raising round successfully, indicating the relevance, potential and traction we have in the market space. Our next chapter as a company is surely going to be the most exciting one.

As a CEO, I try to learn something new every day, at the same time using my capacity as a leader for my team, guide them and challenge them to climb the next peak. Clear communication is key, be genuine and passionate. Have a big idea and ensure that your stakeholders are onboard. Even if life can be stressful and chaotic in the whirlwind of the scale-up, I try to assess constantly the effectiveness and parity of the key factors people, funding, sales, marketing and execution strategy. The solution is in constant motion, ensure to have your team with you, as the scaling-up you cannot do alone as a one-man-show. Being a serial entrepreneur, I love to see how the team is building confidence, grit and the winner mentality. Learning from mistakes we build the success formula. Dare to win!

Shahab Elmi: A Man with the Midas Touch / An Epitome of Success

Living a good life is an amalgamation of two primary aspects- one is good health, and the other is peace of mind. Today, the pace of our lives is chaotic, toiling long hours at work, spending the weekends glued to our screens, and running 24*7 to do everything out of the to-do list. Such a lifestyle is a mere representation of how people survive in a default setting. On the contrary, they can live a better life and choose to make the most of their significant time.

With this, the wellness industry comes into the picture. It has seen exponential growth in the last decade as more people are considering wellness retreats. The wellness brands are reinventing with innovative products and services to keep updated with the ongoing global pandemic. It is slowly gaining momentum of changing demographics and meeting the consumers’ needs of the hour.

One such wellness brand, Cymbiotika is an innovative wellness and lifestyle brand based in San Diego. It is determined by the higher purpose of inspiring everyday people to achieve their optimal health.

A charismatic personality and an adept leader, Shahab Elmi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cymbiotika. He started his professional journey with AT&T working as a Director of Sales further got promoted to Executive Director. More than a decade-long experience at AT&T led to exceptional future opportunities and exposures. Furthermore, he is grateful to work along with some of the top leaders on the planet – Ralph De La Vega, Glen Lurie, and Andy Shibley to name a few. This experience was pivotal for his upcoming entrepreneurial endeavours.

About Cymbiotika

Cymbiotika is a health supplement company, designing sophisticated organic formulations that are scientifically proven to increase vitality and longevity by filling nutritional gaps that result from the modern-day diet.

With the mantra of Your mind and body deserve the best, Cymbiotika aims to change the world by empowering people to reclaim their health and unlock their fullest potential. We all know health is our true wealth, and the company focuses on helping people live longer, happier, and healthier lives.

The company steers with passion, intentional design, and creation, not margins. It advocates holistic health rooted in both Eastern and Western medicine. Cymbiotika sources only the highest quality plant-based nutrients, combined with advanced bioavailable absorption technology to resolve specific nutritional deficiencies and support healthy aging, detoxification, and longevity. It never uses synthetics, GMOs, fillers, chemicals, preservatives, additives, or sugars.

Cymbiotika is a customer-centric organization that always puts its customers first and foremost. It works towards enriching people’s lives in a defining manner. Offerings them best-in-class products and setting a goal of becoming a role model in the marketplace.

A Sneak Peek into Shahab Brief Journey

Shahab is a serial entrepreneur who has founded four companies: Cymbiotika (nutritional supplements), DASH Radio / DASH International (online radio), KNK Group (Cricket Wireless stores), and Day Group (customizable phone cases). Shahab sold Day Group to Duckie Accessories for an 8-figure sum after 26 months of its foundation.

More recently, Shahab led Cymbiotika to achieve $3 million in sales within 90 days of launch. At DASH Radio, in 29 months, the company has 10 million monthly listeners and has raised substantial investments at a 9-figure valuation. Finally, under Shahab’s leadership, KNK Group has been awarded the title of “Cricket Wireless National Dealer of the Year“. This award comes well earned – in 3 years, KNK Group has opened 172 stores in 6 states. Additionally, Shahab is a member of the Board of Advisors at Bomani Cold Buzz and the Board of Directors at Massiv Clothing.

Backed with a Power-Packed Team

Cymbiotika’s success is an amalgamation of the work put in by its co-founders and team. The team plays a vital role; each member contributes to their maximum potential and works adhering to the mission and vision of the company. The brand has marked its presence in the global market with the help of its dedicated team members. The company has the best leaders in the business; it never feels like working in the office. The team at Cymbiotika is passionate and excellent at what they do; they put their heart and soul into everything. The organization is grateful for having such an exceptional team.

Shahab is a key person in this environment. He is a leader; who faces challenges every day and successfully tackles the hurdles effectively. “We are ready. I emphasize WE because, with the right leaders, no obstacles are incrementable”.

He also believes that the key to diversification is the internal team. A diverse team produces different and unique ideas. This results in diverse offerings that appeal to the broader target audience (which in our case is EVERYONE).

Company Culture is the Difference Maker

Shahab reckons that company culture is what fuels the engine of success. Be it product-based or service-based business- quality is paramount. There may come a day where a competitor will provide products/services identical in quality and scope. However, Company Culture cannot be replaced. Everyone wants to be appreciated and work in a pleasant/happy environment.

Everyone wants to look forward to coming to work. As a CEO, YOU have control over the kind of environment your organization cultivates. Spend time and resources constantly working on this. NEVER EVER take your team for granted.

Leading the Way with Exemplary Leadership Principles

Leadership is unique. Many entrepreneurs fall victim to copycat leadership. With so many gurus selling their propaganda with the how-to books and overnight success formulas, this trap leads to inevitable failure. Replicating a leader’s successful strategy is a short-term gain, however, in the long run, it never works.

Here are the few Shahab’s leadership qualities:

- Passion
- Hardest worker in the room
- TEAM always before “I”
- Focus on the controllable
- Humility

He aims at incorporating these new ideas as a leader. He believes in investing in the right people and staying focused with them. The profits will roll in, and revenue will come.

Shahab also believes in empowering talented people. He bestows them with an opportunity and allows them to create their vision. Many times, leaders force their styles on their employees. When that happens, creativity gets lost and disregarded. Hence, let the creative minds get nurtured to experience blooming results.

Failures are the Greatest Teachers

In earlier entrepreneurial endeavors, Shahab would shy away from risk. He learned through the years that to win- one has to take calculated risks. Make tough decisions and lead the path with zeal and zest. Playing too close to the vest, especially for a startup; could have devastating consequences.

Failures will happen. It sounds terrible and disheartening, but success as an entrepreneur is not linear. At some point, things will not go as planned. Expecting and planning for these misses is critical. Building redundancies may be the most important strategic initiative in any organization.

The Two Disciplines of Success

Life success: Family first. Time is irreplaceable, so spend every second you can with your kids. My wife, parents, and daughters inspire him daily.
Business success: Build an ethical and morally sound organization, which emphasizes diversity. Growth will happen organically.

Shahab is a visionary leader; who envisions helping people live longer, healthier, and happier lives. We start and end each meeting with Quality and Quality control discussions. This laser focus became the foundation of everything we do at Cymbiotika: to create the best health products in the world.

Adding Glory to the Victory

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced that Shahab Elmi of Cymbiotika was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Pacific Southwest – San Diego Award finalist. Now in its 35th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program honors unstoppable business leaders whose ambition, ingenuity, and courage in the face of adversity help catapult us from the now to next and beyond. Shahab Elmi got selected by a panel of independent judges. The award winners got announced during a special virtual celebration on August 5, 2021. They become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from across the glo

“There is nothing more important than our health and we have an incredible team devoted to helping people live longer, healthier, and happier lives. Since inception, we focused on delivering high-quality products and offering an amazing customer experience; success will follow. I am proud of our unwavering commitment to these standards and the strong corporate culture that makes it all possible. Thank you for this recognition, I am honored to be named a finalist“, adds Shahab.

The Journey Continues

The best advice Shahab has received is “Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you will hit the stars”.

Inspired by this thought-provoking advice, Cymbiotika continues to round out its product offerings in 2022 (9 additional SKUs in lab testing with more on the way). Additionally, it will accelerate international expansion: Currently: USA/Canada; in 2022 and add Australia, UK, EU, and AUE(Gulf states).

Cymbiotika has grown over 7000% over the past three years and is positioned to grow for years to come.

The cybersecurity threat landscape

With the prevalence of 24-hour connectivity and modern advancements in technology, threats are evolving rapidly to exploit different aspects of these technologies. Any device is vulnerable to attack, and with the Internet of Things (IoT) this became a reality. The IoT has seen increased usage of digital communication and the increased transfer of data via digital platforms increases the risk of data interception by malicious individuals. Pervasive surveillance through digital devices is also a recent threat with the increased use of smartphones. Governments can now engage in digital surveillance of their citizenry with the excuse of providing security against potential terrorist threats. Criminals can also do similar tasks to the detriment of the targeted victims. In 2014, ESET, an internet security company, reported 73,000 unprotected security cameras with default passwords.

In April 2017, IOActive found 7,000 vulnerable Linksys routers in use, although they said that there could be up to 100,000 additional routers exposed to this vulnerability.

In 2018, Marriott Hotels disclosed that 500 million customers’ data was leaked, and in April 2020 they disclosed another data breach affecting 5 million customers.

In 2019, First American Corporation a real estate title insurer, disclosed quarters of a billion mortgage deal documents, including bank account numbers, tax records, Social Security numbers, wire transaction receipts, and driver’s license images.

In 2020, Fire one of the largest cybersecurity companies in world , disclosed that they had been hacked, likely by a government, and that an arsenal of hacking tools used to test the defenses of its clients had been stolen.

April 2021, Facebook disclosed one more data leakage this time 540 of its users data , including Mark Zuckerberg’s data…

Cybersecurity and COVID-19

The cybersecurity landscape is always evolving and presenting new challenges, but since the COVID-19 global pandemic began, the cyber landscape has shifted at rapid speeds, leaving IT security professionals around the world scrambling to adapt to the new threat landscape. This has driven the IT world to adopt innovative methods of managing the business resilience and digital needs of a fully remote workforce, for example, with the use of video conference technology.

One of those technologies is Zoom: free, accessible, and easy to use. Zoom’s user base rocketed from 10 million in December 2019 to 200 million by the end of April 2020. This rapid increase caught the attention of security researchers, who found many security issues that have cast a shadow over the product.

Of course, Zoom is not the only company to feel the pinch during the pandemic. Cybersecurity threats have heightened during the crisis, as cybercriminals look to take advantage of companies that haven’t adopted the best practices of this rapid change and, as a result, are not operating as securely as they usually would.

When a company CEO asks what the vulnerabilities in a home device have to do with their company, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) should be ready to give an answer. The CISO should have a better understanding of the threat landscape and how home user devices may impact the overall security that the company needs to enforce. The answer comes in two simple scenarios, remote access and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).

While remote access is not new, the number of remote workers is growing exponentially. 43% of employed Americans report spending at least some time working remotely, according to Gallup, which means they are using their own infrastructure to access a company’s resources.

Compounding this issue, we have a growth in the number of companies allowing BYOD in the workplace. This use of unmanaged devices is opening doors for adversaries, who have shifted quickly to exploit the newly increased attack surface and overstretched IT resources. This rapid shift in the threat landscape has left organizations scrambling to scale their security systems to meet the rise in the use of personal home networks, handheld devices, and apps beyond the scope of the enterprise environment.

Keep in mind that there are ways to implement BYOD securely, but most of the failures in a BYOD scenario usually happen because of poor planning and network architecture, which lead to an insecure implementation.

What is the commonality among the previously mentioned technologies? To operate them you need a user, which is the greatest target for attack: human error is the weakest link in the security chain. For this reason, old threats such as phishing are still on the rise. This is because they attack the psychological aspects of the user by enticing them to click on something, such as a file attachment or malicious link. Once the user performs one of these actions, their device usually either becomes compromised by malicious software (malware) or is remotely accessed by a hacker.

Understanding the attack surface

In very simple terms, the attack surface is the collection of all potential vulnerabilities that, if exploited, can allow unauthorized access to the system, data, or network. These vulnerabilities are often also called attack vectors, and they can span from software to hardware, to a network, and to users (which is the human factor). The risk of being attacked or compromised is directly proportional to the extent of attack surface exposure. The higher the number of attack vectors, the larger the attack surface, and the higher the risk of compromise. That’s why many organizations prioritize attack surface management to identify and mitigate these risks effectively. It ensures their systems are protected against potential threats.

Just to give you the extent of an attack surface and its exposure, let’s look into MITRE’s Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database, here: https://cve.mitre.org/cve/. The database provides a list of cybersecurity vulnerabilities that have been targeted in the past, to make organizations aware of them should they use the same software or hardware systems. It has 108,915 CVE entries at the time of writing, which have been identified over the past few decades. Certainly, many of these have been fixed, but some may still exist. This huge number indicates how big the risk of exposure is.

Any software that is running on a system can potentially be exploited using vulnerabilities in the software, either remotely or locally. This applies particularly to software that is web-facing, as it is more exposed, and the attack surface is much larger. Often, these vulnerable applications and software can lead to the compromise of the entire network, posing a risk to the data it is managing. Furthermore, there is another risk that these applications or software are often exposed to: insider threat, where any authenticated user can gain access to data that is unprotected due to badly implemented access controls.

An attack surface may be exposed to network attacks that can be categorized as either passive or active, depending on the nature of the attack. These can force network services to collapse, making services temporarily unavailable, allow unauthorized access to the data flowing through the network, and other negative business impacts.

In the event of a passive attack, the network might be monitored by the adversary to capture passwords, or to capture sensitive information. During a passive attack, an attacker can leverage the network traffic to intercept communications between sensitive systems and steal information. This can be done without the user even knowing about it. Alternatively, during an active attack, the adversary will try to bypass the protection systems using malware or other forms of network-based vulnerabilities to break into the network assets; active attacks can lead to the exposure of data and sensitive files. Active attacks can also lead to Denial-of-Service (DoS) type attacks. Some common types of attack vectors are:

Social engineering scams
Drive-by downloads
Malicious URLs and scripts
Browser-based attacks
Attacks on the supply chain (which are becoming increasingly common)
Network-based attack vectors

To find out more about this topic, I would highly recommend that you download and read Verizon data breach reports: https://enterprise.verizon.com/resources/reports/dbir/.

What follows is a relevant excerpt, which indicates the various factors that shape an organization’s attack surface:

“Errors definitely win the award for best supporting action this year. They are now equally as common as Social breaches and more common than Malware, and are truly ubiquitous across all industries. Only Hacking remains higher, and that is due to credential theft and use, which we have already touched upon. Misconfiguration errors have been increasing. This can be, in large part, associated with internet-exposed storage discovered by security researchers and unrelated third parties.”

According to the Verizon breach report, hackers’ tactics and motives have not changed much over the last 5 years, with 63% of breaches launched for financial gain, and 52% of breaches featuring hacking. Ransomware attacks account for nearly 24% of attacks involving malware, and breaches continue to take a long time to be detected, with 56% taking several months or longer to be discovered. And typically, by the time the breach has been discovered, the damage has already been done.

With every passing day, the network of connected devices is increasing, and, while this growth of connectivity continues to grow bigger, the risk of exposure is also increasing. Furthermore, it is no longer dependent on how big or small businesses are. In today’s cyberspace, it is hard to establish whether any network or application is prone to attacks, but it has become extremely important to have a sustainable, dependable, and efficient network system, as well as applications. Properly configured systems and applications will help reduce the risk of attack, but we might not ever be able to eliminate the risk of attack completely.