Passwords are no longer enough to protect people from cybercrime, hackers turned Google advisors have said.
Multiple security barriers are now needed to block online criminals and effectively secure sensitive information.
At a briefing in Munich on the latest internet security advice, Google said it is committed to build powerful, easy-to-use tools that enable internet users to adjust their privacy preferences, anytime.
The company has launched its Advanced Protection Programme, a physical key inserted designed to protect online accounts to be used alongside existing security measures such as passwords and secondary authentification.
It protects against phishing sites, limits third-party access to emails and files and works to prevent hackers from pretending to be their target.
“Relying on one single factor to keep online accounts and passwords secure is no longer good enough,” said Mark Risher, director of product management at Google and account security leader of the phishing and identity services team.
“The Advanced Protection Programme has been built for high risk internet users, such as those who have a lot to lose or are vulnerable to state sponsored hacking, such as journalists, activists or citizen groups subject to persistent attacks.
“With a key, Google will refuse to give over sensitive information to suspicious websites.”
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Google’s deep investment into technologies like machine learning can identify patterns from the subtle signalling from certain websites that look suspicious and could put users at risk.
Machine learning and blockchain technology are two of the developing methods used to make secure financial transactions and exchange private information online.
“Our investments are broad, and coming from security we know there is no silver bullet that will make all your problems go away,” Mr Risher said.
“We are always encrypting data in transit and understanding how areas can be exploited – that is what we are building our systems on, rather than one particular technology.
“With the pace of innovation, we would like to be able to help people manage all of the information that is available to them in a better way than is currently the case.”
Search and usage data helps improve Google products, keeps them safe, and with the user’s permission, tailor them to match their interests.
In 2016, the company asked more than 4,000 people from 15 countries around the world about their concerns over privacy and security.
Technology experts at the company said they were committed to keeping private information free from government backed snooping and state sponsored data interception.
“There is no direct access to information via Google for government agencies,” said Stephan Micklitz, engineering director on identity, privacy and security at Google in Munich.
“We do receive requests for information on users from law enforcement for access to data, and we review these requests, but our team will always push back as much as possible.
“We are working hard to get 100 per cent of encrypted connections to our services.
“We do a lot of work towards detecting threat, including detecting phishing sites and third party access sites.
“Our aim is to give users the tools to be able to protect themselves online.”
Google safe browsing currently protects 3 billion devices worldwide, and fields 260 million warnings a month.
When you open a browser to view a website, it may feel instantaneous but in reality, there are usually two junctions between the browser and the destination website.
If your browser is communicating with a website over a clear path protocol without any encryption, there is no guarantee the information being sent can’t be monitored, logged or tampered with.
This is called the ‘man in the middle’ security risk, where the hacker places themselves between the victim and the website they are trying to reach.
Hired hacker Parisa Tabriz, is now director of engineering at Google and responsible for Chrome.
“We’ve seen a number of ‘man in the middle’ attacks over the years, including internet service providers inserting advertisements, other organisations monitoring web traffic or governments monitoring its citizens,” she said.
“One of the larger man in the middle attacks in recent years, in 2011, was suspected to be the Iranian government trying to intercept Google Mail.
“We’ve seen a lot of examples of this. The best way to avoid this is to use encryption to transmit web content.”
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Company%20Profile
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Business Insights
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RECORD%20BREAKER
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now