ONGOING CYBER THREATS

 

 

 

After years of data breaches exposing individuals’ personal information, cyberthieves will increasingly use that information to attack businesses in 2022, according to the Identity theft resource Centre’s predictions for the coming year.

` “We also tracked a record number of data breaches and a steady flow of new victims of unemployment benefits identity fraud long after the enhanced benefits ended,” said eva Velasquez, president and CEO of Identity theft resource Centre.

` Velasquez anticipates an increase this year in the number of people who have been victims of identity theft multiple times. And she warned of particular risk ahead as people change how they pay for things.

` “Look for cybercriminals to take advantage of the shift to alternative digital payment methods, such as payment apps, digital wallets and peer-to-peer services,” Velasquez said.

` With cryptocurrency becoming increasingly popular, scammers will find new ways to steal from consumers, according to the resource centre, which is a US nonprofit that tracks data compromises and provides free assistance to victims.

` The centre’s predictions for 2022 include:

• ` l An accelerated shift from identity theft to use of already stolen personal information and credentials to commit identity fraud and attack businesses.
  
• ` l Consumers may shift away from some online transactions and email communications due to the increasing problem of phishing, which is when cybercriminals use a fraudulent email or website to masquerade as a legitimate business or person.
• ` l the effects of pandemicrelated fraud will continue into 2024, with some fraud cases taking years to resolve and unemployment compensation fraud efforts likely becoming permanent.
• ` l ransomware, when hackers use malicious software to infect and lock a computer network and demand demand money to restore access, may surpass phishing as the top cause of data breaches.
• ` l Supply chain attacks, which is when malware infects a single organisation that is linked to multiple others, will become more common.
• ` l Single incident attacks will impact greater numbers of individuals, including social media account takeovers that victimise followers and networks.

` “All of these trends point toward increases in identity fraud that will change consumer behaviours, revictimisation rates and pandemicrelated identity crimes for years to come,” Velazquez said.

` “We expect to see these types of cyberattacks and who they target continue to evolve as they did in 2021.”

` The resource centre called for wider consumer education efforts and improved data protection. the number of publicly reported data compromises was already higher last year than in all of 2020. the centre’s third quarter report shows that as of Sept 30, 2021, data compromises rose by nearly 17% over all of 2020. the report found that nearly 281.5 million people were victims last year. there were 1,291 data compromise events in 2021, compared to 1,108 in all of 2020. the record is 1,529 in 2017.

` In November, the resource centre released data showing that 16% of 1,050 US adult consumers surveyed took no action after receiving a data breach notice, according to the survey by the resource centre and Dig.works, a consumer research company.

` Fewer than one-third of survey respondents had frozen their credit at one time for any reason and only 3% did so after receiving a data breach notice, the survey found. 

– Journal-news, Hamilton, Ohio/tribune News Service

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RCEP trade pact which takes effect Jan 1, set to boost regional, global growth

 

The Asean secretary-general and leaders of the 15 RCEP member countries with their trade ministers after the pact was signed on 15 Nov 2020. PHOTO: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION (MCI)

 

` SAN FRANCISCO (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS) - The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which will take effect on Saturday (Jan 1), is expected to significantly boost the regional and global economies and offer lessons for international cooperation.

` "The RCEP is a huge, potentially powerful agreement among rich and poor countries that complements each other's strengths," Professor Peter Petri, who specialises in international finance at Brandeis University in the United States, told China Daily.

` "For example, it has favourable rules for parts and components trade, and these could help developing members benefit from partnering with more advanced countries, making the region a haven for some of the world's most efficient supply chains," he said.

` "If its potential is realised, the RCEP would create larger markets and innovative, affordable products for the world economy," he added.

` Signed in November last year by 15 Asia-Pacific economies - all 10 member states of Asean, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand - the agreement has created the world's largest free trade bloc that accounts for about one-third of the global population and gross domestic product.

` It will take effect in 10 member states - Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand - on Jan 1, and for the other five members 60 days after official deposition of ratification, acceptance or approval. 

South Korea will see it take effect on Feb 1.

 Indonesia's chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Friday (Dec 31) that Indonesia, South-east Asia’s largest economy, will likely ratify its RCEP membership in early 2022.

` A parliamentary commission overseeing trade rules had approved the ratification and its endorsement will be brought to a wider parliamentary vote in the first quarter of 2022, he said.

` President Joko Widodo will sign off on the ratification after parliamentary approval, he added.

` According to a recent study by Prof Petri and Prof Michael Plummer, an international economics expert at Johns Hopkins University in the US, the RCEP is estimated to increase world trade by nearly US$500 billion (S$675 billion) annually by 2030 and raise world incomes by US$263 billion annually.

` "There are several aspects of the agreement that will lead to significant economic effects, even if the RCEP is not as ambitious in scope as, say, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership," Prof Plummer told China Daily.

` "For example, it will create harmonised, cumulative rules of origin for intra-RCEP trade, which should give a significant boost to regional supply chains, at a time when supply chains are facing headwinds," he said.

` The agreement will lower tariffs on about 90 per cent of traded commodities and reduce some non-tariff barriers to trade in goods and services, according to Prof Plummer.

` "Importantly, it will create a free trade area among the North-east Asian economies of China, Japan and South Korea, giving a particularly strong boost to trade and production in the area of advanced manufacturers," he added.

` The study by the two economists, published by the East Asian Economic Review, estimates that the RCEP should increase regional incomes by US$245 billion on a permanent basis and create 2.8 million jobs in the region, which Prof Plummer described as "a significant boost".

` "In addition to its salutary effects on global incomes and trade, the RCEP offers an important boost to opening international markets, with very little negative effects on outside economies in the form of trade diversion," said Dr Plummer.

` Moreover, the RCEP shows how developed and developing countries can work together to include the interests of countries at all levels of economic development, he said.
`

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` "This could hold some important lessons for the WTO (World Trade Organisation), which reached an impasse at the Doha Development Agenda to a large extent because it was unable to accommodate the interests of developed and developing economies sufficiently," said Prof Plummer.

` Prof Petri also noted that the RCEP's success will depend on how well countries with different systems will work together to make the agreement successful.

` "If benefits are widely shared and relations are positive, members will implement the agreement fully and may even expand its scope," he said. "The RCEP could become a model for cooperation in an unusually diverse economic region."

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` The MySejahtera app has been updated with a new feature/function called MySJ for greater Covid-19 protection

 

For a safer Malaysia: Lim showing the MySJ Trace feature on her Andriod phone. The add-on feature, using Bluetooth technology, will allow easier close contact tracing with those who test positive for Covid-19. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

` GEORGE TOWN: As the country rings in the New Year, the battle against Covid-19 remains a top priority.

` And while Malaysians learn to live with the virus, they also need to quickly adapt to the MySejahtera Trace (MySJ Trace) feature to protect themselves against the virus.

` Sandra Lim, 45, who manages a charity organisation, said she was rather confused by the new feature initially after finding it on her Android phone, and did not activate it.

` “I knew about the function but thought that it would activate automatically, but as it turned out, I have yet to complete the set-up process which requires some connectivity settings to be enabled.

` “Many people including myself are still unfamiliar with the new function, though we believe that the new feature could give us more protection against the virus,” she said.Lim also said the elderly might face difficulty in understanding the function and will require guidance.

` Retired company clerk Girlie Ng, 65, said the MySejahtera app on her iPhone has not shown the MySJ Trace function.

` “I still believe in keeping safe the traditional way, by reducing contact and practising the SOP.

` “Additional safety features are good but I am not a tech-savvy person,” she said.

` Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim, who was appointed as the coordinator between the federal and Penang governments on Covid-19 issues, explained that the new MySJ Trace function acts as an extra measure to enhance Covid-19 management, and encouraged Malaysians to embrace it.

` “MySJ Trace is an additional feature introduced voluntarily to assist with contact tracing.

` “We are already quite mature in our QR-based check-in/check-out contact tracing,” he said.

` “But the weakness is that many people forget to check out, and sometimes they also don’t check in like walking in a crowded street where social distancing may not be sufficient.”

` Sim said as people live with Covid-19, activities such as returning to work, visiting night markets and attending events will require a more efficient system to track positive cases which can be isolated quickly.

` “If we can detect and isolate positive cases quickly, then others are spared, reducing the need for further isolation or another lockdown,” he said.

` Sim noted that the tracking using Bluetooth is not new as it has been introduced by Google and Facebook early in the pandemic.

` “Countries like Singapore use a version of this tracer. I hope more people will enable it.

` “The government must also continue to build trust to persuade people to embrace Covid-19 management strategies like vaccination or turning on Bluetooth tracers,” he said, adding that there must be zero privacy intrusion.

` The MySejahtera app has been updated with a new function called MySJ Trace.

` The add-on feature, using Bluetooth technology, will allow easier close contact tracing with those who test positive for Covid-19. With the new feature, the check-out module will be removed from MySejahtera.

` To ensure the effectiveness of the feature, users are required to activate Bluetooth on their devices at all times.

` When a person is confirmed to be positive for Covid-19, a notification will appear through MySejahtera to request approval for the sharing of any close contact information that was detected.

` Upon approval, MySejahtera will provide access to the Health Ministry to conduct a risk assessment on all the close contact data traced via Bluetooth, before conducting close contact tracing activities on identified individuals.

` This will not take place if no approval is given by the individual and any close contact tracing will be done manually.

` The MySJ feature uses an anonymised Unique User ID and will not collect users’ data or their geo-location. The data can only be accessed and kept on a user’s device for 14 days.

` The Health Ministry encourages Malaysians to use the MySJ Trace in public places, public transport, eateries and shopping centres.

`Source link

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Under scourge of the pandemic, ‘human’ is left out in US-style human rights

`

 

White flags are seen on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Sept. 16, 2021. More than 660,000 white flags were installed here to honor the lives lost to COVID-19 in the United States.Photo:Xinhua

By Countries - News

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries.

` ` The US hit a record high of 543,928 daily new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The number of new deaths reached 3,023 the same day. For two consecutive days, new COVID-19 cases in the US have exceeded 500,000. Behind each startling number is an unfortunate live and family. As the epidemic hits new records again and again, Washington is ending 2021 in an extremely somber way, and its fiasco will go down in history.

` The previous record of new COVID-19 cases was a figure of 294,015 recorded on January 8, one day after the confirmation of Joe Biden's presidential election victory by the Congress. After taking office, Biden made control of the epidemic a top priority and launched a series of prevention and control measures. Many thought that the record on January 8 would be the peak, and even the most pessimistic person at that time probably couldn't have imagined that a new record would be reached by the end of the year. The White House has a new president, but the epidemic is raging even more widely. In 2021, the US still presents the world with chaos, disorder and contradiction in its fight against the epidemic.

` Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote in his article, entitled "Farewell to 2021, the stupidest year in American history," that "instead of unity and immunity, this year has brought us stupidity and insanity on an unimaginable scale." He argues that COVID-19 is surely "the focus of the most obtuse and ignorant public reactions and state and local policy responses to any crisis in American history." Some media outlets commented that a sense of powerlessness over political confrontation, social rifts and rampant anti-intellectualism has further dissipated expectations of a united response to the epidemic.

` As the country with the most advanced technology and top comprehensive strength, the US has the strongest financial and medical resources, moreover, it only has a population of 329 million people. But two years since the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, over 810,000 people have died of the pandemic. Under the so-called democratic system, nobody is held accountable for such a huge loss of human lives. People don't even know who is responsible for fighting the pandemic under the US President. "Human" is left out of human rights: such an absurd logic just happened in a modern society.

` People found that the death toll has a much smaller impact on politicians in Washington than the number of votes and the ups and downs of the stock market. In developed countries with advanced medical conditions and better welfare systems, we have constantly seen cruel scenes of social Darwinism: The poor are facing a higher risk of being infected and witnessing a higher death rate. Some medical institutions have even given tacit permission for "selective treatment" of impoverished patients or those of ethnic minorities. When a large number of ordinary families are caught up in financial difficulties due to the epidemic, the assets of billionaires have risen significantly. According to a recent report by Business Insider, 52 members of the US Congress were found to have concealed their technology, pharmaceutical or other stock trades, violating the STOCK Act. They were suspected of taking advantage of the turmoil of the epidemic to make a fortune out of national crisis through engaging in insider trading.

` What's currently happening in the US is a humanitarian catastrophe and a human rights disaster. But those "human rights preachers" are either at a loss about what to do, or they just turn a blind eye to it. Apart from being symbolically mentioned on occasional commemorative ceremonies, the misfortunes of the broken families and individuals have been collectively neglected. The "human" has been left out of US' "human rights," that's why the economy has been put above human lives and saving the stock market is considered more important than curbing the epidemic.

` In 2021, under the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US has defeated the US, and the true nature of the "human rights defender" has been exposed. We feel sympathy for the American people who have suffered miserably from the pandemic, while having a more sober understanding of the hypocrisy of the US-style human rights

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Three months for booster shots for all after second dose of Pfizer, AZ, Sinovac, in view of high Omicron variant

 

Three months for booster shots for all Covid-19 vaccine after second dose of Pfizer, AZ, Sinovac, in view of high Omicron variant

 

` PETALING JAYA: Booster jabs for all Covid-19 vaccine recipients will now take place three months after they get their second shot following a decision by the Health Ministry to shorten the waiting period.

` More vaccination centres and clinics will also be opened to increase capacity.

` Previously, only Sinovac recipients got their booster shots 90 days after receiving their second dose while those on Pfizer and AstraZeneca had to wait 180 days.

` Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the Covid-19 booster shots for Pfizer and AstraZeneca recipients could now be shortened to three months.

` He said recent data showed that the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus could cause increased transmission of infections and had higher viral binding affinity and higher antibody escape than vaccine-induced immunity or natural infections.

` “Strong evidence has accumulated over the past three weeks indicating that a Covid-19 booster vaccine is possible to increase protection against Omicron variant infections,” he told reporters here yesterday.

` A technical working group, he added, had also evaluated the existing evidence and provided new recommendations on the administration of Covid-19 booster doses.

` “All seniors aged 60 and above, and all adults who have received both doses of their vaccines (from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac) are highly recommended to get their booster vaccine at least three months after receiving the primary vaccine.

` “Individuals with comorbidities, and residents and staff at healthcare centres will be given priority to receive the booster shots.

` “We will be using the age de-escalation approach for adults who have received two doses of their jabs, starting from 50 years and above, 40 years and above, and subsequently, 18 years and above.

 ` “Adults are expected to receive their booster shots in January and February and we will increase the capacity by opening more vaccination centres and private clinics,” he said.

` He added that heterologous vaccination – mixing vaccine types – was found to be safe and effective.

` “We will give priority to Pfizer and AstraZeneca as booster shots. However, we will look at an individual’s safety profile.

` “Sinovac will only be given to those who are contraindicated against Pfizer or AstraZeneca,” he said.

` The government, announced Khairy, would also lift the temporary travel restrictions against eight countries – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

` “We will shift them from total ban to high-risk countries. However, we urge people to avoid any unnecessary travel to high-risk countries as the Omicron situation there is dangerous,” he said.

` Khairy said the Health Ministry was also considering taking action against the 1.4% of Covid-19 positive cases who violated the quarantine granted to them under the Surveillance and Observation Order between Dec 1 and 28.

` On another matter, he said the MySejahtera Trace (MySJ Trace) would use Bluetooth technology to allow easier close contact tracing with those who tested positive for Covid-19 in public areas.

` “It is highly recommended the public use this feature for their own safety.

` “To ensure the effectiveness of the feature, users are required to activate the Bluetooth on their devices when they are outside.

` “When a person is confirmed to be positive for Covid-19, a notification will appear through MySejahtera to request approval for the sharing of any close contact information that was detected.

` “Upon approval, MySejahtera will provide access to the Health Ministry to conduct a risk assessment on all the close contact data traced via Bluetooth before carrying out close contact tracing activities on identified individuals.

` “However, this will not take place if no approval is given by the individual and any close contact tracing will be done manually,” he said.

` `Source link

Pfizer, AZ booster shots can be given at least three months after second dose, says Khairy 

 

 ` Reduce the risks: Khairy, seen at the Health Ministry in Putrajaya, says the government urges people to avoid any unnecessary travel to high-risk countries as theOmicron situation there is dangerous. — BernamaReduce the risks: Khairy, seen at the Health Ministry in Putrajaya, says the government urges people to avoid any unnecessary travel to high-risk countries as theOmicron situation there is dangerous. — Bernama

 

PETALING JAYA: Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine booster shots can be given at least three months after the second dose, says Khairy Jamaluddin (pic).

` The Health Minister made the announcement on the shorter interval for Covid-19 booster shots during a press conference on Tuesday (Dec 28).

` The move to shorten the interval is similar to measures taken by other countries such as Germany and Australia, which are recommending shorter booster intervals in an attempt to stop the spread of new variants.

` Khairy added that following the discovery of a confirmed Omicron case in a man in Sarawak who has no history of recent travel abroad, it is very likely that Omicron is now in the community.

` He said recent data showed that Omicron variants could cause increased transmission of infection, higher viral binding affinity and higher antibody escape than vaccine-induced immunity or natural infections.

` "Strong evidence accumulated over the past three weeks indicate that a Covid-19 booster vaccine is possible to increase protection against Omicron variant infections.

` "Results initially involving 21 million booster doses administered in the United Kingdom have shown very convincing security data.

` "In line with that, regulatory bodies such as in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as a panel of health experts are now recommending an interval for booster dose vaccination can be given as early as three months after receiving the primer vaccine," he said at a press conference on Tuesday (Dec 28).

` Khairy added that the technical working group has also evaluated the existing evidence and provided new recommendations on the administration of Covid-19 booster doses.

` "All seniors aged 60 and above and all adults who have received both doses of their vaccines (Pfizer, AZ and CoronaVac) are highly recommended to receive their booster vaccine at least three months after receiving the primary vaccine.

` "Individuals with comorbidities, residents and staff at health care centres will be given priority to receive the booster shots.

` "We will be using the age de-escalation approach for those who are 18 years old and above and have received two doses of their jabs, starting from 50 years and above, 40 years and above, and subsequently 18 years and above.

` "Adults will receive their booster shots in January and February next year and we will increase the capacity by opening more PPV and private clinics," he said, adding that Sinovac booster shots would only be given to those who were contraindicated against Pfizer or AZ.

` Furthermore, Khairy said the government would lift the temporary travel restrictions to eight countries namely South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

` "We will shift them from total ban to high risk countries.

` "However, we urge people to avoid any unnecessary travel to the high risk countries, as the Omicron situation in these countries are dangerous," he said.

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Under scourge of the pandemic, ‘human’ is left out in US-style human rights

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