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Tuesday, January 4, 2022

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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Monday, January 3, 2022

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.
`

` "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.

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