Kaspersky is one of the leading online security solutions provider that is ranked 4th in the online security world in terms of generating revenues. The company is operating worldwide, providing online security solutions as well as conducting seminars and conferences to create awareness of the possible risk threats, malware and the future of online security. Kaspersky is opening new centers in the Middle East regions to cater to a wide range of clients and partners.
Pakistan is a very important country within the business network of Kaspersky in Asia. Out of our 6 distributors in Asia, one is a Pakistani company. Kaspersky Labs has made many close partners and clients in different enterprise accounts of Pakistan. Here, Khalid and Garry talk about different aspects of security in Middle East region.
Talking about his experience at Kaspersky Labs, Garry, now the company’s the Global Sales and Marketing Officer, says, “I was Managing Director of Emerging Markets in Asia at Kaspersky Labs for three and a half years. I take care of commercial side of the company for global sales, marketing and growing global business of the company. The company had a transition of its corporate structure two years back and that’s when I shifted to Global Sales and Marketing.”
When we consider the demands in the Middle East region, the management at Kaspersky Labs feels that the area has been facing cyber security threats since the last two and a half years. There have been different incidents of security breaches which resulted in Kaspersky Labs receiving requests not only for their products but for their services as well. At present, they are introducing a number of new products and services for forensic analysis along with professional training on virus analysis. They hope to also provide cleaning/scrapping centers in the region for detecting direct services attacks that are usually faced by banks. Furthermore, they can also boast of brands to detect frauds in the banking sector.
For now, there is a dire need for training and awareness because at the end of the day you have to go back to the basic knowledge about IT security. Consequently, Kaspersky is doing a lot of training and awareness sessions for their partners. People need to have a sense of cyber security as well as the risky consequences of its absence… for instance, in the Middle East, hackers can give you access to 1000 PC just for $6 – this is how vulnerable internet security has become.
The organization is very focused on security with their technical products and services the primary goal being to solve all customers’ problems while keeping them updated and safe. However, unlike competitors, they do not promote the products and services of other companies, but rather develop their own in-house since this gives them the advantage of being fully aware and in control of using the applications.
When asked about his whether organizations are now more aware of cyber security risks and management, Garry was of the opinion that, “In many cases, you can see that people are now more aware of security threats, especially people from financial industry like banks, which have already experienced such attacks. As they have the awareness, they consider themselves capable enough to decide right kind of solutions for protection. However, thinking about the need for protection does not protect you perfectly – online security is a very sensitive and complicated process. The product and its implementation via accurate channels are two different things. At some points in the security process, you need security products, professional expertise as well as awareness of the possible up-to-date solutions. On the other hand, when it comes to organizing the entire process for supporting the system, people lack skills to see through the sensitive and delicate nature of this process; and they practically incapable of carrying out such operations. Kaspersky’s mission is to provide the vendors and customers with not only products but also awareness.”
As he highlights malware security risks, Garry shares, “It’s been long since the internet was plagued with virus and online security risks but up till now, malware has been assessed insufficiently in comparison to what it is actually. For instance, the name ‘virus’ is only 5% of all the malware. It was termed as ‘virus’ historically. But now malware is about managing different things i.e. viruses, flaws, worms and a lot of different things – specifically key-loggers, as there are a lot of people are involved in key-loggers as well. In short, there is a huge amount of malware out there and all these malwares are the key businesses for hackers to make money. Any hacker has the possibility to hack into a backing system or any online database if it’s not secured. It’s a serious threat with a growing number of risks every single day.”
When talking about the anti-virus business, Garry shares his thoughts saying: “It cannot be said precisely that a malware attack is produced by hackers; we can’t predict either to what end these attacks would go, but there are very serious signs for the severity of these attacks in the future. It’s always in a state of evolution – like a chain reaction – where you cannot be sure about the second stage of attack after you have tackled the first one. Your system needs constant protection from malware.
These malware and their evolution is one side of the story. On the other hand, partners of Kaspersky face problems in taking initiatives and giving new services to customers because the demands are high. Therefore, we are opening new centers to help our partners in Pakistan and Middle East. We are also conducting seminars around the world to spread awareness because it’s the key to detect and prevent your system from dangerous malware.”
Cyber attacks can be as big a threat to entire governments as they are top small and large-scale businesses and various other consumers. Kaspersky Labs however, believe that with malware, one may control a nuclear weapon. A nuclear weapon, however, cannot destroy a malware. Malware development can seriously affect infrastructure while the sixth tribe of the malware is hacktivism, group hackers who want to destroy massive systems.
The impact of the disaster may be gauge when we consider how, in several countries, business companies spy and steal data from competitors, despite the fact that it is a very serious cyber crime. Then there is Cyber Warfare where a lot of “drivers,” often spread across different countries, gather together to affect each other. Governments have to invest huge funds to keep the infrastructure safe from destruction caused by malware.
After deploying a system in an organization, Kaspersky offers various backend support services. They have created many online functions and services inside their Middle East office, are in touch with clients via e-mail, have a web portal with featured blogs, documentations and information for customers to deploy and use our products efficiently besides facilitating clients by allowing them direct communication.
They also cover infrastructure security from PCs to the gateway, covering the infrastructure level as well as the application within. Their products comprise of four layers, the core being based on anti-malware while the others contain about 20 modules to secure the infrastructure. It’s not just security either; it’s basically the control that results in securing the infrastructure. For this particular function, they have application control, device control, web monitoring, filtering, mobile device management, mobile security and license management for the piracy.
The work ability management is also extremely important as it allows us Kaspersky to inform users who are out of their network without updating batches. They recommend the concerned client to upgrade a particular batch, application or a machine which has not been updated for more than a month. This is very helpful when considering how 80% of the attacks are coming from the inside.
According to Garry, “expertise and quality products are essential factors for your success when you are working in a global market because global competition is always tough. There are several independent tests of technology products and Kaspersky has always stood among the top ones in results. Our team understands that providing quality services with global standards is the key to success. This year, Kaspersky is going to implement different services to different markets. Besides, we are also planning to setup new centers to help protect our Middle East region customer from malware attacks that are extremely harmful.
In the past four years, from Kaspersky’s perspective, Pakistan has grown more than 200% because many of their partners are working here also. Furthermore, users in Pakistan are well aware of cyber security risks as well as cyber security products and services. People are now updated and in touch with global markets and they require better products and services on priority basis. Consequently, the Kaspersky team has to continuously keep in touch with client groups here. This results in approximately 90% sales at the end of every month. Clients are offered to test products and compare them with applications they are previously using. When they are given the leverage to finalize the deal, by Kaspersky, they are completely satisfied with the application performance and understand the advantages!
Kaspersky Labs expect that 2015 will spell out greater growth for them and an increase market share. Although, generally speaking, the market is shrinking, since they possess other markets share, they can hope to meet their targets of double digit growth. Previously, they have earned more than 15% of the market share and it is likely to grow this year since they have several new products in the pipeline.
