Data discovery and classification capabilities enhance Varonis' SaaS security solution, DatAdvantage Cloud 

Varonis Systems, Inc., a pioneer in data security and analytics, announces Data Classification Cloud for Box and Google Drive. The offering adds data discovery context to complement DatAdvantage Cloud, a solution launched earlier this year that centrally monitors and protects data across multiple Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) applications. 

Join our Varonis Virtual Connect! event, Tackling SaaS Security Risks: A CISO’s Perspective on September 9 at noon ET to hear how Varonis DatAdvantage Cloud helps a CISO from a global communications firm manage cyber risk and be among the first to learn about Data Classification Cloud. 

"Varonis has a long and successful track record helping organizations automatically scan and classify sensitive and regulated information in enterprise data stores on premises and in cloud stores like Microsoft 365," says Jacob Broido, VP of Product Management, Varonis. "With Data Classification Cloud, organizations can find exposed sensitive data on additional cloud apps and services to limit their blast radius from ransomware attacks and data breaches." 

Key benefits of Data Classification Cloud include: 

·        Find exposed data. Automatically discover where sensitive data might be hiding in Box and Google Drive. Varonis looks inside files to find sensitive information by matching over 400 classification patterns and shows you where data is exposed to all employees – or anyone on the internet. 

·        Get high-fidelity results. Varonis generates highly accurate classification results by going beyond regular expressions. We use proximity matching, negative keywords, and algorithmic verification to reduce false positives.  

·        Monitor and control data access. See which sensitive data is open to too many people, monitor usage, and make smart decisions about how to quickly and safely reduce your SaaS data risk. 

Data Classification Cloud complements DatAdvantage Cloud, which correlates identities with privileges and activities across cloud stores, including AWS, Box, GitHub, Google Drive, Jira, Okta, Salesforce, Slack, and Zoom. Organizations can see and prioritize their biggest cloud risks, proactively reduce their blast radius, and conduct faster cross-cloud investigations. 

DatAdvantage Cloud and Data Classification Cloud together can help answer critical security and compliance questions like: "Which sensitive files containing PII are exposed via sharing links?" or "Which external users have been granted permissions in any of our SaaS apps?" 

Additional Resources 

·        Register for the webinar.  

·        Visit the DatAdvantage Cloud product page. 

·        Request a demo from the Varonis team. 

·        For more information on Varonis' solution portfolio, please visit www.varonis.com. 

·        Visit our blog, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

·        Watch and subscribe to Security Forward, Varonis' YouTube show covering the latest infosec tips, tricks, and tools. 

Views of Avinash Shekhar, Co-CEO, ZebPay, on the same below:

“Having a clear regulatory framework around cryptos will help investors, businesses, and entrepreneurs to confidently participate in this industry and we’re looking forward to the upcoming guidelines and policies from the government. We hope to see cryptos classifies as an asset class and have laws in place on their taxation just like the other financial markets. There are thousands of different cryptos in the market with different use cases which work on different blockchain platforms. We’re sure the policymakers will look into how they can be used both as an asset class and also take advantage of the underlying blockchains for their use cases to cater improve India’s infrastructure needs in various industries.

We believe having clear laws around cryptos will have a positive impact on investors especially when it comes to the taxation of cryptos. This will also help in keeping bad players out of this emerging technology. Crypto assets are still in their early stages and with clear regulations, we hope to see more Indian investors confidently taking the benefits of an early market.”

• Phillip McGriskin has an impressive portfolio of fintech successes, including TransferWise, SuperAwesome and YOTI. 

• His latest venture, Vitesse, was listed in the Deloitte 50 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies 2019, contracting over 60% of the London insurance market.

• The fintech platform is set to revolutionise the insurance payment system, providing near real-time international payments and treasury management solutions for its extensive clientele across 116 domestic markets. 

An Aussie-born angel investor has swapped the surf for fintech innovation to launch Vitesse, a FCA and European (DNB) regulated provider of seamless international payments and innovative treasury management solutions for insurance.

Phillip McGriskin, 47, has over 20 years of experience in fintech investments. He has built an extensive portfolio of investments across the fintech world. His ability to spot potential in businesses from as early as ideation has allowed him to be an angel investor for; TransferWise, SuperAwesome, YOTI, and Griffin.io to name a few.

His later fintech venture, Vitesse, a payments platform that enables its insurance clientele to make reimbursements in a matter of minutes instead of weeks, launched in 2013 and currently boasts customers, including Brit Insurance, Mayfair Group, and CEGA Group. It has secured a £6.6 million Series A investment from Octopus Ventures and will be seeking Series B funding in 2022. 

A former surfer may be the last person you’d expect to flourish in this field but Phillip puts his success down to his laidback and friendly approach towards the people he works with. He fondly mentions the entrepreneurs that he has invested in as being inspirational leaders in their respective fields and him having confidence in what was to come. 

Fundamentally he really focuses on what he finds interesting. With such a diverse background in where he’s worked and his experience across a variety of business lines and roles, that has given him a broader range of interests and opened him up to more new concepts and ventures.

His career began at the young age of 20 working as an insurance broker in Australia. Over his two decades in the industry, he worked across commercial departments in London for companies such as; EarthPort, PaySafe and Envoy Services (that he founded and sold to WorldPay, where he worked as Chief Product and Marketing Officer before co-founding Vitesse). 

His passion for fintech stems from the endless possibilities in this sector coupled with the extensive innovation that has been seen over the last years.

McGriskin says; “The fintech industry is only moving forward and the possibilities are growing. “There is a lot more growth to come from online payments. Cash payments have become a tiny percentage of payments made in the UK compared to how popular it was five years ago. Digitalisation is the one thing that will continue to grow and will speed up in the very near future.”

He sees financial technology as an enabler, encouraging companies and people to rethink outdated approaches. As he states “It is giving people the ability to solve legacy issues which have been around for a long time.”

For example, people can now have a claim approved and receive money back onto their debit card within a matter of minutes. It is effortless and that’s just one way fintech is transforming insurance.”

Phillip is currently the CEO of Vitesse: “After building a successful financial services business with Paul Townsend [Executive Chairman of Vitesse] which relied on creating international payment relationships for businesses to receive money; we realised that there were still multiple gaps on the other side of the transaction. The outward bound payment. There were some very specific use cases in the areas of insurance, payroll and corporate payments where service gaps were preventing these businesses from growing to their full potential.

This thinking created Vitesse, listed in the Deloitte 50 Fastest Growing Tech Companies. Vitesse is a dual-regulated provider of near real-time international payments and treasury management solutions for its extensive insurance clientele, supporting in-country payments to over 170 countries in 109 currencies around the world. 

Coupled with a regulated, industry-audited solution which gives total control and transparency over funds, Vitesse is changing the game with claims payments and associated claims funds management by providing an efficient capital management solution. They also enable businesses to pay claims via a range of payment types globally such as bank transfer, Visa Direct, and USD eChecks.

“Vitesse brings the strength of the global banking network together with leading technology. We give our customers unparalleled control, transparency and efficiency for the holding and management of funds and liquidity.”

Learn more about Vitesse for insurance at https://vitessepsp.com/insurance/

PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk (CIMB Niaga) and PT JCB International Indonesia (JCB), as subsidiaries of JCB International Co Ltd., launched the CIMB Niaga JCB Contactless Credit Card in Jakarta, Friday, 3 September 2021. This credit card with contactless technology was developed in line with the rapid growth of credit card technology and the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The Contactless Credit Card can make it easier for customers to transact as well as become an alternative faster payment solution. Supported by dual liaison capabilities, this credit card can still be used for transactions using the dipping method.

CIMB Niaga Consumer Banking Director, Lani Darmawan, said, "CIMB Niaga continues to develop innovative products and services by adopting the latest technology. One of them is through the CIMB Niaga JCB Contactless Credit Card. With this card, customers can transact at various merchants without touching other objects. We hope that this initiative can improve customer experience in the midst of the current situation."

Meanwhile, President Director of PT JCB International Indonesia, Takumi Takahashi, said, "We are delighted that CIMB Niaga is the first bank in Indonesia to implement JCB Contactless through the launch of the CIMB Niaga JCB Contactless Credit Card. This contactless payment is safe and convenient for customers. We believe this new product will contribute to accelerating digitization in the payment industry in Indonesia."

The issuance of the CIMB Niaga JCB Contactless Credit Card is an initiative of CIMB Niaga and JCB to provide an easier, faster and simpler transaction experience. With the contactless method, according to Bank Indonesia regulations, customers do not need to enter a PIN for nominal transactions under Rp. 1 million, while transactions above Rp. 1 million require a PIN. As for the transaction process, customers just need to tap-and-go. This is faster than inserting a card into an Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machine or paying with cash.

In addition, Contactless Credit cards also have the same level of security as dipping cards. Every contactless transaction on the card reader or EDC machine will be processed by the Bank and JCB card processing network through an authorization that is as secure as transactions through the dipping method.

CIMB Niaga JCB Contactless Credit Card customers can use the JCB Contactless feature at more than 100 thousand merchants in Indonesia. In addition, over the past three years, the number of JCB Contactless partners globally has also continued to grow.

The chair of the U.S. financial regulator is right about cryptocurrency trading platforms: they should be regulated, affirms the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory asset management and fintech organizations.

The comments from Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group, follow a Financial Times interview published on Wednesday with Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Wall Street’s top watchdog.

In the interview he said that while he was “technology neutral”, crypto assets were no different than any others when it came to public policy requirements including investor protection, guarding against illicit activity and maintaining financial stability.

Mr Green says: “It must be championed that the man at the top is taking a future-focused and pragmatic approach to cryptocurrencies – which have a market capitalization of more than $2trillion and which are becoming an increasingly dominant part of the mainstream global financial system.

“Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, XRP, amongst others, are not going anywhere. Crypto is very much here to stay as financial assets and as mediums of exchange.

“Therefore, they must be brought into the regulatory tent and be held to the same rigorous standards as the rest of the financial system.  The best way to do this is through the exchanges.”

He continues: “Nearly all foreign exchange transactions go through banks or currency houses, and this is what needs to happen with cryptocurrencies. When flows run through regulated exchanges, it will be much easier to tackle potential wrongdoing, such as money laundering, and make sure tax is paid.”

Gensler’s interview with the FT follows his fresh demands last month that Congress grant the SEC more power to oversee the growing crypto market.

“The watchdog needs more powers over the market as there's a clear direction of travel: both institutional and retail investors are taking Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies more and more seriously. They are increasing their exposure to them at a faster rate than ever before,” said the deVere CEO at the time.

“The SEC seems aware that digital assets are the inevitable future of money, therefore they require more oversight.”

Nigel Green is both a long-term and high-profile advocate of cryptocurrencies, but also of regulation of the sector. He has publicly supported global financial regulators, central banks, lawmakers and governments who have moved to support introducing it.

“There’s sustained interest in and demand for cryptocurrencies so what's needed is a strong regulatory framework to be established and approved at an international level. 

“This will help protect investors, make the sector itself more robust, tackle cryptocurrency criminality, and reduce the potential possibility of disrupting global financial stability, as well as offering a potential long-term economic boost to those countries which introduce it.”

He concludes: “Cryptocurrency regulation is required and, I believe, on its way.

“The work being done by the SEC and other financial regulators around the world is something that everyone who is confident that digital assets are the future of money, as I am, should champion.”

To examine synergies between the DTI and ITSA standards

Etrading Software (ETS), global provider of technology-led solutions, acting as exclusive Registration Authority for the new International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) standard ISO 24165 for Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs), and International Token Standardization Association (ITSA), the non-profit organization and special interest group aiming at setting market standards for the global token economy, today announce a new joint task force to identify potential synergies regarding the identification of digital tokens.

The Digital Token Identifier Foundation (DTIF) was created by Etrading Software to provide ISO standard identifiers for digital assets based on open data principles. The joint task force is charged with identifying synergies in the issuance processes of both the DTI and the International Token Identification Number (ITIN) - the technical identifier issued by ITSA for both fungible and non-fungible DLT-based cryptographic tokens. The task force was established in May and is due to run for the next 6-12 months.

Sassan Danesh, Managing Partner of Etrading Software, said, “Etrading Software is working hard to ensure that ISO DTI 24165 can be seamlessly integrated with existing industry standards. The integration of the DTI with other relevant standards, which have different functions but are intrinsically linked, will reduce operational complexity and costs of the DTI, as well as providing a clear link between an asset and a digital token that represents the asset.” 

Constantin Ketz, Vice Chairman of ITSA, said, “ITSA is keen to cooperate with other standards bodies and initiatives to ensure the interoperability and complementary nature of all market standards. We are convinced that collaboration and alignment of existing standards will lead to accelerated adoption of digital tokens as well as increased efficiency and accessibility for market stakeholders. Therefore, we are very happy to be working with Etrading Software on finding synergies between ITIN and DTI.”

A key deliverable of the task force will be to produce a set of recommendations for collaboration to DTIF and ITSA boards, including an outline implementation plan. These might include aligning DTIs and ITINs, automatic notifications between issuing authorities or white-label access and/or federated model. In order to facilitate transparency, the task force charter, meeting agenda and minutes will be available to the public on DTIF website: https://dtif.org/itsa-ets-dti-task-force/.

The pandemic is far from over, but the global economic outlook remains benign. We expect global growth to land at 5.5% this year, before slowing to 5.1% and 4.1% in 2022 and 2023, says Helge Pedersen, Nordea Group Chief Economist. Inflation has risen sharply, and it may stabilise at a higher level than seen in many years.

In the Nordics, the spread of the virus is under control, the last remaining restrictions are being lifted and growth is high. Pre-pandemic levels of production has been reached in all countries and we now enter a new phase where the need for further economic policy stimulus must be reviewed.

The Danish economy has moved from deep crisis to a risk of overheating in record time. Overall economic activity now exceeds pre-pandemic levels and the fast recovery requires full flexibility of the labour market and considerable adaptability in terms of economic policy. The housing market appears to be normalising after a period of very large price increases. Consumer prices have started to rise faster than previously and there are signs of mounting wage pressures..

In Finland, economic growth was strong during the summer. GDP reached the pre-pandemic level in the second quarter of 2021. The good export performance has initiated machinery investments and construction investments are benefitting from a strong housing market demand. Strong employment growth and gradually decreasing household savings rate is fuelling private consumption..

The Norwegian economy has now regained all the ground lost during the coronavirus crisis. Unemployment has dropped sharply in sync with the reopening of society. At the same time, the number of job vacancies is record high and signs of mismatch in the labour market are emerging – which could lead to higher wage growth. The housing market rally is over and prices will likely flatten going forward. Norges Bank will start normalizing interest rates in September this year.

The Swedish economy is entering a new phase where high resource utilisation will hamper production growth. Growth is set to become more widespread, with investment as a key driver alongside exports and household consumption. Labour shortages will give rise to increasing concern and wage growth will pick up. Inflation will rise due to higher commodity prices and elevated transportation costs, however not persistent enough for the Riksbank to tighten monetary policy.

Read Economic Outlook here.
 

Source: Nordea Markets

The Mexican peso (MXN) enters OctaFX's currency pool at the end of August—it comes with three tradable currency pairs.

Finally, the most traded currency from Latin America enters global Forex broker OctaFX's ensemble—the Mexican peso (MXN).

Being the third-largest currency traded in North America (after the U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar), the Mexican currency is issued and governed by a nation with the 15th largest nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of an equivalent of well over one trillion U.S. dollars.

So there is an evident and reasonable long-term play here not to neglect the Mexican peso all the more.

Many factors make Mexico an attractive financial hub in the world. Manufactured goods for export and tourism, as well as inward capital flow from Mexican nationals working abroad have been the chief sources of foreign income for the federal republic. With its over 126 million inhabitants, the country has a bit over a third the population of the United States and sets out to potentially be the fifth-largest economy in the world in the decades to come.

The international fintech company starts off its most recent novelty surrounding the Mexican peso with the following three currency pairs:

●      USDMXN (U.S. dollar/Mexican peso)

●      EURMXN (euro/Mexican peso)

●      GBPMXN  (Great Britain pound/Mexican peso)

According to OctaFX's assessments, these specifically added currency pairs provide clients with a more diverse, convenient, and up-to-date trading experience.

Due to the decade-strong resilience of Mexico's economy and growing numbers in foreign investment, the currency has solidified its position among the ranks of the fifteen most traded currency units globally.

Guide Identifies Six Key Pillars of Due Diligence for Evaluating Potential Fintech Partners

Zafin, the world’s leading SaaS product and pricing platform for the next generation of banking, today issued a statement of commendation for the U.S. Federal Reserve System, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The praise is attributed to offering community banks a detailed guide on due diligence considerations when partnering with financial technology companies (fintech). The guide, released last Friday, facilitates and supports discussion points for reasonable community banking innovations and the growing opportunities offered through fintech partnerships. This time and dedication by three leading U.S. financial agencies signal a rapidly transforming banking system and the advantages it represents for both community banks and the fintech industry in the United States.

“We applaud the collective efforts of these U.S. Federal Banking System agencies for their guidance and leadership demonstrated through the publishing of this important guide,” said Rob King, Chief Revenue Officer of Zafin. “More than ever before, it’s critical for banks and credit unions to consider partnering with fintech companies to accelerate their digital transformation efforts. At Zafin, we are committed to contributing to this guide by offering transparency and integrative collaboration with the industry as they navigate these new guidelines and embark on expanding their ability to offer exceptional client experiences through the use of innovative technology.”

The resource guide outlines six key pillars that banks and credit unions should consider when performing due diligence as part of their overall risk management processes when considering business partnerships with fintech companies. The six pillars of the due diligence recommendations are:

• Business experience and qualifications
• Financial condition
• Compliance with laws and regulations
• Risk management and control processes
• Information security
• Operational resilience

As digital banking becomes increasingly popular, traditional banks and credit unions need to adapt to remain competitive with neobanks by offering new products, offers and experiences that meet the lifestyle needs of their customers. The considerable resources placed by these three Federal agencies further demonstrates a growing validation that financial institutions of all sizes should explore new partnership pathways offered by the ever-growing fintech industry.

Zafin’s award-winning SaaS product and pricing platform works to address many of the critical challenges and restraints banks and credit unions face with their core systems. It allows institutions to differentiate from their competitors, retain and expand existing relationships, and acquire new account holders by offering competitive product pricing, offers and rewards at the relationship level.

To learn more about Zafin, please visit: https://zafin.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn.

Helix Artifacts Accelerates Development Team Velocity and Hardens the Supply Chain, Streamlining Workflow Complexity and Reducing Costs

Using artifacts in the development of software increases team velocity and maintains product consistency. However, these assets can be vulnerable to cyber-attacks and corruption. For this reason, many organizations are searching for a more secure and cost-effective way to store, consume, and distribute artifacts.

Helix Artifacts is a self-hosted package manager built on top of the highly secure Helix Core – enterprise version control by Perforce. Helix Artifacts acts as a package translator, for packages such as NuGet, Maven, or Docker, to communicate directly with Helix Core, build systems, and integrated developer environments, creating a uniquely streamlined way to manage artifacts and increase developer efficiency.

“Helix Artifacts is the most efficient, secure, and affordable way for Perforce Helix Core customers to store and manage their packages,” said Gerhard Krüger, Cloud Architect and Product Manager at Perforce. “It allows our users to version and consume their artifacts in the same manner as they would their source code.”

“Adding Helix Artifacts to your Perforce environment will not only cut down on additional infrastructure and storage costs, but also simplify security as it relates to development and reduce the number of vendors your entire team has to engage with,” said Brad Hart, CTO at Perforce. “And reducing vendors helps with everything from training new team members to contract negotiations, and so much more.”

Helix Artifacts has a simple per-server subscription model and is priced to be a fraction of the cost of other self-hosted artifact management solutions.