news
UAE saw almost
70,000 cyberattacks
on smartphones
in 2020 with an
increase during
quarantine
eviewing the statistics of
R
cyberattacks on smartphone
users, Kaspersky researchers
saw that in the period of January to June
2020, the number of malicious attacks
on mobile users reached 68,063 in the
United Arab Emirates.
Myrna Soto, Chief Strategy and Trust
Officer, Forcepoint
The results showed that quarantine did
not have a particular influence on the
UAE threat landscape. To compare UAE
with other Middle Eastern countries,
the figure for Egypt was 220,000, Saudi
Arabia saw 160,000 attacks in five
months, followed by Kuwait (20,000) and
Oman (15,000).
As mobile platforms’ influence grows,
the role of smartphones in business
processes and day-to-day life is growing
rapidly. In response, cybercriminals
are paying more attention to how they
are distributing malware and the attack
vectors used, increasing their activity in
times of crisis.
In many scenarios, timing can be a
key part of the success of a malicious
campaign, taking advantage of those
users who are changing their security
practices under pressure and do not
have any reliable security solutions
installed on their phones.
Throughout the year, the number of
attacks did not change dramatically,
which means that the implementation of
quarantine measures did not influence
mobile threat landscape in the region.
It would account for approximately
11,000 to 14,000 attacks monthly. This
can be explained by the fact that mobile
platforms were initially made to be
independent from the physical location
of the user.
FORCEPOINT APPOINTS CHIEF
STRATEGY AND TRUST OFFICER,
MYRNA SOTO
lobal cybersecurity
G
leader, Forcepoint, has
announced that Myrna
Soto has joined the company as
Forcepoint’s inaugural Chief Strategy
and Trust Officer. In this newlycreated
role, Soto will serve as a
strategic business and technology
driver of the company’s enterprise
vision, strategy and programmes
to protect people, critical data and
IP, both within the company and for
thousands of Forcepoint customers
around the globe.
As Chief Strategy and Trust
Officer, Soto will also serve as a
global leader and champion for
both the development and execution
of strategic initiatives that continue
to propel Forcepoint forward as one
of the industry leaders for user and
data protection worldwide and
global enterprises’ trusted
cybersecurity partner of choice, and
will function as a member of
Forcepoint’s Security Council.
A security and information technology
veteran, having held senior leadership
roles with many of the world’s most
recognised brands, Soto brings
more than 25 years of experience to
Forcepoint. Utilising her experience as a
transformational security and business
leader at Fortune 500 companies,
including American Express, Comcast
and MGM Resorts, Soto will serve
as a trusted security and technology
innovation partner to customers as
they re-assess their security posture in
today’s new business reality, reliant on
cloud-driven security solutions to protect
the work-from-everywhere workforce.
12 Issue 27 | www.intelligentciso.com