Tag Archive for: IMPROVED

Suomi.fi mobile app update set to enhance user experience with improved security

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On April 22, 2024, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency will release updated versions of the Suomi.fi mobile application for both Android and iOS platforms. This major update will not only revamp the visual appearance and functionality of the app but also improve its usability, accessibility, and navigation structure. Importantly, the update will phase out the support for older versions of the app, necessitating users to upgrade to continue services seamlessly.

The update is crucial as it aligns with security enhancements dictated by mobile operating systems. “The update was necessary as older versions of Android will no longer receive security updates from the manufacturer. This change ensures that the mobile application remains secure for all users,” explained Maria Juka-Lahdenperä, Business Owner at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

Key Changes and Requirements:

Operating System Compatibility: Post-update, the Suomi.fi app will require Android devices to run version 11 or higher and iOS devices to operate on iOS 16 or later. Users with older operating systems will need to access Suomi.fi Messages via the web portal on desktop or mobile browsers.

New PIN for Enhanced Security: Users installing the new update will need to perform strong identification and set up a new six-digit PIN. This PIN is crucial for accessing Suomi.fi Messages, ensuring enhanced security for communication within the app.

Functionality Updates: The new version eliminates the ability to save messages as drafts but introduces more robust email verification processes. Users changing their email address linked to Suomi.fi Messages will now need to confirm the new email with a code, replacing the previous link-based confirmation method.

Dark Mode: Addressing user feedback, the updated app includes a dark theme option, providing enhanced visual comfort and potentially extending battery life on devices with OLED screens.

Transition and Feedback:

As the update will automatically apply to some devices, users may need to manually download the update from Google Play or the Apple App Store. The agency encourages users to send feedback on the new application…

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In Cyberattacks, Iran Shows Signs of Improved Hacking Capabilities

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Iranian hackers are waging a sophisticated espionage campaign targeting the country’s rivals across the Middle East and attacking key defense and intelligence agencies, according to a leading Israeli-American cybersecurity company, a sign of how Iran’s quickly improving cyberattacks have become a new, important prong in a shadow war.

Over the past year, the hackers struck at countries including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in a monthslong campaign linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, according to a new report by the company, Check Point.

The Iranian hackers appeared to gain access to emails from an array of targets, including government staff members, militaries, telecommunications companies and financial organizations, the report said.

The malware used to infiltrate the computers also appeared to map out the networks the hackers had broken into, providing Iran with a blueprint of foreign cyberinfrastructure that could prove helpful for planning and executing future attacks.

“The primary purpose of this operation is espionage,” security experts at Check Point wrote in the report, adding that the approach was “notably more sophisticated compared to previous activities” that Check Point had linked to Iran.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to an inquiry on Monday about the hack. But Iran’s minister of defense, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, said last week in a speech to his country’s defense officials that given the current complex security situation in the Middle East, Iran had to redefine its national defenses beyond its geographic borders.

He said that meant utilizing new warfare strategies to defend Iran, including the use of space, cyberspace and other ways. “Our enemies know that if they make one mistake, the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond with force,” General Ashtiani said, according to Iranian media.

Although the report did not specify what, if any, data Iran had taken, Check Point said the hacking campaign successfully broke into computers associated with the Saudi Arabian ministry of defense, and agencies, banks and telecom firms in several other Middle Eastern countries including Jordan, Kuwait and…

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Improved knowledge is important to addressing cyber crimes

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BY LORRAINE WOHI

Lack of people with knowledge on how to deal with cyber threat intelligence is an issue that needs to be addressed in PNG and rest of the Pacific Island nation.

APNIC Senior Internet Security Specialist, Adli Wahid speaking at the 27th PITA conference in Port Moresby said in most cases many of the organisations are struggling not with the issue itself but with people who are dealing with these issues.

Cyber threat intelligence refers to data that is collected, processed, and analyzed to understand a threat actor’s motives, targets, and attack behaviours.

Mr Wahid said in most cases, organisations lack people including security engineers, security practitioners who are quite new to the field and they are playing catch-up on different areas.

He spoke on three main areas which include insights on how organisations prepare to question and identify why and how ransomware occur in an effort to improve cybersecurity, to better define and provide awareness.

“Cyber security intelligence is about people.

“The bottom line is getting the people to be informed in discussion and talking about it.

All of you need to ask each other how does the security teams or the security engineers heard information about threat and is there something we can do to collaborate together.

I think this is where organisation needs to put profit aside and see if there is a common goal in defending the organisation in the Pacific region as well as in the niche economic so that you can bring people together,” Mr Wahid said.

Discussions on cyber security is one of the key topics of discussion that has and will be discussed at the four days annual general meetings for the Pacific Islands Telecommunication Association (PITA) at Hilton , Port Moresby.

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State, local cybersecurity could be improved with cyber ranges

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With the current macro economic head winds, 2023 budgets are either frozen or are flat. Where should CISOs focus these limited budgets to maximize the most out of their security program? In this segment, we invite Jon Fredrickson, Chief Risk Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, to debate what should be in your minimum viable securit…

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