Gadgets Philippines – July 2019

http://www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph JULY 2019 69

CYBER

SECURITY

Cybersecurity firm launches

Safe Kids feature to protect kids online

Sophos acquires Rook Security to provide

managed detection and response

Sophos, a network and endpoint security firm,

announces that it has acquired Rook Security,

a company that offers managed detection and

response (MDR) services.

Rook Security provides a 24/7 team of cyberthreat

hunters and incident response experts who

monitor, hunt for, analyze and respond to security

incidents for businesses of all sizes. The privately-

owned company was founded in 2008 and is

headquartered in Indianapolis, USA.

Sophos is creating re-sellable MDR services by

combining Rook Security’s threat detection,

investigation and response capabilities with its

recently acquired DarkBytes technology platform.

As a channel-first, channel-best security provider,

Sophos will deliver the new MDR services through

its network of approximately 47,000 channel

partners worldwide.

“Cybercriminals are relentlessly trying to exploit

organizations with techniques ranging from

tried-and-true phishing emails to the more recent

trend of ‘hacker pen-testing’ to find weaknesses

in their surface area. As a result, businesses need

24/7 monitoring and management of what is

happening on their network, yet many of them

do not have the expertise, can’t keep up or don’t

have the security teams in-house to optimally

configure and manage security around-the-clock,”

said Joe Levy, chief technology officer at Sophos.

“With MDR, Sophos’ channel partners will be

able to provide businesses of all sizes with expert

services that continuously detect, hunt for and

respond to security incidents.”

In addition, Sophos plans to align its synchronized

security technology and product portfolio with

Rook Security’s 24/7 services for MDR customers.

Rook Security experts will also be able to review

these customer security postures to ensure

optimal policy configurations for Sophos products

across estates.

“Rook Security provides managed detection

and response services to detect and eliminate

cyber threats. Through threat hunting and

data analytics, Rook Security’s experts rapidly

detect and mitigate active attacks,” said J.J.

Thompson, founder and CEO, Rook Security.

“We are excited to bring our experts and service

delivery innovation to Sophos, a global leader in

next-generation cybersecurity. Together, we can

implement faster, more effective threat detection

and response capabilities to better protect

businesses.”

A few years ago, tech giant Google predicted that

the world will be mobile first, meaning the young

generation would have their first digital exposure

on mobile devices instead of computers.

A report from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky

gathered from May 2018 to May 2019 states that

“kids are now fast moving toward the use of mobile

devices for their online activities instead of using

computers.” While some parents and guardians

have been working hard to limit their children’s

screen time, it cannot be helped that some of them

have grown attached to their devices. They are

digital natives, after all, who have no idea what a

world is like without the internet.

Constant exposure to the internet without adult

supervision can expose them to various types

of threats like cyberbullying or even sexual

harassment.

Kaspersky provided data from IndexMundi that

says about 33.39% of the country’s population

currently make up the 0-14 age group while

19.16% comprise the 15-25 age bracket.

Aside from limiting screen time, parents can also

install safety apps such as the Kaspersky Safe

Kids, a feature in Kaspersky Total Security (KTS).

With this module, parents can now manage

the child’s screen time, view the child’s location

using a GPS tracker with a real-time online map,

know the child’s device battery level so they

can be warned to recharge the device, monitor

their public and Facebook activity, and block

access to adult websites and content for most

platforms.

Kaspersky is making this feature easily accessible

to parents with the pricing of PHP 2,764 (one

device for one year), PHP 3,801 (one device for

two years) and PHP 3,455 (three devices for one

year). Parents can also purchase the KTS from the

on-demand subscription service through telco

company Smart where a single license costs PHP

30 for seven days (Text KTS30 to 8933) and PHP

120 for 30 days (Text KTS120 to 8933).

TIPS FROM EXPERTS AT KASPERSKY

TO PROTECT CHILDREN ONLINE:

1. Talk regularly. Be involved in children’s
   online activities from an early age so
   this is the established norm. Encourage
   communication so you can both learn from
   each other and to help build mutual trust.


2. Set boundaries. Ensure that children
   know what is acceptable and what
   is not. Also, make them aware of the
   consequences of going somewhere that
   they shouldn’t or using tech when they
   shouldn’t be. This should be reviewed as a
   child gets older.


3. Use available resources. Understand
   that there’s a lot of help as you raise digital
   children. Use the resources provided by
   some companies or organizations such as
   parental control software as well as tips
   and techniques to better manage kids who
   use digital devices