digital technology

Jun 11 2021

Michigan Secure Wins ‘State IT Innovation of the Year’ Award For 2021

Zimperium would like to congratulate Brom Stibitz and Laura Clark from Michigan for winning the 2021 StateScoop 50 Awards. StateScoop 50 Awards honor the most innovative and influential projects in state government and the people with the passion and drive to advance the use of digital technology inside state agencies.

We are proud and humbled to be given the opportunity to partner with Brom and Laura on the Michigan Secure initiative. Michigan Secure was awarded the State IT Innovation of the Year award for 2021. The Michigan Secure mobile security application is the first mobile security tool to be made available for free to an entire state, radically enhancing the security of Michiganders.

In February 2021, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget launched the new Michigan Secure app, which provides alerts for suspicious activity and threats on mobile devices. Michigan is the first state in the US providing residents access to a free mobile application that detects threats to their mobile devices. The Michigan Secure app alerts an individual of suspicious activity on their mobile device. The application warns users if the Wi-Fi they are trying to connect to could be compromised, scans other Android mobile apps for threats and alerts users to not download, and has a database of potential threat indicators to notify individuals of activity on their phone that matches a documented threat. It does not require anyone to share their personal information or mobile data.

“Our reliance on mobile devices has been met with a surge in activity by cybercriminals looking to access those devices to steal our personal information, and possibly much worse,” said DTMB Director and State Chief Information Officer Brom Stibitz. “The Michigan Secure app is a huge step towards protecting Michiganders from these criminals and giving us all some peace of mind as we use our phones and tablets.”

The state of Michigan joins New York (NYC Secure) and Los Angeles (LA Secure) in embracing a new cybersecurity strategy to protect their “Digital Sidewalks” as an integral part of their civic responsibility.

Download the brief published by the Center for Digital Government to learn more about why leaders in these states and cities are solving for Digital Safety as part of their Smart City vision.

Download the brief published by the Center for Digital Government

Learn More About Our Michigan Leaders

Brom Stibitz | GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year

Brom Stibitz, as Michigan’s top technology, management and budget official, knew that Michigan citizens’ reliance on mobile devices has been met with a surge in activity by cybercriminals looking to access those devices to steal personal information. In response, Stibitz was instrumental in the development and creation of the Michigan Secure app, which offers a layer of protection for citizens from these criminals. Stibitz also knew it was critical to respect people’s privacy, and made sure Michigan Secure didn’t require anyone to share their personal information or mobile data. The app instead exists for the sole purpose of detecting threats and notifying the user.

Laura Clark | State Cybersecurity Leader of the Year

Laura Clark has paired an innovative outlook on the possibilities of security technology with a dedication to implementation. The Michigan Secure mobile security application is the first mobile security tool to be made available to an entire state, radically enhancing the security of Michiganders. Clark has also dramatically expanded assistance to local government and education leaders, developing best practices, flexible security frameworks, and security assessment contracting. She has also worked to shift the state’s security compliance and authorization process to embrace risk-based flexibility to promote processes that decrease administrative overhead while ensuring sufficient security.

Learn more about the Michigan Secure mobile security app

https://www.michigan.gov/dtmb/0,5552,7-358-82548_78404_95432—,00.html

Download Michigan Secure

Apple App Store Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/michigan-secure/id1532783758

Google Play Store Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.michigan.zips

About Zimperium

Zimperium, the global leader in mobile security, offers the only real-time, on-device, machine learning-based protection against Android, iOS, and Chromebook threats. Powered by z9, Zimperium provides protection against device, network, phishing, and malicious app attacks. For more information, visit www.zimperium.com.

Michigan Secure Wins ‘State IT Innovation of the Year’ Award For 2021

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Jun 10 2021

Fantom to pilot blockchain-based IT solutions in Uzbekistan

The Fantom Foundation has announced a joint venture with AG Mentors Group headed by former Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister Elyar Ganiev.

According to the announcement published on the Fantom Blog on Wednesday, the collaboration will use Fantom-based blockchain solutions to modernize the country’s IT infrastructure.

Fantom’s partnership with AG Mentors comes amid the Uzbekistan government’s digital transformation agenda. Back in 2020, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev laid out a plan to utilize digital technology to improve public services in the country dubbed “Strategy for Digital Uzbekistan.”

Fantom will reportedly provide tailored blockchain-based solutions in areas like supply chain management, central bank digital currency and enterprise resource planning, among others.

According to the announcement, the Fantom Foundation plans to draw on its experience working with other governments in Central and South Asia.

Indeed, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, Fantom is currently engaged in a public-private partnership agreement with the government of Tajikistan. Fantom’s operations in Tajikistan are also tailored towards the IT sector with a focus on driving modernization in the country.

Apart from its partnership with the Tajik government, Fantom also has collaborative projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Pakistan, Fantom is involved in developing blockchain-based solutions for the Punjab Prisons Department while in Afghanistan, the blockchain project is working with the Ministry of Health to utilize decentralized technology in combating the spread of counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Fantom to pilot blockchain-based IT solutions in Uzbekistan

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May 22 2021

x15ventures, a Venture Scaling Initiative by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Launches Platform for Helping Digital Businesses

x15ventures (x15), which is Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s venture-scaling division, has introduced a stand-alone or independent platform for helping new digital initiatives and business owners with fulfilling regulatory, risk and compliance requirements – which are part of scaling operations.

The “xStack” platform is based on a tech platform that operates separately from CBA’s core banking infrastructure, and has been specifically developed to support firms with enhancing operations while ensuring that they adhere to the regulatory and security requirements of the banking sector.

Toby Norton-Smith, MD at x15ventures, stated:

“We see it as an enterprise grade ‘venture-in-a-box’ platform by embedding bank-grade security protocols. And although we’re not prescriptive about the core product technology for a venture, we do see huge benefits in common workflow and coding repository tools that allow ventures and x15 to interact. We will provide a venture with a set of core technology services — infrastructure, standard tooling and workplace — so from day one they can actually focus on their business.”

Toby added:

“It buys you a ticket to access CBA’s assets and that is really what we have been trying to crack.”

He also noted that if they are able to figure out that code, then xStack may become a viable commercial product in itself.

He added that he’s looking forward to “having enterprise customers of xStack beyond CBA when [they] are finished with it, and they don’t have to be just Australian.”

CBA established x15 in February of last year, with the mission to launch 25 new Fintech initiatives during the next five years of operations. To date, x15 has reportedly helped launch, invested-in or has acquired six businesses with more expected to be announced this year.

Toby added:

“We’re not a corporate venture capital vehicle, and we’re not incentivized or focused on passive minority investment positions. Writing a cheque to invest in a venture is actually one of the easier things you can do in corporate venturing. What’s harder to do is to explicitly deliver a commercial benefit to that venture. Getting our ventures technically scalable and regulatory safe means we can then move more quickly to distribute them to CBA’s customer base, or leverage the CommBank brand to promote their service.”

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Apr 10 2021

ZA Tech Global, the Technology Initiative Backed by Softbank Vision Fund I, Launches Asia Fintech Center

ZA Tech Global Limited, the technology venture established by ZA International and supported by Softbank’s Vision Fund 1, revealed on Friday (April 9, 2021) that it’s launching its Asia Fintech Center (AFC) in Singapore. The new center will focus on financial services innovation projects and it will also assist industry participants in the region so they can develop new products that will accelerate their digital transformation strategies.

The AFC launch is reportedly a global first for ZA Tech, as the business increases its focus on supporting the vision of providing a unified tech platform that aims to support the future of financial services and offer access to underserved consumers.

The Singapore-headquartered Center will aim to address specific use-cases in insurance and the financial services sector with assistance from industry partners. It will initially work on various insurance use-cases by co-developing innovative projects with ASEAN region-based insurance service providers. It will also work with local academic institutions or universities to develop appropriate Fintech-related expertise and talent.

Bill Song, CEO of ZA Tech, stated:

“We partner with industry players to strive to boldly redefine financial services, and the AFC is an important pillar of making that happen. As we have entered 2021, the year the internet economy continues to rapidly reshape consumer expectations across Asia, digital transformation is becoming as crucial as ever for financial services firms. AFC will bring together technology, talent and partner network to build innovative propositions that fit closely with the evolving customer expectations across both online and O2O and to help financial services prepare for the next chapter of the digital revolution.”

George Kesselman, Head of Commercial for ZA Tech, remarked:

“I am incredibly proud of the work that the team is doing with our partners in the region. AFC will allow us to bring collaboration to the next level by launching new innovative use-cases and enable rapid product-market fit testing and iteration. Southeast Asia is the major epicentre of financial services transformation. We strongly believe that Singapore, as the hub of innovation and talent in the region with its innovation friendly environment and forward oriented regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore, provides the perfect location to launch and scale fintech innovation across Southeast Asia.”

ZA Tech is the tech platform for ZA International that focuses on expanding its global operations by teaming up with major internet firms and financial services companies based in Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe. ZA Tech offers technical solutions and professional services as well.

ZA Tech aims to digitally transform the insurance sector by working with several different customer technology platforms. It’s focused on creating innovative insurance solutions while offering the digital core system to insurers as the infrastructure for their distribution.

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Feb 11 2021

Personal Finance Survey Reveals that 67% of Individuals Trust Robots More than Humans to Manage their Investments

We’ve been trusting robots to manage money more than we “trust” ourselves, according to a recent study from Oracle and personal finance specialist Farnoosh Torabi. The global survey of over 9,000 individuals across 14 different countries revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has “increased finance-related stress at home and in business, and people around the world are looking to AI for help.”

The Oracle study found that financial anxiety and sadness among individual consumers and business owners or leaders “more than doubled (increased by 103%) in 2020.” Notably, the study revealed that 67% of people “trust robots more than humans to manage finance.”

Around 85% of survey respondents “believe robots will replace finance professionals and 46% believe it will happen in the next five years.” Around 85% of business leaders “want help from robots for finance-related tasks.”

People are also “rethinking the role and focus of corporate finance teams and personal financial advisors,” according to the research.

Other notable results from the survey include:

Consumers want personal financial advisors “to provide guidance on major purchasing decisions such as buying a house (45%); buying a car (41%); and planning for retirement (38 percent).”
60% of consumers “say the pandemic has changed the way they buy goods and services.”
72% of consumers “say the events of 2020 have changed how they feel about handling cash, with people feeling anxious (26%); fearful (23%); and dirty (19%). More than a quarter (29%) of consumers now say that cash-only is a deal-breaker for doing business”.
Businesses have been “quick to respond as 69% of business leaders have invested in digital payment capabilities and 64% have created new forms of customer engagement or changed their business models in response to COVID-19”.
51% of organizations are “already using AI to manage financial processes, compared with 27% of consumers”.
87% of business leaders “say organizations that don’t rethink financial processes face risks, including falling behind competitors (44%); more stressed workers (36%); inaccurate reporting (36%); and reduced employee productivity (35%)”.

As noted in the update shared with CI, managing finances can be challenging during the best of times, and the financial “uncertainty” due to the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated financial challenges at home and at work, according to Farnoosh Torabi, personal finance expert and host of the So Money podcast.

Torabi added:

“Robots are well-positioned to assist – they are great with numbers and don’t have the same emotional connection with money. This doesn’t mean finance professionals are going away or being replaced entirely, but the research suggests they should focus on developing additional soft skills as their role evolves.”

Research Methodology

Research findings are “based on a survey conducted by Savanta, Inc. between November 10 – December 8, 2020 with 9,001 global respondents from 14 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Mexico and Saudi Arabia)”. The survey “explored attitudes and behaviors of consumers and business leaders towards money, finances, budgets, and the role and expectations of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots in financial tasks and management.”

Juergen Lindner, SVP, Global Marketing, Oracle, remarked:

“Financial processes in our personal and professional worlds have become increasingly digital for many years and the events of 2020 have accelerated that trend. Digital is the new normal and technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots play a vital role in managing finance. Our research indicates that consumers trust these technologies to accelerate their financial well-being over personal financial advisors and business leaders see this trend reshaping the role of corporate finance professionals. Organizations that don’t embrace these changes risk falling behind their peers and competitors; hurting employee productivity, morale and well-being; and struggling to attract the next generation of AI-empowered finance talent.”

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