Tag Archives: Pictet Report Summer 2017

Published: Monday August 21 2017A former hacker has become a neuroscientist whose research into the human brain is revealing how memory works, the meaning of dreams and the role of the subconscious in making decisions and shaping human behaviour.Professor Moran Cerf began his career in the Israeli military intelligence as a professional hacker. After four years in the army, he set up a company to use his skills commercially, working for companies and government organisations to help find...

Published: Wednesday August 16 2017HackerOne’s network of more than 100,000 ethical hackers can help online organisations eradicate vulnerabilities in their internet systems that could be exploited by criminals, says Mårten Mickos, its Chief Executive OfficerBarely a month goes by without reports of large companies and government bodies suffering cyber-attacks by criminal hackers and other hostile organisations. A USD92 billion cyber-security industry has grown up which tries to fend off...

Published: Monday August 14 2017Geneva-based SGS provides teams of experts to help businesses become faster, simpler and more efficient,  ensuring compliance with fast-evolving global standards and local regulations that protect customers and consumers.In the early days of SGS, the company specialised in inspecting shipments of grain arriving in large French ports from elsewhere in Europe, North America and further afield. Its network of inspectors would verify the quantity and quality of...

Published: Monday August 07 2017Two entrepreneurs who created a service which shreds paper documents on-site for clients have developed techniques for destroying redundant hard drives, putting the information they hold beyond the reach of competitors and criminals.There is much talk in business of “the paperless office”, but as technology advances, more and more paper is used in the workplace – increasing the amount that needs to be destroyed to preserve confidentiality. That insight was...

Published: Monday July 31 2017British code-breakers gave the UK and US a vital advantage in the second world war by deciphering the  enemy’s secret communications with techniques that were the precursors of modern computer technologies.Bletchley, an unremarkable town north of London, was known until the 1970s mainly as a railway junction. But a book published in 1974 revealed that it had played an essential role in the second world war by intercepting and decoding secret communications...

Published: Monday July 24 2017Most people say they want to keep their personal information private, according to Professor Leslie John of Harvard Business School, but in practice they will reveal it for often trivial reasons or to win the approval of others.Privacy is an issue of great sensitivity in a digital age. Many people go to considerable lengths to protect their personal information from online access by strangers, commercial enterprises and public bodies. And users of most social...

Published: Friday July 21 2017In the battle to protect the security of digital information, a Swiss company has used quantum mechanics to develop a new form of cryptography which makes decoding data impossible – even as computers become much faster.The increasing processing power of computers is making it easier for hackers to decipher encrypted information by finding the keys at the heart of traditional coding techniques. That task will become much easier when quantum computers arrive,...

Published: Monday July 17 2017Israeli entrepreneur Oren Yakobovich has created Videre est Credere, a human rights organisation which helps communities to film and document the violence and corruption they experience, and distributes the material to create change.From his childhood, Oren Yakobovich had always wanted to join the Israeli defence forces. His parents had immigrated to Israel in 1967, giving birth to him a few years later and bringing him up in a very patriotic house which...

Published: Monday July 10 2017Increasing concerns about potential cyber attacks on satellites, energy installations and defence systems call for more creative threat responses, according to an expert in international security at a leading UK think-tank.The enormous growth in the processing power of computers has put great connectivity in the hands of users, but it has also offered great opportunities for cyber criminals to exploit their vulnerabilities. This has raised concerns over the...

Published: Monday July 03 2017Stocks in businesses that provide security solutions in a wide variety of market sectors are proving to be an attractive investment theme with growth fuelled by innovation, urbanisation and regulation.When Pictet Asset Management launched the Security Fund ten years ago, the security market was not seen as a strong or growing one. But today the security industry is growing very fast, and expanding to cover many different market sectors.Security permeates our...