Top 10 Leading Fraud Detection and Prevention Solution Providers

ISSUE 02 | VOL 01 2021

Top

Leading Fraud Detection

& Prevention

Solution Providers

USHERING IN THE FUTURE OF SECURITY Secured World Save Information Save Money

EDITOR’S NOTE Curb your Risks

T

he current pandemic has put number of activities online which requires online platform to conduct business smoothly. But phishing and fraud activities is an increasing problem. Just like the technology evolves and updates these hackers come up with new ways of frauds. So, the question arises what about our valuable information like online payments, official documents, and our personal data.

The number of transactions we make online and the number of things now connected to the internet is immense. It becomes very difficult to keep a track of all these transactions. That’s where Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention Companies comes into the picture. They can beat these fraudulent activities conducted on the internet with their state-of-the-art technologies. These helps organizations, clients, and customers for their working as these activities can happen real-time.

Fraud Prevention Companies ensures that your data is secured.

They collaborate with governments, and interacts with several other companies to protect you against such threats, malwares, and prevents any money laundering before taking place.

According to a research 40% of the companies do not have a secured system integration at their workplace. Enterprises can save their funds once they authenticate and detect these fraudulent activities and have an ecosystem of cybersecurity.

In order to tackle today’s challenges of internet and digital channels, authentication of security is vital. The companies are stronger with the services of the cybersecurity companies offer. It is not just about the industry but also any country’s national security as well. Often, there are news about the confidential data breaching and threating emails.

There are several fake accounts, hackers, scams operated worldwide, somehow somewhere even we’ve experienced such things. It can be in the form of emails, messages or through social media. Now with the pandemic hit, companies have experienced the need for cybersecurity. The business is focusing on securing the data with the services offered by cybersecurity companies.

Companies who do not adopt to these changes will definitely fall behind the competition. In a world full of technology and innovation the need of the hour is having the good cybersecurity and fraud detection tools in the organization protecting the data, and serving the customers.

Understanding the need of these situation CIOLOOK comes up with its edition of Top 10 Leading Fraud Detection and Prevention Solution Providers. Featuring it’s Cover Story is – Kaspersky is to save the world.

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997 with its roots in antivirus solutions. Its mission is simple: to build a safer world. The company believes in a tomorrow where technology improves our lives. Kaspersky operates in over 200 countries with offices in 30 countries, so the effects of the pandemic have naturally been wide-reaching.

Lastly, make sure to go through the in-house editorials written by the industry experts and the creative articles written by our editorial team.

Go flip it!

Hitesh Dhamani

COVER STORY

08 Claire Hatcher Ushering in the Future of Security

CONT ENTS

ARTICLE

20 Secured Data Save Information Save Money

28

36

Innovative Services Digitisation in Intellectual Property

Law Insights Practical tips for IP Enforcement in Hong Kong and China

16

24

Anura Solutions Enabling Businesses to Stay Ahead of Fraudsters

32

Dixtior

Managing Financial Crime Risk

40 Idprop

The First and Only Property Management Platform Offering Biometric ID Verification and Multiple Fraud Risk Mitigation Controls

MCG Consulting

Increasing Operational Efficiencies and Driving Long-term Value

Sumita Sarkar Editor-in-Chief CONTENT

Senior Editor Alan Swann Executive Editors Rohit Chaturvedi Alex Spellman

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February, 2021

Company Name

Featuring Person

Brief

Anura Solutions anura.io

Rich Kahn CEO and Co-founder

Anura is an ad fraud solution designed to improve campaign performance by accurately exposing bots, malware, and human fraud.

Auraya Systems aurayasystems.com

Angelo Gajo Global Marketing Communications Manager

Auraya is a world leader in voice biometric technology with the mission of empowering people and organisations to interact and engage with convenience and security in all channels and languages.

DIXTIOR dixtior.com

Rui Vicente CEO

Dixtior is a Portuguese consultancy firm that seamlessly combines the very best of two worlds. The company is specialists in both economics and information technologies and we apply our full range of talent to creating the perfect solution for each client’s needs.

FRISS friss.com

Ruud Van Gerwen VP Marketing

FRISS is 100% focused on automated fraud and risk detection for P&C insurance companies worldwide.

Global Data Solutions Limited w2globaldata.com

James Roberts CEO

Idprop prop.idcheck.tech

Sara Statman Founder & CEO

Idprop is the first and only Property Management platform offering Biometric ID Verification and multiple fraud risk mitigation controls.

Kaspersky Lab kaspersky.com

Claire Hatcher Head of Business Development

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997.

Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe.

Kount kount.com

Emily Valla Marketing

Kount’s best-in-class fraud prevention solutions protect the digital innovations of over 9,000 brands globally.

MCG Compliance mcgcomply.com

Paul Murdock CEO

At MCG, the team believes that all securities markets are holistically connected in today’s world.

MCP Insight mcpinsight.com

Declan Pettit CEO

MCP Insight are market intelligence and compliance specialists with operations across Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

W2 provide a wide range of screening tools and services to help organisations to check who they are interacting with.

Cover Story

Ushering in the Future of Security

CLAIRE

Hatcher

“Fraud is an evolving concern, so it's of huge comfort to our clients and their customers that the solution being provided molds and adapts according to real-time threats. We are happy that our clients can detect complex fraud and money laundering cases without affecting their service productivity. This balance results in reputational benefits through increased consumer trust and clear ROI.” – Claire Hatcher, Head of Business Development at Kaspersky Fraud Prevention.”

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iven the scale of activities we conduct online and the number of things now connected to the internet, there's no possible way to monitor all the security threats. To make things worse, fraud is also evolving, meaning criminals are exploiting cooperation and communication to find the weakest spots in corporate security systems and attack them. To beat fraud and ensure a seamless digital experience, Kaspersky is here to save the world with cutting-edge technologies powered by machine learning for accurate and proactive fraud prevention in real time. Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997 with its roots in antivirus solutions. Its mission is simple: to build a safer world. The company believes in a tomorrow where technology improves our lives.

Today, cybersecurity is about more than just protecting devices. It's about developing an ecosystem where everything related to technology is immune to cyberthreats. That's why Kaspersky expanded beyond its antivirus lab to provide cybersecurity technologies across multiple threats.

With over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity, a huge portion of the Kaspersky team is engaged in R&D and detecting the latest malware and cyberthreats.

Kaspersky Fraud Prevention Kaspersky Fraud Prevention is a division of Kaspersky born out of the company's desire to expand its mission to ensure that enterprise clients' money is protected from scammers. Kaspersky Fraud Prevention collaborates with banks, e-commerce, e-government services, financial service companies, and any enterprise that interacts with their users via digital channels (web or mobile) to develop solutions to protect against threats, such as banking malware and Trojans targeting consumer devices. It starts looking for threats even before the user logs in. This serves as an excellent early warning tool to prevent fraud and money laundering before any money is moved, and to block access before any damage is done.

Kaspersky Fraud Prevention provides session-based anti-fraud solutions for enterprises interacting with

customers through web and mobile digital channels.

It helps cut costs on alternative authentication methods, closes gaps in security and provides visibility of incidents and anomalies in its web console. Now enterprises can save funds on secondfactor authentication and operational costs, meet customer expectations by making the authentication and login process more seamless, and detect fraudulent activity in real time.

In contrast to other providers, Kaspersky Fraud Prevention utilizes a full analysis of the device, environment, passive behavioral biometrics, and patterns, as well as the detection of any malicious traces on the device. The Kaspersky team believes that in order to tackle fraud, the approach should be holistic. Therefore, the company is committed to developing its fraud models to uncover patterns across channels and threat vectors.

Best user verification Kaspersky takes a holistic approach to fraud prevention. Some vendors concentrate only on device ID or behavioral biometrics, but Kaspersky takes these factors into account along with 150 other parameters to determine if a session is legitimate. For example, if someone logged in to a particular user session using the Tor browser, other systems may flag that user to be blocked. However, there may be a legitimate reason for using that browser. It's only when you analyze this behavior along with other aspects of a typical user or group behavior that a pattern emerges to show if something suspicious is going on. Also, as scammers have gotten better at persuading consumers to provide sensitive information, such as one-time passcodes (OTP), to complete their access/transaction, the responsibility has fallen to models to uncover signs that someone may be falling victim to a social engineering attack.

A significant impact Kaspersky operates in over 200 countries with offices in 30 countries, so the effects of the pandemic have naturally been wide-reaching. Employees have

The next-gen platform Kaspersky Fraud Prevention plans to continue tuning its model to verticals beyond financial services in order to draw on holistic fraud trends occurring across verticals and channels. Thanks to its focus on session-based anti-fraud, the company is already fighting against fraud in markets outside of financial services. Its holistic approach encompasses over 150 different data attributes, using machine learning techniques across a variety of threat vectors, i.e., behavioral biometrics, device and environment analysis, behavioral analysis and malware detection.

Kaspersky plans to continue these efforts to target fraud by analyzing more data attributes, especially when it comes to next-generation bots, passive biometrics, and social engineering techniques.

Testimonials Anvar Sidorov, Director of Partnerships at Indacoin, provided his commentary: “The crypto exchange has many unique features, but in general, we share the main risks of financial institutions: security of cards and payment information, as well as security of personal accounts and safety of client's funds. The implementation of Kaspersky Fraud Prevention helped to identify highly targeted fraud schemes, identify dishonest users with advanced precision and implement machine learning in the verification system.”

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Anura Solutions Enabling Businesses to Stay Ahead of Fraudsters

Rich Kahn, CEO and Co-founder

Anura Solu ons, LLC

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A

d fraud is growing at a rapid rate and is expected to cost advertisers over $100 Billion in the next year or two. Taking this dilemma into consideration, an ad fraud solution company, Anura Solutions, LLC, was formed to improve campaign performance by accurately exposing bots, malware, and human fraud. Its vision is to solve that issue for clients in real time, with the analytics to give them the proof they need.

Please list the popular solutions/services that make your company standout from the competition.

Anura offers one product, an ad fraud solution. What sets us apart from other solutions is our accuracy, thoroughness and analytics.

Anura’s accuracy doesn’t rely on numerical probability or confidence scores that leaves you guessing what to do and can lead to false positives. Anura gives you a definitive answer. If we mark the visitor as BAD, we are 100% confident, it is not a real visitor. Our clients report that they cannot find false positives. We call this “the better than 5, 9’s accuracy” (99.999%).

Let’s find out how Anura is helping businesses prevent fraudsters from accessing marketing dollars by innovating game-changing technologies, in an interview conducted between CIO Look and Rich Kahn, the CEO and Co-founder of the company.

Anura is so thorough, our clients are reporting that we find 200% - 300% more fraud than any other solution they have tested.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Give us a brief overview of the Anura Solutions, its vision, and its journey since inception.

Analytics, is the proof of fraud. Anura gives the most detailed analytical dashboard in the industry. We don’t hide behind “a black box”, we give a huge amount of data so our clients know exactly where the fraud is coming from.

Me and my wife, Beth Kahn, were digital marketers in the early 2000’s. We were buying traffic and driving it to a series of campaigns. We started noticing the ROI was not where it should be and started combing through log files to uncover a problem with fraud. I, Rich Kahn, had dealt with ad fraud in the late 90’s so had an idea of where to start. To solve the problem in 2005 I decided to sign up for an ad fraud solution. To my surprise, one did not exist. So, as a developer, I wrote my own.

The first version was simple, it took a few weeks to put together and the ROI jumped! As time went on, I continued to develop the solution and it became better and better. Before I realized it, it was 2010 and we had already invested over $5 Million in R&D into the solution, with still so much more to do. As time went on ad fraud solutions became a thing. By 2015, clients started asking about using our solution for their own campaigns. So, in 2015, we performed a year-long study in ad fraud and realized the solution we built outperformed the others in the market.

So, in 2016 the engineering team overhauled the dashboard, did some beta testing and launched Anura’s first standalone version in 2017. Shortly after that, Anura put out a whitepaper reporting the largest fraud find in history…estimated at over $3 Billion a year in fraud in Google’s Play Store. From that point on, Anura began to grow.

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‘‘

would introduce yourself to a few of your competitors and strike up a relationship with them to have a sounding board about the industry. You don’t need to share secret sauce, but it’s good to have that relationship.

Our mission is to increase our clients’ growth by improving marketing results through accurate and effective ad fraud mitigation.

How do you envision on sustaining your company’s competency in a cutthroat and volatile world of business? Where do you see your company in the next five years?

Fraud is not going away, and it is growing exponentially.

It is expected to be more than a $100 billion problem by 2023. Ad fraud is the largest growing form of organized crime, second to narcotics, so in five years it is going to be erupting at an enormous rate if it isn’t mitigated.

With one out of every four marketing dollars being lost to fraud, businesses need to realize that fraud is here and coming directly for them. I say all this to show you how big the problem is, and with a problem that big, there will be fierce competitors.

‘‘

Our goal to keep our competency against our competitors is to focus on the problem…fraud. Keep our eye on the ball and make sure we continue to do it better than anyone in the market. That is not easy, but we have a plan and plan to execute that to the best of our abilities.

What is your opinion on the necessity for businesses to align their offerings with newer technological developments, especially when it comes to Security and Intelligence?

Over the next 5 years Anura plans to continue dominating the market with the best-in-class solution.

We plan on growing our market share and helping more and more clients. Most of our clients have used other solutions before, but are now raving fans of Anura. We are building our solution to become a gold standard in the industry and with enough clients using Anura, plan to start “flattening the curve” when it comes to fraud as a whole.

Businesses need to align themselves with the latest technologies in order to keep up with constant security threats that are continually being developed. While doing this, this will help them protect themselves and their clients as well as helping them grow as well.

At Anura, we solve the cybersecurity issue of advertising fraud. We are able to help our clients grow, by accurately identifying fraud. This in-turn helps to produce better ROI’s for their campaigns, which lead to overall growth.

As an established business leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs aspiring to venture into the Cyber security industry?

Cyber security, ad fraud, or anything that deals with hackers and fraudsters my advice is ABL…Always Be Learning. This industry is evolving every day and new attacks are constantly being developed around the globe. If you are entering this industry, you will need to continually be learning from others as well as your own data. The more you learn, the better you will be in this industry and the better you can serve your clients.

It’s important to work closely with our competitors, or at least the ones that want to share and collaborate. I

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Save

INFORMATION Save

MONEY

I

nnovation and Technology continue to grow throughout the industries. Now, with the pandemic affecting nations worldwide, companies have started to adapt to online changes. Remote working, work from home, online teaching, and virtual meetings are the changes that have come-up with. While work from home has saved employers and employees from huge losses, it welcomes unprecedented risks.

to provide its services and expertise in preventing fraudulent activities to any part of the world.

Skip the Hustle The problem of data and financial crime has been there for a long time. With the technology being transforming the companies, the fraudsters are also transformed in their way to conduct such malicious activities. They come up with new ways to hack the systems and using our valuable information for their own greed. At times, even the governments confidential data is being theft by other countries fraudsters. And, there have been cases of illegal bank hacking and a big amount of money laundering being done as well.

The Problem Since everything is connected with the internet, it becomes easy for fraudsters to conduct fraudulent activities with the data. So, confidentiality and security become crucial while operating things over the internet. There comes the need to provide security and help in protecting the information online.

If only you have a secure structure protecting the system you can be saved from these terrible losses. The fraud detection companies are putting more attention to these money laundering issues providing support and improving the system to prevent your businesses.

This makes people believe in the digital transformation and gives the safety of conducting business online.

The Solution That is why there are companies which helps to tackle this situation with their deep experience in regulating, monitoring, and managing control over such fraudulent activities. They help customers securing these phishing activities, scams, viruses, and hackers. It helps clients and customers to focus on their goals without such hurdles. Having a team of tech experts helps to stay updated with the latest technical know-how securing the data. These fraud detecting companies are capable

Think and Act Wisely Internet is a never-ending process. It will continue to grow and develop around the globe. And, to ensure smooth conducting of the businesses online, companies

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Secured Data

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will have to deal with hackers and fraudsters. It is good to have a secure and safe business without the fear of fraudsters. It becomes the responsibility of the people as well to align their business with the latest security technologies which will help them to protect themselves from any such attacks. Ultimately, it is important to collaborate with the services and guidance of the fraud detection providers.

improving the lives of the customers and the companies by protecting the devices against all types of malware and cyberthreats.

Through this write up we have tried to shed a light on different aspects of the fraud problem. The common conclusions are that with advancement in technologies and extreme developments in digital uses, fraud is increasing. The rise of fraud increased especially on the Cyberspace, and ability to response these threats are not much impressive from the police, organizations, and other individuals.

Concluding Words The future of the world is cutting-edge technologies and to expand our businesses, companies need to protect from all types of scammers. There will not be any pressure to grow globally because of the safety provided by the fraud prevention solutions.

With these rising number of frauds, the future will see different ways of confronting fraud. The role of the cyber fraud protectors will change in many ways and more saviors will step forward to prevent fraud and defend with wide range of measures. To fight with these modern crimes, there is also a need for better data indicators, more knowledge, accuracy, and preventive measures.

Fraud and Fraud Prevention goes hand in hand, there is no way to secure all threats. The fraud detection providers are a boon for customers working on the weakest spots of the system. They are the ones who are

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Managing Financial Crime Risk

T

innovation and open to new ideas in new markets, the company is sociable by nature and likes to establish a close relationship with the clients. And, no better person to lead and inspire the company is Rui Vicente, Chief Executive Officer of Dixtior. Rui is very passionate about his work and fully dedicated to getting something done the best way possible whatever it takes.

he philosophy of “Think local, act global” can transform and evolve any company’s life. It is this adaptability that supports Dixtior’s philosophy of “Think local, act global”. Dixtior is a Portuguese consultancy firm, specialist in both economics and information technologies creating the perfect solution for each client’s needs. The company is primed to take the business and information technology expertise to any part of the world.

Transformation at its Heart Dixtior has the talent to be able to respond to any challenge and make the difference that counts. By

Dixtior was born in 2013 with the main goal to become

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one of the top companies providing financial crime compliance software in the world. Its journey started at the headquarters in Lisbon, but after twelve months it was already working abroad. The organization started developing DCS solution having into consideration all the needs from compliance teams across the world.

DCS has now implemented in banks and fintech's across three continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Prevention, prevention, and prevention. Those are the three most important actions that Dixtior implements to prevent money laundering. It hopes to achieve the goal of being a globally recognized company in the fight against Financial Crime.

Talent to Create the Perfect Solution DCS and DCS Lite are the two solutions provided by Dixtior.

DCS is a full and comprehensive software that uses Artificial Intelligence, Assisted Machine Learning, and Neural Networks to improve the quality & accuracy of the generated alerts. The team’s approach to the financial crime problematics is what makes the difference between Dixtior and the competitors. DCS is an end-to-end solution that allows compliance teams to have a holistic view of the menaces that they face instead of a siloed approach.

DCS LITE is a cloud base SaaS that allows companies not to carry the burden in infrastructure management at the same time that allows compliance teams to have a quick hand on the solution, the implementation of a DCS Lite is made in less than 4 weeks. This includes a full parameterization of the software to the specific needs of each client, from banks to currency exchange companies or cryptocurrency traders, payment services, or any other financial company that needs to deal with Financial Crime Compliance in a full picture or just transaction monitoring or KYC or even just case management or merchant risk evaluation.

The Best of 2 Worlds “The pandemic brought more attention to security due to the changes that happened in the work environment and practices across the world and economic sectors. But to be honest, the problem is not new its only more known and

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Dixtior is prepared to support any company that needs to improve their systems to combat Financial Crime and are willing to give a huge step away in the way they prevent their business from these menaces Rui expresses, "Every organization is part of society and does not exist without society. This means that I can’t understand any company that doesn’t have a true concern with its surroundings and doesn’t have an effective action to promote social responsibility”.

‘‘

everybody is more aware. Post pandemic will bring companies to take decisions that they did not take before because they wore afraid of making investments without knowing what was coming on”, admits Rui.

‘‘

Financial Crime and are willing to give a huge step away in the way they prevent their business from these menaces.

Proactive and Friendly Leader

Shaping the Future

Rui Vicente has extensive experience in Risk Management. He is very proactive and very easy to work with the utmost professionalism. Rui possesses excellent leadership skills and is able to motivate and inspire people around him. He possesses enviable social skills which allow him to find his way in challenging and multicultural environments.

Post pandemic will bring companies to take decisions that they did not take before because they were afraid of making investments without knowing what was coming on. Dixtior is prepared to support any company that needs to improve their systems to combat

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Innova ve Services

Digitisa

Intellectua Sue Irwin Ironside

With more than 28 years of experience in commercial and intellectual property law, Sue assists clients with all aspects of trade mark and branding. Also, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her clients ensuring that they achieve their goals. As a result, Sue is passionate about helping clients achieve their goals and always goes the extra mile to understand their business.

Rachel McDonald

With more than 18 years of experience, Rachel has a proven track record of providing senior level IP advice. Rachel has a wealth of knowledge in trade marks and beyond. Using this, combined with her willingness to gain a full understanding of her client’s strategic goals, she is able to provide senior level IP advice. She has worked with a number of clients across all industries which has strengthened her knowledge and skill base beyond the norm.

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ation in

al Property P

rior to COVID-19 various intellectual property services were well on their way to digitising many services. The increase in innovation facilitated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been on the rise for a number of years.

We feel that the adjustment was fast, for some it was what they had wanted for some time – to have more flexible working arrangements and to be able to work some time from home.

With the juggling of families at home, parents carrying out teaching duties of their children and managing work commitments it was a big challenge, that we have found for the most part that those we know and work with have managed to cope with. We have been lucky in NZ that we come from a small country and we are far away from the rest of the world, that we have a Prime Minister who was prepared to make a quick and fast call to close our borders and manage Covid as tightly as we can. We have had with around 24 hours’ notice mostly, gone back into several short term lock downs but we have had minimal time in lock down compared with the rest of the world. This has not made us complacent and as a country we are vigilant and careful.

Digitalisation is often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution. IP offices around the world have been taking a look at how to streamline services using technology to its maximum potential.

COVID-19 has accelerated this process. Many offices have had to adapt to the changes but have taken this on board and created new and effective ways of tackling some of its mundane tasks.

The digitalisation changes have been across a full range of industries. What may have taken some companies years to adapt to new electronic processes, has been done in record times.

Work has continued via online media. The use of Zoom and team calls for us has become the norm. These are undertaken with our staff, clients, colleagues. We listen to webinars and podcasts. We enjoyed being part of the INTA Virtual conference and had great and effective business meetings, committee meetings, catchups colleagues and some speed meetings with colleagues we had not met before.

Innovation continues to grow in digital businesses.

Technology firms have seen their value skyrocket.

Update on Legal Services Industry post the pandemic We have been amazed at how quickly our firm (and other firms in NZ) and clients were able to adjust to working from home. At the time of going into lockdown we found there were around 2 weeks where everything went very quiet. We wondered whether that would carry on and then we got busier and busier. We realised that was the time it took for those we engaged with to, at record speed, get themselves all set up to work from home.

For us , we had embraced being able to spend some time working from home before the first Covid lockdown. To have to work from home fulltime for us was an easy transition. It has shown us how important it is to work off a good system – we use Equinox and find it fantastic. … It has also shown us that no matter what

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age we are that as a Practitioner you have to invest in ensuring that you have good technical/ computer skills.

We have embraced social media with our marketing and have been posting almost all content via that channel.

Trade Secrets Trade Secrets are a type of Confidential Information.

Trade Secrets are the specific information you want to keep to yourself and is usually what is fundamental to your product or service. It is what gives you your competitive edge, your commercial and economic advantage in the marketplace, i.e. the KFC recipe.

Trade Secrets could be a technique, method or manufacture, a formula, marketing information, designs, patterns, compilations of information.

Trade Secrets are crucial to identify as they have a value and provide a commercial advantage to your business. It is crucial to ensure that there is documentation in place controlling who knows the Trade Secret to maintain its secrecy.

IP Secrets and Know-how We have been asked by several of our clients what is the difference between Confidential Information, Trade Secrets and Know-how. There is a lack of understanding in business around the differences.

In our experience, these terms are used most often in the context of negotiations or in discussions in relation to collaborations, investment decisions, sale of a business, investment sales, collaboration of technology and in Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s) to name a few, it is crucial that those that protect IP as well as those that purchase and licence IP understand the differences.

Secrecy must be maintained. It is essential that processes need to be put in place to ensure that the Trade Secret is kept secret. It is not a registered Intellectual Property right.

Confidential Information, Trade Secrets and Know-how are very much part of the thought process in deciding whether to seek patent protection or not.

Trade Secrets are Confidential Information but not all Confidential information is a Trade Secret. This is not in our experience commonly understood.

Confidential Information Know-how Confidential Information is information you wish to keep away from general public awareness. It is something that does not appear in the public domain and would involve procedures and documents around how it is shared with third parties.

Know-how is how you know to do something. It is the knowledge you personally acquire and develop. This knowledge travels with your employees and can be difficult to restrain the use of. Contractual restraints are usually employed to do this. We often find that businesses do not have appropriate clauses in their Employment agreements that make it clear as to ownership of IP that is developed in the course of one’s employment.

Confidentiality Agreements would be used to manage Confidential Information and they will often be for a limited time frame especially in areas of technology development, where technology moves and changes rapidly.

It is important as a business owner that you understand who holds the knowhow in your business

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IDprop The First and Only Property Management Platform Offering Biometric ID Verication and Multiple Fraud Risk Mitigation Controls

An Interview conducted between CIO LOOK and Sara Statman, the Founder & CEO of the company sheds light on how IDprop allows businesses to automate workflows, meet regulatory requirements, improve the customer experience and generate significant cost savings.

“ IDprop SAVES YOU TIME AND

Give us a brief overview of IDprop, its vision, and journey since inception.

IDprop provides an all-in-one, cloud-based property management solution, covering Leasing, Accounting, Invoicing, Online Payments, Arrears Management, Maintenance, Compliance, Operations, Inspections and Appraisals. The suite also includes a CRM for Lead Management and handles Vacancies, Bookings, Tenant Progression, Background Screening with Biometric Identity Verification, E-Signing, Contracts, as well as separate Dashboards for Property

Managers, Owners, Concierge, and Tenants, with useful alerts such as arrears, compliance notices, emergencies and messaging.

IDprop covers the full spectrum of Property Management: SelfStorage, Residential, Single & MultiFamily, Affordable Housing, Community Associations, Student Housing, as well as Commercial Property.

Systems have multiple security layers and built-in controls for access management, permissions, and fraud risk mitigation. For example, only someone authorized may wire out funds, add a new owner/property or approve Supplier

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MONEY, IS SIMPLE TO USE WITHOUT TRAINING AND REDUCES BUSINESS AND FRAUD-RELATED RISKS.

“

Below are the interview highlights:

| February 2021 |

Fees. In addition to “Ease of Use” a core theme across all modules, is Fraud Risk Mitigation, which is why we were delighted to be invited to contribute to this CIO Look edition.

excessive mark-ups for equipment or spare parts. How might these bids be accepted? A property manager could be bribed or coerced into selecting higher bids and taking a cut of excess profits.

Please list the popular solutions/services that make your company stand out from the competition.

These kinds of risks are present across industries, in particular when large cash-flows are at stake and are often committed by mid-level employees with sufficient knowledge of systems and processes.

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Biometric Identity Screening to protect against identity fraud: This includes facial recognition, a liveness check, and authenticating identity documents

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A special 2-Factor Authentication login app that is almost hack-proof as the PIN is never transmitted or stored. It is entered onto a special keypad so even a keylogger could not detect it and should a device be lost or stolen, the login would fail after a few incorrect attempts

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This provides clients with a secure invoice portal to mitigate phishing fraud (see below)

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Multiple internal and external fraud risk mitigation techniques (see below)

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Automatically short-list and select the cheapest supplier and approve all costs before booking or invoicing

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User-friendly dashboards with alerts, analytics, and automated communication

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Cost-effective online payments and sector-specific accounting (GL, AP, AR & Trial Balance)

At the tenant screening stage, should fake identities pass, all screening would be meaningless, while realtors and landlords would have no way of identifying the real tenant. The property could be used in subletting scams where evictions are much harder. It may be stripped bare or let to illegal immigrants, with each scenario causing legal headaches. The safest way to mitigate these risks is through Biometric Identity Verification using a liveness check, facial recognition and authenticating official documents – only then will employment, credit and criminal checks relate to the real tenant.

Dprop implemented multiple fraud controls in its Id maintenance solution. First only someone senior and authorized can approve: a) Suppliers being added to the portal b) Min to max fixed-rates and daily/evening/weekend fees c) Quotes for fixed-rate jobs and spare parts. Next, when a job is required, the system only displays the 3 lowest cost suppliers covering the repair type and location. Bookings are automated and by requiring tenant feedback, this adds in a further layer of control, to ensure the job took place.

To protect against fake properties being added, or to approve an owner, building or property, being added, multiple checks are in place and only someone authorized may add these to the system. To mitigate wire fraud in general, it is essential that only certain staff with authorization have access to approve and pay invoices. Our systems include such controls. But regardless of sector, very similar controls should be in place and where possible these should be automated.

As the Founder & CEO, where in your opinion are organizations most susceptible to internal and external fraud risk, and what solutions have you implemented?

In Property Management internal fraud may occur if an employee, without restricted access, adds fake properties, with fake tenants, sets up fake accounts or shell companies as owner, and uses this to wire out funds.

Phishing Fraud is an increasing problem. Let me share a true story. A respected builder visited a client and gave a verbal quote, which was accepted. However, the

Another key area relates to third-party suppliers charging outsized hourly or fixed fees, or applying

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builder’s system had been hacked. The hacker knew the client’s name, address, email, and price – emailed the client a fake invoice with the builder’s name and logo but the hacker’s bank details – the client paid and was left out of pocket.

also moving from in-person to online, all of which require new tools and security systems.

However, this must be placed in perspective. Ten or twenty years ago, HR Departments would typically hold a copy of staff passports, in their local systems. If those systems did not encrypt data and were hacked, that data would probably have been stolen. This is no different from today, regardless of using in-house vs. cloud-based solutions.

Email is not a secure form of communication and should not be used to send out invoices. IDprop’s secure login means all invoices inside the portal originate from the real vendor. We will soon be launching IDpay as a secure portal for all sectors to send and receive invoices and arrange secure payments.

Whether developed in-house or purchased from a third-party, businesses should ensure they consider how fraudsters may attack their business and incorporate suitable measures to protect their data and business as a whole.

The current pandemic certainly pushed many businesses to increase their online foothold, which means an even greater reliance on cloud solutions, online operations, and payments. Client identification is

https://prop.idcheck.tech

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Practical tips for

IP Enforcement in Hong Kong and China

Overview It is estimated that legitimate businesses suffer annual losses of over US$250-750 billion in lost sales as a result of counterfeit and pirated goods from China and Hong Kong alone. Intellectual property enforcement is therefore critical to fostering innovation and protecting businesses from infringers and counterfeit activities.

About the Author: Apart from founding Ella Cheong & Alan Chiu,

As China and Hong Kong are separate jurisdictions with different sets of legal systems, the IP frameworks and the corresponding IP enforcement practices between the two jurisdictions differ. It is prudent for business owners to understand their positions and artilleries for enforcing their IP rights in these two jurisdictions.

This article provides an overview on the various IP enforcement options and practical tips for effective enforcement in Hong Kong and China.

Solicitors & Notaries (formerly known as Ella Cheong Law Office), Ella Cheong also founded Ella Cheong (Hong Kong & Beijing) and additionally, at the invitation of the Singapore government, the Singapore firm of Ella Cheong LLC and a supporting office of Ella Cheong IP Services Sdn Bhd in Malaysia. She regularly gives talks on all aspects of IP. She has also authored

Enforcement of IP rights in Hong Kong

many articles on IP issues. Ella was inducted into the

Issuing Cease and Desist letter

Global Hall of Fame (IAM) in 2018. The latest edition of

In essence, a Cease and Desist letter is a warning letter to warn the infringers to stop its infringing activities and / or take remedial action by a certain deadline,

World Trademark Review 2019 identified her as an IP Legend and a luminaire.

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Law Insights

Ella Cheong Senior Partner at ELLALAN

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failing which the IP right owners may take legal action against the infringers.

required), and that the Customs has verified the competence of the Qualified Examiner as a credible expert witness in future criminal prosecution court cases, the Customs will proceed to raid and administratively enforce against the infringers.

This approach is particularly useful for trademark infringement in Hong Kong, given that both registered and unregistered trademarks are protected under the effect of the Trade Marks Ordinance and the common law position of passing off (misleading business reputation/goodwill) respectively under Hong Kong law.

Commencing civil litigation in Hong Kong court IP right owners may commence civil litigation proceedings against infringers. The courts in Hong Kong are sophisticated and well equipped to handle IP cases since there is an Intellectual Property Specialist List created in Hong Kong courts where all trials in relation to IP will be listed before judges specialized in the area.

This is an efficient and low-cost means of enforcement since the IP right owners may protect their right in a timely manner without the burden of complex and expensive court proceedings.

In addition, the issuance of a Cease and Desist letter is usually a pre-requisite for litigation, given that both parties must attempt to resolve their dispute amicably before commencing litigation, or else there might be cost consequences if the matter subsequently proceeds to court proceedings.

The robust courts of Hong Kong are keen to grant injunctions to put a stop to infringement activities in a timely fashion. In addition, the damages awarded to the winning party is relatively high compared to other jurisdictions.

However, a typical court action in Hong Kong can take up to 3-5 years, and the legal costs incurred could be high. That said, the winning party would usually be awarded damages and portion of the legal costs. It is also not uncommon for both parties to reach settlement once an injunction is granted.

One must note that in relation to patent or registered design infringement in Hong Kong, special caution must be given when issuing a Cease and Desist letter since a groundless threat to bring proceeding for these types of infringement is prohibited by law. Therefore, IP right owners should beware of inadvertently making groundless threats or risk having to pay compensation, and only issue Cease and Desist letter when there is clear evidence showing that the infringement has occurred.

One should note that before commencing civil litigation in Hong Kong, both parties will be requested by the court to conduct a round of mediation, failing which there will be cost consequences.

Hong Kong Customs Recordal

Enforcement of IP rights in China

The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing the criminal aspects of infringement of IP rights and has extensive power of search and seizure against infringers. It assists IP right owners to enforce their rights through border enforcement and market investigation measures. It can seize counterfeit goods from anywhere in Hong Kong, not only in the harbour or border areas.

Unlike Hong Kong, unregistered IP rights are protected only by law on unfair competition and/or well-known trademarks, which are both very hard to prove under Chinese law. Hence, IP rights must be registered in China as a pre-requisite for any enforcement options in China. We highly recommend that any party doing business in China (whether by way of manufacture, retail, or trade in any other way), register all its IP Rights (including patents, copyrights and trademarks) as soon as possible to prevent other parties from registering the identical or similar IP Rights).

In order to enforce IP rights against infringers through Hong Kong Customs, the IP owners must (1) provide an affidavit on copyright ownership (for copyright infringement) or a copy of the trademark registration certificate (for trademark infringement), (2) provide a sample of each of the genuine and infringing products, and (3) appoint a Qualified Examiner who can distinguish between counterfeits and genuine products.

Once a Customs Recordal is complete (no official fee is

China Customs Recordal China Customs is responsible for prohibiting the export and import of goods from and to China that infringe IP rights, and IP rights can be recorded with them. Once an IP right is recorded, if the Customs find suspected

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website. Therefore, most internet providers in China have their own set of policies in place for such kind of take down notices.

infringing goods on record during their routine check, Customs will suspend the goods and notify the relevant IP right holder of the suspected infringement. If the IP right holder confirms the infringement, applies for detainment of the goods and pays the requisite deposit as a guarantee, Customs will formally detain the goods pending further investigation. Once it is proven that the detained goods are indeed counterfeits, Customs may confiscate the infringing products and impose penalties on the consignor or consignee.

Generally, they require the provision of (1) evidence showing the complainant is the IP right holder, (2) the links to the infringing activities, and (3) business license of the IP right holder.

Online take down notice is a very cheap and efficient way to tackle online infringements in China as the procedures are relatively straight-forward.

Alternatively, if IP right owners discovers that the goods to be imported or exported are counterfeits, they may also apply to the Customs for the detainment of the goods. To do so, IP right owners should provide evidence showing the goods are indeed counterfeits and deposit a guarantee equivalent to the value of the detained goods.

Commencing civil litigation in Chinese courts There are IP courts in China in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively that are specialized in handling IP cases. The usual remedies sought are wide-ranging and can include injunctions, destruction of infringing goods, damages and order for delivery up. In addition, a typical IP action would take place in the span of 1 to 1.5 years in general, from the issuance of proceedings to the handing down of judgment, which is relatively quick as compared to its Hong Kong counterpart.

China Customs Recordal is very timely and cost effective with the official fee for filing Custom Recordal to be RMB 800 (approximately US$100). Unlike Hong Kong Customs, there is no requirement for an appointment of Qualified Examiner in China, and all the application and submission of evidence can be done entirely through the web. Therefore, China Customs Recordal is one of the most effective IP enforcement methods in China.

To prove IP infringement in court proceedings in China, all the evidence in support must be notarized by a notary public. In practice, this means the process of obtaining the evidence, including the test purchase of the infringing items, must be witnessed by a notary public. This will add difficulties to providing sufficient notarized evidence to satisfy the burden of proof in Chinese court proceedings.

Administrative actions The key Chinese administrative bodies are the Intellectual Property Offices (IPOs) for patent cases, the Administrations for Industry and Commerce (AICs) for trademark cases, and the Copyright Office for copyright cases.

Moreover, many of the local court judges and juries in China are often not sophisticated in IP law, and a fair result may only be obtained once the cases are appealed to a higher or even top level courts (most notably the Michael Jordan case, where the US basketball player Michael Jordan successfully obtained favorable results against a long-lasting trade mark squatter in China only when the case had been appealed to the Supreme Court of China).

These administrative bodies are empowered with a wide range of enforcement powers against infringers, such as raiding infringers’ premises, seizing and destroying infringing goods, imposing injunctions and issuing fines against the infringers.

Administrative actions are relatively speedy and costeffective, but IP right owners will need to instruct legal representatives to file the application with supporting evidence of ownership of the IP right, as well as evidence of the infringement.

Conclusion In conclusion, business owners who are carrying business in Hong Kong and in China must ensure to register all their IP rights in both of these jurisdictions since the legal system are independent from each other.

In Hong Kong, this would be for trade marks, patents and registered designs (no copyright registration is available). In China, this would be for patents, trademarks, and specifically including copyright.

Online take down notices Under Chinese law, internet providers are liable for IP infringement if they are notified of the infringement activities and fail to take down the links to the relevant

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Paul Murdock,

Founder & Managing Director, MCG Consulting LLC

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MCG Consulting Increasing Operational Efficiencies and Driving Long-term Value

A

s we all have heard that ‘prevention is always better than cure’ so in the world of digitalization it becomes essential to prevent the frauds before they happen. As they say ‘failure is costly’ so are the frauds. Therefore, taking due care in detecting frauds earlier and then preventing them before they occur is very important as it is costly to being victim of frauds. It’s always better to be cautious than to be complacent. Any business demands authoritative sources to assemble regulatory data requirements most efficiently and productively.

Delivering Innovative and Seamless Solutions MCG’s team of Chief Compliances Officers have deep expertise and extensive global experience spanning regulatory reporting, regulatory data management and distribution, transaction monitoring and analytics, compliance management and identity control. These officers help navigate the complexities of the evolving financial landscape and deliver innovative, seamless solutions that increase efficiencies achieving exemplary results.

Transforming Challenges into Opportunities Paul believes the pandemic has accelerated the need for companies similar to MCG in the “work from home” environment. This unprecedented time has created unprecedented opportunities; however, it is not without risks. All devices connected to the internet must be even more adequately secured with the appropriate endpoint solutions because not only is it essential to secure office devices, it is also essential to secure personal devices as well. Uncertain or unprecedented time calls for win-win, decisive, constructive, innovative, and unprecedented solutions.

Innovative leaders like to transform challenges into opportunities.

MCG Consulting is one of the few companies that provides both regulatory compliance services and assistance in software development. At MCG Consulting, its team believes that all securities markets are holistically connected in today’s world. The company has deep expertise and extensive global experience. Its industry knowledge spans regulatory reporting, regulatory data management and distribution, transaction monitoring and analytics, compliance management, and identity control. Paul Murdock is the Founder and Managing Director of MCG Consulting. Paul has amassed over 25 years of experience specializing in finance and compliance within the financial services industry.

Utilizing Latest Technologies At MCG, it is its team’s belief that the future of digital technology is only in its infancy. Its team expects exponential growth in digital technology across all platforms and everyday life in a post Covid-19 world.

Paul adds that, “The pandemic has significantly impacted the adoption rate of technology. A prime example of the rate of technology change and impact is Zoom video conferencing, it has been a game changer.”

Cost-effective Technology Solutions MCG Solutions™ are globally localized, data-driven intelligent solutions to help companies navigate the complexities of the FinReg Industry. MCG Consulting partners with various vendors to offer its clients costeffective technology solutions while at the same time focusing on the business use cases of those solutions.

Personalized and Forward-thinking Compliance MCG Consulting identifies and mitigates compliance, regulatory, and financial risks on the compliance side and helps clients devise personalized and forwardthinking compliance plans to deliver long-term value.

While on the technology side, MCG Consulting's technology experts help clients upgrade to nextgeneration software systems cost-effectively and stay updated with the latest innovations.

Paul says that with the accelerated rate of technology change, it becomes even more evident for businesses to

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align their service offerings with new technology. Paul believes that specifically to Security and Intelligence it is most essential to keep abreast of the latest technology in the marketplace. MCG Consulting is constantly reviewing new technology offerings to ensure its clients have “best in class” technology to solve their problems. MCG works with leading providers in its industry to ensure its clients have the latest solutions to solve their business problems.

environment. MCG’s clients appreciate what it brings to the table.

Competitive and Professional Team "From the first interaction, it was obvious that MCG was the firm that could deliver. The detailed ancillary discussion reaffirmed that this team is technically head and shoulders above the competition." — Chief Compliance Officer, Refinitiv (a Blackstone private equity group/Thomson Reuters company).

Giving Back to Society MCG Consulting acts with intention and cultivates an environment of progressiveness. Prioritizing the greater good and building local communities around the company is one of its core values. MCG strongly advocates giving back through charitable works. MCG sponsors educational and scholarship opportunities for African American, and Latino males within the Metro NY area.

"MCG has out-of-the-box thinking, extensive industry knowledge, and employs a high level of professionalism." — Managing Partner, Interactive Learning Group.

“

MCG’s award-winning compliance, regulatory, and ntech solutions increase operational efciencies and drive long-term value to the clients.

Delivering Best Experience to Clients Paul advises aspiring entrepreneurs in the security industry to stay abreast of the latest technology impacting cyber security industry and put the business interest of the clients ahead of one’s own. Paul believes that this strategy may take time to pay off but eventually it will. The core of the MCG Consulting is that it continues to ensure that its clients have the best experience it can while working with company’s highly competent professionals. Most importantly, MCG is a business partner in helping clients to solve their most complex business problems by providing uniquely customizable professional service advice. MCG expects the company to continue to grow in this competitive

“

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