The majority of attacks on computer systems around the world today are motivated by financial gain – with up to 90% being orchestrated by organised criminals, according to a report from security vendor Symantec. This statistic and others were this week revealed as Irish IT security specialists Threatscape announced a new partnership with Symantec at a customer briefing in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday.

Lorcan Kavanagh, Symantec’s country sales manager for Ireland, and Dermot Williams, MD, Threatscape

The results come as no surprise to Threatscape Managing Director Dermot Williams who predicted a rise in these kind of breaches almost five years ago.

Speaking of the trends unveiled by the most recent Symantec Intelligence quarterly Williams said: “Notoriety and bragging rights used to be behind the majority of activity. Now it’s cold hard cash – pure and simple.”

Williams was speaking to an audience of IT professionals responsible for the information security of many of Ireland’s largest commercial and public sector organisations. Threatscape assists clients in overseeing the security of hundreds of thousands of computer systems around Ireland. A global insight into developing threats is now available to them through the Global Intelligence Network operated by their new partner, Symantec.

“Analysing over 8 billion emails a day and monitoring activity at 240,000 different points and over 200 countries across the internet, Symantec have an unrivalled and real-time insight into developing IT security threats,” continued Williams. “This is why we have chosen to partner with them to help Irish organisations secure their business critical IT systems.”

Under the new partnership, Threatscape will be a strategic Symantec partner in Ireland for corporate IT security. Threatscape IT security consultants will deploy and support Symantec technology and solutions to provide enterprise-scale clients with a unique and compelling level of protection against digital threats.

Lorcan Kavanagh, Symantec’s Country Sales Manager for Ireland, commented: “The growth in well organised and targeted computer attacks for financial reward is a phenomenon that can affect companies regardless of size, or of location. The very nature of how individuals and organisations make use of IT continues to evolve and it is important that they continually assess their systems to make sure they are well secured.”

Other statistics revealed by from the Symantec Intelligence Quarterly:

- 80% of security breaches are targeted at stealing confidential data

- Credit Card details are the most commonly advertised item on black market forums

- Attack toolkits and Bank Accounts follow these as the most popular black market items for sale. “Attack toolkits” debut at number 2 and allow novice attackers to launch sophisticated attacks.

- Prices for credit card information ranged from $0.33 to $100

- The number 1 vector by which criminals and malware gets into a company continues to be email.

- 90% of the world’s email traffic is spam

- Spam increased by 192% from 2007 to 2008.

- 285 million records were stolen in 2008, compared to 230 million between 2004 and 2007

- The United States was responsible for 30 percent of malicious activity; China ranked second globally with 6 percent of the total

- Top Web based attack IE and PDF readers

Williams added: “The ingenuity and deviousness of these guys can be astonishing – ranging from the myriad of bogus ‘donation websites’ that cropped up within hours of the Haitian earthquake to the way gangs trade details of new ways to compromise computer systems almost as a form of currency in the cyber underworld. Then there’s the recent grown in fake antivirus programs and even unsolicited phone calls from phony IT support lines offering to fix problems remotely – for a fee.”

One of the fastest growing areas of information security is DLP or ‘Data Loss Prevention’ – providing technologies that prevent valuable and confidential corporate data falling into the wrong hands, whether it is through the activities of malicious insiders or by accidental but potentially catastrophic incidents such as lost laptops or emails sent with unintended attachments – or to incorrect recipients. Understanding where confidential data is located, how it is being used, and what steps must be taken to prevent its potential loss is vital.

Kavanagh also added: “Symantec has a range of solutions second to none when it comes to helping organisations secure and manage their information-driven world. We are delighted to have a partner of the calibre of Threatscape to bring these solutions to the Irish market with us.”

How many PR approaches would you get in a normal week?  What works for getting your attention?

I get a steady stream of emails and follow-up voicemails, very few of which are useful. It’s always a welcome relief to get a phone call, a well researched email, or a personally tailored message or letter from a person who can demonstrate expertise in the area they are working in, and who knows their media well enough to pitch me something they know I want.

How far in advance do you work on each issue?

Deadlines vary for different sections. Listings are prepared more than a week in advance; news goes on the day before publication. In theory, we get a good part of an issue done early so that it’s not a panic to change something at the last minute where necessary. But in practice journalists are a shambolic lot, and most of us leave everything till the last minute. It’s the only way to be sure we’re up to date.

Do PR folk ever have an influence on what gets cover stories for features? Or is it entirely an autonomous editorial decision?

It’s always an editorial decision. If we were influenced by PR, I think readers would notice, then we’d lose credibility, and then nobody would want to read our paper, and then PR people wouldn’t want to pitch stories to us, and the world would be a much sadder place.

Have music or film PR companies ever expressed issue with copy after it’s been published? How do you react to this?

Rarely. So rarely in fact, that I welcome it when it comes. Again, I respect public relations people who have intimate knowledge of the media they’re talking to, and a well made (and valid) complaint is a good indication of that. But don’t all start complaining now …

Is there anything journos have complained about re PR people, particularly in junkets?

Journalists love PR people and never ever complain about them. Ever. Honestly.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Watching people reading the paper on the train or bus home on Fridays.

If you weren’t editor of the Ticket what would you like to be?

Right now, a member of the Na’vi tribe from Avatar.

Who has been the best celebrity to interview?  Why? And who’s been the worst?

Sadly, I don’t interview celebrities, just ask other people to do so and live vicariously through them.

News releases are our lifeblood – they inform us of events, markers, speakers, positions and inform the news of the day. The release is not dead but its role is changing – it is a signpost for the information we need to gather and conversations we must engage in with our contributors.

Releases are the start of a news story – before they might have been the middle and end as well. They kick off conversations and relationships, broaden a panel of guests. When programme teams remain tight to deadlines and need to digest information the release is their first port of call – from a mediated news perspective they probably won’t die for a while.

Of course news is changing and for other mediums like blogging the release is increasingly a point of departure.

A boilerplate is a brief paragraph stamped at the end of every press release.  It’s a corporate backgrounder expressed in fewer words.  When we say fewer we mean 50- 100 words, if at all possible- the shorter the better.  Facts and nothing else- no marketing puffery, jargon, corporate speak- just who you are, what you do/ make, the services you provide, how long you’re in business, website address, and perhaps your company’s USP.  This is enough to give the media a good snapshot of your company.  So, if your press release boilerplate breaks any of these rules trim and bring it back to basics.

If you hear something on radio that concerns your company or organisation, what’s the best way to approach the show for inclusion?

It depends on how that piece has made you feel, I suppose. The worst way is to call immediately after and shout down the line. I suppose a phone call is best – emails can be patchy especially if you are sending it during pressure points in our day. It is easy to miss. If it is a friendly call to note that you might be relevant to such a discussion then you might not get on straight away but you might get on next time. Treat the call as a pre-interview and pitch yourself well for inclusion.

If sending in a news release is there a format you prefer?

Try to keep attachments to a minimum – most releases are read for the headline and first line with attachments opened less regularly. As long as they are readable they should do ok – be succinct and to the point though.

Would your preference be for a phone interview or a studio interview and why?

For radio, studio is everything, the connection that gets made between guest and presenter is the first step to a really successful item. The guest is more able to engage in a conversation than over the phone and it sounds better. Most of our guests who make the effort to come in once, come in all the time – it is an enormous difference to doing a phone interview.

From our perspective phone interviews have to be done from time to time – but they don’t sound as good so might get less time.

What are Matt Cooper’s favourite/ least favourite topics to talk about?

Matt treats stories on their merits. Our listeners have diverse interests and we try to reflect that by doing unusual and new stuff. Matt is happy to go with his own feelings on certain stories but if a number of the team feel something is worth doing it makes the cut – we operate very much as a team in that regard trying to get as broad a base of stories as possible.

Anyone in the organisation who’s role is to communicate with the organisation’s audience should be involved in social networking.   The problem is that the communication procedures they may already be trained in may not always apply online.  Social networking is an interaction and not a broadcast and proper training and policy are needed to ensure successful online communications.

A recent article in the Irish Independent [Link: http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/13213/new-media/back-to-basics-rethinking-the-business-of-online-marketing/ ] further highlights some of the misunderstandings that old business thinking has with engaging online.

“He (Loren Feldman, 1938 Media) points out how these new web 2.0 services and social-media tools might be the hot topic today, but that the people talking about them are technology experts and not business experts with a payroll to meet.

‘It’s hype created by guys reading the same dopey websites. Online marketing is no different to the yellow pages. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to sell goods.’”

Online marketing may be as static and one-way as the Golden Pages but social networking is not.  The Golden Pages never talks back to you, nor does it move through the internet depositing public criticisms on your business when you do wrong nor does it praise you in the same manner when you succeed.

The tools that are now afforded businesses and the public alike are not exclusive or costly, nor are they hard to use technically.  However if you fail to see them as a two-way conversation you run the risk of wasting time on superfluous communication or, worse, being left behind as competitors give customers the time and platform to converse directly with them.

Successful social networking requires people to interact with the public rather than faceless brands .
While personality aids interaction it is also prudent that this is coordinated, planned and monitored.  An organisation’s PR agency or department is best placed to advise in how communications are managed.  PR practitioners are equipped with the communication skills to best deal with the public and to ensure that an organisation’s message is kept intact.

They have an independent view of an organisations place in the world and are equipped with the communications skills to cover your .

PR strategy and training is essential to ensure that no matter who in the business is operating in this highly-visible public space that the business values, standards and messages are all held intact through the interactions.  In fact PR has been doing this since it’s inception and as media becomes more interactive it only becomes more essential that PR is involved.

John is the editor of Ireland’s leading technology news website siliconrepublic.com as well as the weekly e-Thursday pages in the business section of the country’s biggest selling daily, the Irish Independent and the Digital Ireland monthly supplement. John also features occasionally on Dublin’s Newstalk 106 FM, where he discusses technology issues. His broadcasting experience also extends to discussing technology-related issues on the BBC World Service, RTE Drive Time and Today FM’s Sunday Business Show. In 2005 he was named Technology Journalist of the Year at the Irish Internet Association’s Net Visionary Awards.

Do you prefer to be pitched to by email or phone?

Start with an email and follow up by phone. Because there are fewer journalists around these days, journalists have less resources and yet there are infinitely more stories to be written. Time is a critical issue and therefore I and other editors need to make snap decisions.

Don’t rely on email all the time, conversations clinch deals. And the old adage, real selling only begins with ‘no’. Often the real potential of a story or pitch is unmasked half way through a conversation – the penny drops – and even the person making the pitch can be made aware of an angle or idea they hadn’t even thought of.

The other problem, few PR professionals even bother to pick up the phone anymore except to ask: “Did you get the press release?” An instant turn off.

The best route is a well presented email, with background on the person or company. Follow this up with a call and be convincing.

In most newsrooms journalists have to pitch stories to editors – often nabbing it in the first 12 words. If the journalist isn’t even convinced, it will never fly. And in today’s environment with fewer journalists and stressed out editors pressed for time, you need to drive home why the story merits coverage.

Another thing that is really missing these days is not only people pitching editors, but ringing up to shoot the breeze, share knowledge and actually having a working relationship with a journalist. We won’t hesitate to put the phone down on the ‘did you get the press release’ brigade, but if you’re a good contact who shares knowledge and insights, you’ll be given generous time.

How do you prefer this email to be presented?

Facts and figures first, then the pitch. Be clear, don’t oversell, keep it real. Really research the story angle and basically interview the client yourself first to ensure that all the bases are covered. There might be an excellent anecdote in there, there may be links to great technology companies like Apple or Intel, also make sure there’s no skeletons in the closet. Does your client have a media history – good or bad – you should know it. Also, make sure you might have some clippings or links you can attach to the pitch that may back up your argument and why the subject / person is worth covering. You need to build up the journalist’s enthusiasm for the story, they’ll pitch it better or the editor – who is always scrambling for ideas – might decide to make it a cover story. It’s all down to the premise … and the promise.

What are your pet peeves when it comes to being pitched to?

There are so many. I’ll just list some points:

• When someone pitches a story to you that’s already been pitched elsewhere – this really gets on editors’ nerves. You want your product to be special, your product is better than anybody else’s – how dare anyone come on the phone to you pitching a story that’s either been rejected elsewhere, has already been covered or is being worked on elsewhere. Exclusivity is KING. Don’t waste people’s time

• This is very closely related to the first point – don’t come to an editor about a topic that’s already been covered in a newspaper, even if you’ve come up with an alternative angle. You are trying to keep momentum, but we can always sense desperation. Don’t waste our time. Make it exclusive or bugger off.

• If it is a subject that basically everyone is going to cover – like financial results, a jobs announcement, the latest gadget – we’re realistic enough to know everybody deserves the same access – but don’t be overly generous in terms of interviews and executive time unless you’re prepared to do it for all. Simply put, treat everybody the same.

• Related to previous point. Don’t pitch some lowly executive as an ‘exclusive’ interview if you’ve given the CEO or a VIP to a rival product. You are entitled to choose your avenue, but as I said, every editor views their product as their priority, second best is not an option. If you’re going to go exclusive, be exclusive.

Silicon Republic Editor John Kennedy

Online Engagement For Business

By Bernice Burnside

Positioning your business online takes far more than having a high search engine ranking.  By participating in online social networks, businesses can benefit from the power of public engagement as never before.

The pace of growth of social networking is staggering.   As of today there are over 700,000 people using Facebook in Ireland, Twitter’s membership is growing by over 1,382% per year and Ireland’s popular discussion forum Boards.ie now has over 2 million monthly visits. To survive and thrive in today’s highly competitive business world, companies need to be visible where their customers are communicating.   As media evolve and internet usage continues to soar it is now very clear where that place is.

From improving customer relationships to simply generating awareness of your products and services, social networking offers a wealth of opportunities for businesses.  While most recognise the need to become involved, many still don’t know where to start and how to engage.

A company wishing to participate in this brave new world must be considered in its approach. A social networking plan should be developed based on its business strategy and objectives.  Rather than jumping in feet first an organisation should establish what it wishes to achieve through online interaction, the most appropriate networks to do this and how success will be measured.

Initiating a presence on some of the more popular social networking websites can be as simple as registering, but how you communicate with an online community is not so straightforward.  Like visiting a foreign country for the first time, the tentative social networker needs to learn the cultural norms of a particular social networking service.  They should consider how the users interact with each other, the language they use, the topics they discuss and what values they hold.  The best way to start is to become a member so that one can quickly develop an understanding of what it is an audience might want from a business presence and, crucially, what they would find objectionable.

Some businesses treat their Twitter or Facebook presence as another advertising medium resulting in their profile and updates being ignored, like an intrusive and pushy gate-crasher.  Using social networking in this way can not only do irreparable damage to a brand but amounts to a wasted opportunity to foster meaningful relationships with key stakeholders including customers, employees, partners, suppliers and shareholders.

To earn credibility in the online space a business has to offer something valuable to encourage the community to listen.  This can take the form of offering customers assistance, providing exclusive, advance information on a product not yet launched or expert knowledge of a particular issue.  Listening and responding to questions and feedback further encourages engagement and a relationship with that company.

Many fear they are potentially risking their reputation from operating in this open manner.  People may recount negative experiences with the company and even talk up competitor offerings.  One way or another, any business operating in public can be subjected to criticism and it has not always been possible to directly engage with negative word-of-mouth.  However, by establishing a presence in a stakeholder’s own online community, an organisation can join the conversation about itself.  In this way it can monitor and respond to criticisms and queries publicly – comments that would previously have gone unheard and unanswered. If handled appropriately, unfavourable feedback can be quickly converted into a positive experience.  These online interactions will be visible on search engines for years to come, as will your customers positive reports of your efforts.

Bernice Burnside is director and owner of Bvisible Communications www.bvisible.ie

Top Tips for Online Engagement

• Have a plan setting timed goals and reviewing progress regularly
• Research where your customers are spending their time online.  Specific social networks only suit specific target audiences and goals
• Become an online citizen by joining with the communities you wish to engage with
• Watch and learn before you engage
• Offer something of value
• Be open and truthful.  All lies die on the internet as facts can be referenced in seconds while reputations can be destroyed as quickly
• Be patient.  Much like the “real” world, building up credibility takes time
• Ignorance is not bliss. Neglecting these online communities is a missed opportunity and a potential risk to your reputation.

Bvisible in Irish Independent, Thursday, 25th June 2009

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