Q320 milestones: July to September 2020

By Q320, businesses had to decide if they would go ahead with plans that had already been delayed by the pandemic, and how those plans would be finetuned for the circumstances in different countries.

July 2020

- The new AMD Ryzen 4000 Series Desktop Processors with Radeon Graphics and the AMD Athlon 3000 Series Desktop Processors with Radeon Graphics feature the most advanced processor core technology¹ on the market combined with the best graphics performance available in a desktop processor², AMD said. AMD also announces the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO Processors for professional workstations, and the first 64-core PRO workstation, the Lenovo ThinkStation P620.

- Apple commits to zero carbon for its supply chain and products by 2030.

- The big four banks in Australia are legally required to make consumer usage data available to consumers on credit and debit card, deposit and transaction accounts under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) act.

"A notable milestone is the Australian government’s new mandate for open consumer data APIs in key industries which came into force this year. The country’s four largest banks rolled out the Consumer Data Right – which allows consumers to receive a secure copy of their data to share with other service providers – from July 2020 with a limited dataset, which will be followed by the energy and telecommunications sectors in due course. This change is significant as it allows customers to select payment products from other banks much more easily, in turn increasing competition and innovation."

- David Brown, Head of Payments, APAC, Finastra.

- The Bridge Alliance, a mobile alliance covering 34 countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, announced a collaboration with China Unicom and Singtel to enable enterprise customers of both companies to perform embedded SIM (eSIM) changes over-the-air (OTA) more easily. Customers will no longer need to manually configure their devices’ SIM cards to change networks in either China or Singapore.

- Google Cloud introduces Confidential Computing, which encrypts data while it is being processed.

August 2020

- Apple's 27" iMac is updated.

- MEF announces support for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) services.

- Singtel and NETS accelerate the development and delivery of NETS digital cross-border payment services, leveraging Singtel’s ConnectPlus Managed Network and Amazon Web Services’ cloud computing platform. Singaporeans will be able to make purchases at more retail outlets in the region using NETS, while visitors to Singapore will be able to pay NETS’ merchants in Singapore using overseas e-wallets and services.

September 2020

Source: Alizila. Alibaba Cloud launches a palm-sized cloud-based personal computer.

- Alibaba Group’s cloud computing arm unveils a palm-sized personal cloud computer with better cloud-computing performance than many PCs at its annual technology conference, Apsara. Alibaba Cloud also rolled out digital technologies that support the organisation and broadcasting of major sporting events, especially in a post-coronavirus environment at the event, while Alibaba's DAMO Academy announced the large-scale rollout of its fleet of autonomous robots for last-mile deliveries.

- Apple's iOS 14 reimagines the iPhone experience. The 8th-generation iPad is also announced, together with the iPad Air. The company also brings its online store to India, and partners with the Singapore governent on the LumiHealth healthy activity and behaviours program for the Apple Watch.

- The International Maritime Organization announces its website has been down since 30 September because of a sophisticated cyberattack that required key systems to be shut down to prevent further damage. Shipping company CMA CGM Group also announces it is dealing with a cyberattack in late September. It returns to full operations on 11 October.

- Google rolls out a new business application platform, covering API management, no-code application development, and data insights capabilities.

- Johnson Controls sets up the Openblue Innovation Center at the National University of Singapore to create a future-ready built environment for the region.

- Nutanix introduces Karbon Platform Services, a Kubernetes-based multicloud platform-as-a-Sservice (PaaS) with automated system-managed security, to accelerate the development and deployment of microservices-based apps across any cloud.

- NVIDIA launches the GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs for gaming.

- OpenAI licenses GPT-3 technology to Microsoft.

- Singtel launched its 5G non-standalone (NSA) network and introduced a three-month trial for its consumer and enterprise customers. The network delivers 5G speeds of more than 1 Gbps by harnessing 3.5 GHz frequency from Singtel’s newly-expanded spectrum holdings as well as existing 2,100 MHz spectrum while employing advanced technologies such as dual connectivity.

Security issues up to Q320

According to Check Point, organisations worldwide experienced a "massive spike in ransomware attacks". In Q320, there was a 50% increase in the daily average of ransomware attacks, compared to the first half of the year, the security company said.

"While some reported attacks were carried out by known ransomware strands such as REvil and Ryuk, several large corporations experienced full blown attacks using a previously unknown variant, Pay2Key. Pay2Key spreads rapidly across victims’ networks, leaving significant parts of the network encrypted with a ransom note that threatens to leak stolen corporate data unless the ransom is paid."

- Check Point

Malwarebytes also commented on the uptick in malware over the same period. "Throughout 2020, there has been an uptick in stalkerware³-type app detections for Android since shelter-in-place (lockdown) orders were implemented in March 2020.

"From January 1 to October 31, 2020, Malwarebytes recorded a 584% increase in monitor app detections, and a 1,044% increase in spyware detections. Overall, this represents more than 43,000 monitor app detections in the first 10 months of 2020. In an effort to battle stalkerware, the Coalition Against Stalkerware, which was co-founded by Malwarebytes and established a year ago, aims at improving detection and mitigation of stalkerware, as well as educating individuals and victims on the technical aspects of the threat."

- Malwarebytes Labs.

*Entries are listed in alphabetical order within the month. These milestones are not meant to be exhaustive and are TechTrade Asia's curated interpretation of the year's technology highlights.

1 'Advanced' is defined as 7 nm process technology and AMD Zen 2 core as of April 7, 2020.

2 Based on AMD Labs testing in May 2020 using the 3D Mark TimeSpy benchmark to measure the graphics performance of the Ryzen 7 4700G, Ryzen 5 4600G, and Ryzen 3 4300G desktop processors vs the Core i7-9700, Core i5-9400, and Core i3-9100 Intel desktop processors. Performance may vary.

3 According to Malwarebytes Labs: Stalkerware programs enable an abuser to intrude into a person’s private life and can be used as a tool for abuse in cases of domestic violence and stalking. By installing these applications on a person’s device, abusers can get access to their victim’s messages, photos, social media, geolocation, audio or camera recordings. Such programs run hidden in the background, without a victim’s knowledge or consent.