Cybersecurity News in Asia

The merger combines IoT technology with software services to empower the road freight transport sector

BEIJING, June 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — G7 Connect Inc. (“G7”), a fleet management company backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., and E6 Technology (“E6”), announced the merger of the two companies. The merger took place in the first quarter of 2022, with the initial stage of their business integration having been completed. G7 co-founder and CEO Zhai Xuehun has been appointed as chairman and CEO of the merged group (hereafter referred to as the “Group”), while E6 chairman and CEO Zhang Jingtao will serve as vice chairman and G7 CFO Zhang Jielong as CFO.

The merger will create the largest and most influential software service provider in the industry, with businesses spanning key vertical markets covering both production and consumer logistics. The Group’s customers include major players in the trillion-yuan road freight transport market. With its product portfolio serving as a one-stop digital service that integrates subscriptions and transactions, the merged entity consolidates the two prior firms’ advantages in technology, making it the only technology company in the sector to provide a comprehensive range of Internet of Things (IoT) software as a service (SaaS) services.

The Group is well positioned to provide customers with more cost-competitive, premium services by optimizing its supply chain and service networks and reducing procurement and operating expenses. It also plans to continue investing in technology and R&D in a move to provide customers with valuable data-driven products, with the aim of facilitating an industry-wide upgrade to a connected supply chain supported by data intelligence.

G7 and E6 were among the few fleet management firms that were capable of providing IoT SaaS solutions due to substantial investments in IoT, data, algorithms and software technologies alongside continued strengthening of their respective advantages in technology as a way to build barriers to competitors. Both firms had also explored and implemented differentiated approaches based on their respective core competencies. Notably, G7 had established a leadership role in the area of IoT technology empowered software subscription, and overall capacity and transactions on transpiration, energy, insurance and equipment, while E6 had been dedicated to providing software subscription services to large cargo owners and logistics providers, becoming a leader within the domain of consumer logistics, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, food, and cold chain logistics.

“Although the digital transformation journey of the sector has just begun, freight cooperators are looking forward to changing how they operate and achieving business success through the application of digital solutions,” said the chairman and CEO, Mr. Zhai. “The combination of G7 and E6 enables us to invest more firmly in technology and to further create value for our customers by way of data-driven products.”

“Prior to the merger, both companies believed in the importance of helping customers succeed and bringing changes to the sector by virtue of IoT SaaS services while post-merger, the shared belief has become our common ambition,” stated the vice chairman, Mr. Zhang. “We plan to continue providing premium products and services with the goal of building an outstanding SaaS company with an ongoing commitment to creating value for customers.”

G7, a leading provider of IoT SaaS services for the road freight transport sector, served a wide range of small, medium and large freight manager with IoT-based software subscriptions and transaction services. The firm, by continuing innovations in technology and expanding its portfolio, had been leading the sector in terms of software subscriptions as well as transaction services for transport capacity, energy, insurance and equipment. E6, a pioneer in IoT SaaS services for the sector, had been dedicated to providing customers with IoT-based software subscription services with a focus on large cargo owners and logistics companies. With a continued commitment to tightly-run operations and superior services, the company has earned a reputation as the dark horse in the FMCG, retail, food and cold chain segments.

As two leaders in the IoT technology and software services space, both G7 and E6 had been focusing on providing IoT technologies and software to large cargo owners and logistics providers as well as to tens of thousands of freight managers. Prior to the merger, the two firms together served over 80% of China’s large cargo owners and logistics providers in addition to assisting almost 30,000 small and medium-sized freight managers in improving efficiency and increasing revenue.

The merger received strong support from both firms’ shareholders. AnJie Law Firm, Llinks Law Offices, Global Law Office, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Deloitte, KPMG and Boston Consulting Group provided professional services for both the transaction and integration efforts. Following the completion of the merger, Global Logistic Properties’ private equity arm Hidden Hill Capital, Tencent, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network and other investors have each appointed representatives to the Group’s board of directors in tandem with carrying out specific tasks with an eye to further deepening their business collaboration.

^{¹ Freight manager refer to enterprises that manage the operation and trading activities of road freight, including large, medium and small cargo owners, logistics companies, self-owned fleets, outsourced fleets, commerce trading companies , manufacturing enterprises, etc. According to a BCG research report, about 700,000 freight managers carry about 85% of China’s road freight volume and are major players in the road freight market.}

For more information, please visit G7.

Media Contact:
Peipei Lin, linpeipei@g7.com.cn
Shuai Zhang, conntect@g7.com.cn

BEIJING, June 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, Secoo Group(NASDAQ:SECO) has made an official announcement that it will build up a Black Card service system concerning exquisite lifestyle–to turn its high-end users into its spokesman.

According to Bain& Company’s annual China Luxury Report 2021, despite mounting global social and economic challenges, China’s Luxury goods mainland market(not include Hongkong and Macao ) finished 2021 with strong double-digit growth overall, with some brands exceeding a 70% increase. Even though China market has reached a high level of digitization and continues to grow, the report forecasts that the online sales of China market’s person luxury goods will increase approximately by 56%.   

It shows that the most concerned China’s high-end users of luxury goods has shifted from offline consumption to online consumption due the epidemic outbreak. On top of that, consumers use to be influenced by others when they make luxury goods purchase decision and now they tend to be more rational. A newly-released report by Bain&Company Unpacking Asia-Pacific Consumers’ New Love Affair With Sustainability suggests that 90% of the respondents of a survey of 16,000 consumers in Asia-Pacific countries are willing to pay for products’ sustainability and 40% of the respondents show willingness to increase their budgets on sustainable products in next 3 years.   

As a world famous exquisite lifestyle platform, Secoo mainly focuses on high-end consumer market and believes that high-end consumers will be the trend of domestic personal luxury goods. Since its foundation in 2008, Secoo has been dedicated to providing the latest and smartest fashion items for high-end users. As of now, Secoo has more than 50 million registered high-end users, covering over 4000 high-end brands of clothing, shoes and boot, bags, watches, jewelry and accessories. As the global epidemic continues, high-end users’ demands for exquisite life have changed significantly.

In consideration of the needs of high-end users, Secoo has launched its Black Card service system concerning exquisite lifestyle. Nevertheless, the services provided is not standardized, instead, it’s personalized and customized luxury service. Based on the personalized demands, Secoo will tailor the high-end customized service for users by providing both online and offline services. Experts, buyers and consultants from various high-end areas of life will provide the most detailed services and experiences for its users covering life modes and scenes.  

As Li Rixue,  the founder of Secoo, says that Secoo, even though works in luxury goods industry, aims to be companies like American Express and Michelin and a world famous company needs to standardized its service down to the smallest detail. So Secoo now needs to constantly optimize existing service standards as well as to refine and categorize users’ demands so as to provide personalized services for each user. Only in this way can Secoo turn its users to potential spokesman.

SINGAPORE, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — CDNetworks, the global leader in CDN, edge computing, and cloud security, announced today its new Zero Trust Access Solution: Enterprise Secure Access (ESA). ESA has been built from the ground up to modernize organizations with secure remote access to apps and services, and establish a secure, efficient, and easy-to-use hybrid networking environment.

ESA is a cloud service based on a Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) and Zero Trust architecture. ESA checks user identity, device security, and user behavior to authenticate users and devices before granting access to enterprise applications. ESA also safeguards applications from cyberattacks by shielding the origin’s IP address and port behind a security gateway.

“As organizations scramble to solve unprecedented remote access challenges during or post-pandemic, adopting Zero Trust Network Access has increased significantly.” said Doyle Deng, CDNetworks’ Head of Product Management, “With Zero Trust Network Access implementation, our Enterprise Secure Access offers a secure remote access that can effectively adapt to modern security infrastructures and embrace hybrid workplaces while protecting a company’s apps, devices, and data.”

Rooted in a Zero Trust architecture, CDNetworks’ Enterprise Secure Access brings powerful benefits to organizations:

• Zero Trust Network Access. Checks user identity, device security, and user behavior to ensure secure remote access to enterprise applications by authenticated individuals.
• Adaptive Access Control. Dynamically adapts access control policies by evaluating user behavior, identification, device security, and threat intelligence to protect enterprise applications.
• Secure Applications and Data. Encrypts data transmissions, shields resources behind a security gateway, and protects applications with a cloud-based web application firewall.
• Connect Hybrid Network. Integrates enterprise, SaaS, cloud, and on-premise applications into a single secure and uniform platform, regardless of where applications are hosted.
• Accelerate Application Access. Accelerates remote access and data transmissions with a globally distributed network to ensure speedy and secure access to applications.
• Flexible Management. Delivers an easy-to-manage platform for setting up and maintaining applications and users individually and in batches.

Apply for a free trial to learn how ESA empowers your workforce to stay productive from anywhere on any device, without exposing your apps and network to cyberthreats.

About CDNetworks

As a global-leading CDN and Edge Service provider, CDNetworks delivers fully integrated cloud and edge computing solutions with unparalleled speed, low latency, security, and reliability. Our diverse products and services include web performance, media delivery, enterprise applications, and cloud security — all of which are designed to spur business innovation.

CDNetworks Co. Ltd
media@cdnetworks.com

AI Butler, Family Assistant, Safety Guard, Tech Playmate – the first home service robot brought to customers by Midea delivers everything in a single AI package

GUANGZHOU, China, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Smart home global leader Midea introduces XIAOWEI, a robot with intelligent technology that can act as an AI Butler, Family Assistant, Safety Guard and Tech Playmate. The household robot XIAOWEI is expected to be launched in the 2nd half of 2022, and will be established as an independent brand WISHUG by Midea Group.

The first-generation Midea household robot XIAOWEI stands around one meter tall, resembling a childlike effigy with some cute facial features. “We hope XIAOWEI can make a family’s daily life easier”, states Dr. Tang Jian, IEEE Fellow, ACM Distinguished Scientist, CIE Fellow, and General Manager of Midea AI Innovation Center.

XIAOWEI is able to access smart home appliances and IoT devices; for example, when XIAOWEI detects a family member is coming home, it can turn on the lights and air conditioner in advance to set a comfortable temperature and humidity for their arrival.

XIAOWEI is able to identify family members through the use of face and body tracking technology, making the versatile robot a reliable AI housekeeper that can also deliver effective all-around security. you can direct the robot to visit every corner of the house to keep an eye on happenings and to help deliver household items, remote monitoring and safety patrol.

It’s worth noting that XIAOWEI is also an excellent playmate; utilizing its built-in projector and other advanced technologies it’s able to create a mobile theater, entertainment center, and interactive play area at home to keep the entire family amused.

XIAOWEI robot is able to scan the home in all directions through its built-in 3D camera, perform autonomous exploration and mapping, identify object attributes, and compile semantic information through its 3D Semantic mapping. For example, through this technology, the robot XIAOWEI knows which is the sofa and where the sofa is, and then you tell him “go to the sofa”, and XIAOWEI will go to the sofa by himself using its navigation functions by responding to a voice command.

“Looking to the future, the household robot brings multiple possibilities.” Dr. Tang Jian highlighted that household robots, just like smartphones and new energy vehicles, are already changing people’s lifestyles and will become a basic must-have for families.

GUANGZHOU, China, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Midea Digital Midea 2025 conference displays Midea actively building a technology group that provides digital solutions combining software and hardware for both B-end and C-end users.

Midea has specified the goals of its 2025 digital strategy: 100% digitalization of the entire operation across the whole value chain, driving business through a user perspective and reaching high-tech industry standards, maintaining industry leadership by building core technology barriers, becoming the first choice in the global smart home industry, and integrating digital technology into business development to innovate business models.

In recent years, Midea has successively established the AI Innovation Center, Midea Software Engineering Institute, Midea Cloud Data Center, and the Privacy Computing Joint Laboratory. This all represents Midea’s determination to implement its digital strategy and ambitions in technology transformation.

Zhang Xiaoyi, vice president and CIO of Midea Group, explains: “Digital Midea 2025 reflects the process of Midea gradually approaching our users.” In the fields of Smart Home, Smart Building, Smart Travel, Smart Energy, Smart Healthcare, Smart logistics, and Smart manufacturing, Midea has a unified digital base, providing exclusive data cockpits and exclusive smart decision-making assistants for everyone.

At the press conference, Midea officially launched the home service robot XIAOWEI, a robot with intelligent technology that is an AI butler, family assistant, safety guard, and playmate all in one. In terms of industrial digitalization, Midea further expands from smart home to industrial technology, building technology, and in to other fields, empowering corporate customers and building a new digital ecosystem.

Midea Industrial Technology is committed to supporting industry development through the power of technological innovation, especially in intelligent transportation, industrial automation, energy solutions, and consumer appliances. Midea Building Technologies provides a one-stop solution for air, water, and elevator products worldwide. Midea Cloud focuses on intelligent manufacturing and industrial software. By 2025, it will cover 2,000 industry-leading customers and introduce 1,000 ecological partners. Through perceivable data collection to executable business processes, Midea Annto Logistics realizes a reliable decision-making basis.

For Midea, when all hardware is supported by digital technology, there will be an organic open ecosystem, from every metadata to platforms, systems, home hardware, and even buildings and cities, all connected in a smart digital way, to provide a better digital world. With Midea, the digital world is at the fingertips.

• Cooperation for AMI(Implementation of Smart Power Meter) pilot project and AI-based operation in Star Lake New Town in Hanoi, Vietnam
• Significance in ‘Open Innovation’ collaboration between Vietnamese state-owned company and Korean private enterprises
• First step towards the stable and safe power supply, as well as data based Smart City

SEOUL, South Korea, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Cloud delivery platform company, Bespin Global(https://bespinglobal.com, CEO HanJoo Lee) announced on June 8th that its Vietnamese subsidiary – Bespin Global Vietnam, a local subsidiary of Daewoo Engineering & Construction – THT Development Company, and Hanoi Power Corporation – EVNHANOI, recently signed an MOU for AMI(Advanced Metering Infrastructure, intelligent remote meter reading infrastructure) pilot project in Star Lake New Town.

The MOU was signed to upgrade the system and provide benefits to users by introducing a pilot infrastructure applied with AMI within Star Lake New Town in Hanoi, Vietnam, which is independently created by Daewoo Engineering & Construction. This will not only improve convenience, but also enable the collection, analysis, and integrated operation of data, which will take a step forward in the implementation of a true Smart City. The AMI, under the direction of the Prime Minister of Vietnam, is a pilot project that the Vietnam Electricity Corporation is pursuing in two regions(Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) by 2025. It is expected to become one of Vietnam’s core technology standards in the future by being linked to the Smart City Data Integrated Management Platform(THT-BESPIN SMART CITY HUB) jointly built and operated by Bespin Global and THT Development.

Through the cooperation of three organizations, it is possible to analyze the trend of power use by hour, day, and month along with monitoring power usage. In addition, based on real-time data, existing collected data, and weather forecasts, it is also possible to predict the power consumption of residents, buildings and cities as a whole, and the power optimization method is also automatically supported.

This MOU is especially meaningful since Korean private companies support the core platforms for data collection, integration and analysis, and have achieved cooperation in terms of open innovation with Vietnamese state-owned company. It is expected to contribute to the creation of a new business model based on data in the future, as well as serve as a stepping stone for the establishment of a Smart City standardization model.

Nguyễn Danh Duyên, General Director of EVNHANOI said, “By applying AMI’s Industry 4.0 application technology, we can build a customer management ecosystem. We will be able to efficiently manage customers with self-monitoring, daily power production monitoring, and self-calculation of electricity bills which will help to improve customer satisfaction.”

An Kuk-jin, General Director of Daewoo E&C THT Development, said, “By jointly establishing AMI infrastructure with Hanoi Power Corporation in the central area of the Star Lake City project, a foundation for providing safe and stable power has been established. This is the most basic and important element of Smart City, and it is one of the successful cases of applying the data-based ‘Smart City 2.0 Standard Model’ developed by Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Bespin Global to the public sector.” He added that “This partnership will be a very meaningful step towards expanding the ‘Smart City 2.0 Standard Model’ that organically connects cities, operates on a data basis, and continues to create new values.”

Ted Kim, General Manager of Bespin Global Vietnam, said, “In order to provide users with high-quality Smart City services, it is essential to build a platform for the collection and analysis of a large number of data generated by facilities and services.” He stressed that “Based on Bespin Global’s technology and vision for a smarter world, we will take the lead in fostering innovative industrial models and providing more convenient and pleasant lives to citizens by integrating and analyzing the data generated in cities.”

SINGAPORE, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — ADVANCE.AI, a leading AI company specialising in digital identity verification, risk management and process automation, is the first company in Southeast Asia to successfully pass iBeta’s Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) test against fraudulent attacks in compliance to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 30107-3 standard for its liveness detection products.

The ISO 30107-3 is one of the most stringent technical standards that is recognised internationally for the robustness of biometric technology against presentation attacks. The accreditation is a testament to ADVANCE.AI‘s liveness detection’s capabilities in meeting global biometric standards.

ADVANCE.AI offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including KYC (Know Your Customer), KYB (Know Your Business) and KYT (Know Your Transaction) services that are consolidated into a single, easily customisable platform. Usage scenarios include customer onboarding, credit assessment as well as compliance, fraud and risk management.

Steven Zhou, Product Director of ADVANCE.AI, said, “Navigating complex regulatory and compliance standards is one of the biggest challenges for today’s businesses, especially in the financial services, fintech and web3.0 industries. Receiving this globally recognised security standard gives our clients and partners the re-assurance that our comprehensive market-leading solutions are compliant, high quality and meet global standards.”

ADVANCE.AI is part of Advance Intelligence Group, one of the largest independent technology startups based in Singapore with operations across South and Southeast Asia, Greater China, Latin America and Africa. ADVANCE.AI‘s flagship product, One-Stop Platform, provides a unified customer onboarding and profiling platform that combines 200+ data sources to power real-time response and fraud detection, with no-code orchestration capabilities that empowers businesses to deliver a safe, quick, and frictionless onboarding experience.

About ADVANCE.AI

ADVANCE.AI is a leading AI company that provides digital transformation, fraud prevention, and process automation solutions for enterprise clients. A leader in Artificial Intelligence, risk management and digital lending solutions, it currently partners 700+ enterprise clients across banking, financial services, fintech, payment, retail and e-commerce sectors. ADVANCE.AI is part of Advance Intelligence Group, one of the largest independent technology startups based in Singapore. Founded in 2016, the Group has presence across South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and Greater China. The Group is backed by top tier investors SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar, Vision Plus Capital, Gaorong Capital, Pavilion Capital, GSR Ventures and Singapore-based global investor EDBI.

Company discloses progress in IP, innovation at themed event

SHENZHEN, China, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Huawei announced a batch of key inventions as part of its biennial “Top Ten Inventions” Awards at the “Broadening the Innovation Landscape 2022” forum held at its Shenzhen headquarters.

The award is designed to recognize inventions that could create new series of products, become important commercial features of existing products, or that generate considerable value for the company and the industry.

The awarded inventions range from an adder neural network that significantly reduces power consumption and circuit area to a game-changing “optical iris” that provides a unique identifier for optical fibers. It is designed to help carriers manage their network resources, cutting time and costs associated with broadband deployment.

The announcement came in the context of intellectual property rights, the protection and sharing of which Huawei believes is critical to the tech ecosystem.

“Protecting IP is key to protecting innovation,” said Huawei’s Chief Legal Officer, Song Liuping. “We are eager to license our patents and technologies to share our innovations with the world. This will help broaden the innovation landscape, drive our industry forward, and advance technology for everyone,” he added.

“Huawei is constantly changing itself, and constantly showcasing to the world the value of IP from China,” said Tian Lipu, President of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property’s China Chapter.

By the end of 2021, Huawei held more than 110,000 active patents across over 45,000 patent families. It has more granted patents than any other Chinese company, has filed the most patent applications with the EU Patent Office, and ranked fifth in terms of new patents granted in the United States. For five straight years, Huawei has ranked No. 1 worldwide in terms of Patent Cooperation Treaty applications.

Alan Fan, Head of Huawei’s IPR Department, said the value of Huawei patents has seen wide recognition in the industry, especially in mainstream standards such as cellular technology, Wi-Fi, and audio/video codecs.

“In the past five years, more than two billion smartphones have been licensed to Huawei’s 4G/5G patents. And for cars, about eight million connected vehicles licensed to Huawei patents are being delivered to the consumers every year,” Fan said.

Huawei is also working actively with patent license administration companies in offering “one-stop” licenses for mainstream standards.

“Over 260 companies—accounting for one billion devices—have obtained Huawei’s HEVC patent licenses through a patent pool,” Fan said. He added that the company is in discussions to establish a new patent pool to give the industry “quick access” to Huawei’s patents for Wi-Fi devices worldwide.

Huawei is also discussing joint licensing programs for 5G patents with licensing experts and other leading industry patentees.

Liu Hua, Director of World Intellectual Property Organization Office in China, praised Huawei’s sustained focus on innovation, saying: “We look forward to seeing Huawei continue to take part in high-level global competition with innovation at its core.”

For Manuel Desantes, former Vice President of European Patent Office, given the vast number of changes in the world these days, what matters most is no longer the number of registered patents or inventions. “The IP system should assure that the creations that merit protection are those that bring actual value,” he said.

This marked the third innovation and IP-themed event Huawei has hosted on its innovation practices. Every year, Huawei invests over 10% of its sales revenue into R&D.

In terms of R&D expenditure, Huawei ranked second in the 2021 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. In 2021, the company increased its R&D investment to CNY142.7 billion, representing 22.4% of our total revenue. Over the past decade, Huawei’s total R&D investment surpassed CNY845 billion.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — RF elements^® is releasing five new Array Sector antennas for 3 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands and adding more horn antennas for 5 GHz band to strengthen the antenna toolset for the most used frequency bands.

RF elements expands its offer by 2 & 3 GHz Array Sector Antennas and an affordable StarterHorn™ antenna line.

RF elements^® is the leader in sustainable use of unlicensed spectrum, solving the issue of interference in wireless networks through award-winning horn antenna technology across European, American, African, and Asian markets. Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) provide internet connectivity to all but especially remote, underserved, or otherwise disadvantaged communities heavily reliant on unlicensed spectrums.

Since 2014, RF elements^® Horn Antenna technology has been playing a pivotal role in the evolution of 5 GHz WISP networks. “Our award-winning products have enabled transition from noise-encumbered progressively dysfunctional networks and poor internet service quality to stable, reliable, and highly scalable systems. To speed up the world-wide optimization of wireless networks we introduce several Array Sector (AS) antennas with proprietary Backshield™ Technology for improved noise rejection. Namely AS-2-14, AS-2-17 for 2.4 GHz band with 14 and 17 dBi gain. For the 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band, we now offer AS-3-17HV, AS-3-17DS, and AS-3-18DS (DS stands for Dual Slant) with 17 and 18 dBi gain. These Array Sector antennas are perfectly suited for efficient deployment in rural areas with noise issues.” said Tomas Zvolensky, Product Manager at RF elements^®.

“Our Horn Antenna technology has influenced the way WISP networks are designed and scaled in an unprecedented way. Thinking of the WISP industry on a global scale, we focus also on highly price-sensitive markets. We decided to address these markets with an affordable horn antenna series we call StarterHorns™. StarterHorn™ 30° USMA and StarterHorn™ A45° USMA are highly noise suppressing antennas just like our Asymmetrical and Symmetrical Horn antennas but with more attractive pricing. They are ideal for WISPs new to RF elements^® Horn antenna technology or those who are not ready to commit to our TwistPort™ antenna ecosystem and are looking for an easy way to test out the waters first.” added Tasos Alexiou, Product Evangelist at RF elements^®.

RF elements^® provides technology for fast, sustainable wireless. RF elements^® proprietary technology allows sustainable use of Spectrum, a limited resource that plays a key role for general access to broadband internet. RF elements^® is headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia with local market support across Europe, in the U.S., Ireland and South Africa. For more information, please visit www.rfelements.com.