Bacolod Gets Ready for Color Manila's CM Blacklight Run

Wazzup Pilipinas!

After the recently concluded CM Challenge Cebu last May 14, that drew thousands in attendance; Bacolod folks who can’t wait for their turn to have that Color Manila experience, can now look forward to the next CM Blacklight Bacolod run, set to take place on the evening of June 3, 2017.

The run will be held at The District North Point, Bacolod, and is part of the 3-city CM Blacklight Tour that includes Manila and Davao City.

For a quick preview of what to expect, participants will be immersed in glow-in-the-dark vibrant colored powder in a series of color stations. They will also be wearing the CM Blacklight headlamps to heighten their blacklight experience. For Rockstar and Challenge categories, they will also have face paint applied on their faces.

Of course, runners can look forward to the signature Color Festival at the end of their journey, wherein everyone throws colored powder up in the air (and at their friends), while the latest beats are playing and everyone just dances to the music.

Participants can choose between three race distances - the 3K, 5K and 10K categories, and 3 types of kits - the Deluxe, Rockstar and Superstar kits. The Deluxe kit is priced at Php750, with the kit containing a singlet, costume prop, race bib, drawstring bag, finisher's medal and a color packet. The Rockstar kit, priced at Php1,050, comes with a drifit shirt, race bib, headlamp, drawstring bag, color packet and finisher’s medal. The Superstar kit, priced at Php1,500, comes with a drifit shirt, race bib, headlamp, 3 drawstring bags, headwear, CM sticker, color packet and finisher’s medal.

Fortinet Urges Organisations in APAC to Take Preventive Measures as Devastation of Massive Ransomware Attack Widens

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As Ransomware WannaCry and its variants continue their global ‘cyber-siege’ across multiple industries, Fortinet, a global leader in high-performance cyber security solutions strongly advises organizations in APAC region to take immediate steps to protect against the highly virulent ransomware strain.

“Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs has been monitoring and analyzing threat telemetry gathered from over two million sensors around the world. WannaCry and its variants is a highly virulent ransomware strain which is capable of self-replicating. This ransomware is being referred to by a number of names, including WCry, WannaCry,WanaCrypt0r, WannaCrypt and Wana Decrypt0r. It spreads through an alleged NSA exploit called ETERNALBLUE that was leaked online in April 2017 by a hacker group known as The Shadow Brokers. ETERNALBLUE exploits vulnerability in the Microsoft Server Message Block 1.0 (SMBv1) protocol,” said David Maciejak, Director of Security Research at Fortinet.

"WannaCry has infiltrated thousands of organisations around the world, including many key institutions. This ransomware is especially notable for its multi-language ransom demands that support more than two-dozen languages,” added Maciejak. Fortinet’s tracking analysis shows that there has been an average of more than 4,000 ransomware attacks every day since January 1, 2016.

If an organization has been affected by ransomware, Fortinet strongly advise the following steps to be taken:

1. Isolate infected devices immediately by removing them from the network as soon as possible to prevent ransomware from spreading to the network or shared drives. 

2. If your network has been infected, immediately disconnect all connected devices.

3. Power-off affected devices that have not been completely corrupted. This may provide time to clean and recover data, contain damage, and prevent conditions from worsening.

4. Backed up data should be stored offline. When an infection is detected, take backup systems offline as well and scan backups to ensure they are free of malware.

5. Contact law enforcement immediately to report any ransomware events and request assistance

For organizations that have so far been spared a ransomware attack, Fortinet recommends that users and organizations take the following preventive measures:

• Establish a regular routine for patching operating systems, software, and firmware on all devices. For larger organizations with lots of deployed devices, consider adopting a centralized patch management system

• Deploy IPS, AV, and Web Filtering technologies, and keep them updated
   
• Back up data regularly. Verify the integrity of those backups, encrypt them, and test the restoration process to ensure it is working properly
  
• Scan all incoming and outgoing emails to detect threats and filter executable files from reaching end users
  
• Schedule anti-virus and anti-malware programs to automatically conduct regular scans.
• Disable macro scripts in files transmitted via email. Consider using a tool such as Office Viewer to open attached Microsoft Office files rather than the Office suite of applications
  
• Establish a business continuity and incident response strategy and conduct regular vulnerability assessments

“Fortinet addresses organizations’ cyber security challenges with an intelligent Security Fabric that spans the entire network, linking different security sensors and tools together to collect, coordinate, and respond to malicious behavior whenever it occurs,” said Maciejak. “Only by harnessing all their cyber defence resources in a coordinated way can firms effectively fight massive cyberattacks like WannaCry.”

Smart Supports Disaster Resilience Forum for Business

Wazzup Pilipinas!

PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications recently supported the 2nd Business and the Big One forum, which was organized by the Corporate Network for Disaster Response (CNDR) and American Chamber (AmCham) Foundation Philippines.

From left, CNDR president and Smart public affairs head Ramon Isberto, Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines former president Adam Abinales, DOST Undersecretary Renato Solidum, and MMDA Crisis Monitoring and Management Center head Ramon Santiago

Following the recent spate of earthquakes in the country, the forum aimed to address calls by the government to prepare for the possibility of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake coming from the West Valley Fault and/or the Manila Trench. It also identified structural risk reduction and continuity measures for businesses, as well as the four quadrants or areas that may be subdivided by the Big One, and the likely damage in each location.

In his opening remarks, AmCham Foundation vice president Chris Nelson urged the forum participants, composed of corporate executives and management teams, to be prepared for disasters, saying no reliable technology to predict earthquakes had been invented yet.

For his part, Renato Solidum, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) undersecretary, said, “Extreme preparedness is needed for extreme hazards.” He also encouraged the participants to have a “disaster imagination” by imagining scenarios and creating solutions.

Ramon R. Isberto, PLDT/Smart public affairs head and CNDR president, moderated the open forum, which was joined by Solidum, Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines former president Adam Abinales, and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Crisis Monitoring and Management Center head Ramon Santiago.

“As a telecommunications provider, Smart needs to keep the service running, especially in times of disasters. We have provided continuous services and offered free calls and charging, and even satellite solutions, to areas affected by typhoons, earthquakes and other calamities,” said Isberto.

The forum also emphasized the need for families of employees to have their own preparedness plans. “This is a practical step to alleviate the situation. It may help us simplify things to make room for bigger things,” Isberto added.

Smart has been at the forefront of emergency preparedness and response in the Philippines, employing technology and communications as aid. The company has pioneered programs and mobile solutions to promote disaster resilience under its #SafePH advocacy, among them Smart Infocast, a short message service (SMS) advisory platform that enables local government units and agencies to send free text message alerts; the Batingaw emergency mobile app; the TNT Tropang Ready series of youth disaster preparedness caravans; and the Emergency Cell Broadcast System, which can send out location- and hazard-specific warnings through a dedicated channel, ensuring faster delivery of information.