Kaspersky Lab heads share views on cyberspace, Sri Lankan market

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

Unveiling the latest B2B solution for cyberspace, Kaspersky Lab recently launched the Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business in Sri Lanka, the first of its kind in worldwide markets. Kaspersky Lab Vice President Technical Division APAC Nathan Wang and Kaspersky Lab Managing Director South Asia Region Altaf Halde, who flew down to Sri Lanka to launch Kaspersky’s offering, spoke to the Daily FT on the performance of the company’s products amidst prevailing challenges in the online arena, some of which are beyond their control. Following are excerpts from the interview:

Q: How well are Kaspersky products doing in Sri Lanka?

Halde: I would confidently say that Kaspersky is well established in Sri Lanka thanks to Avian and our partners. Being in the Sri Lankan market for about six years, the Kaspersky Lab, centralised in India from 2010, has been looking into the South Asian markets, which include India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and the interaction with the local teams have been be stronger since then.

I am proud to say that as per market indicators from our channel sources, we have gained almost 75% of the market share in Sri Lanka. Our revenue generating B2C products are way ahead and has achieved top ranking in the country. With customers showing keenness on wanting to use our products, we have started to target new segments such as education, governments and the banking sector as well.

Q. Is Kaspersky offering customised products to the diverse segments you mentioned?

Halde: Kaspersky offers packaged solutions. Keeping in mind the segment, with the product offered being the same, we offer different pricing strategies for the new targeting segments.

Q: With Symantec and McAfee in the market, how well is Kaspersky positioned?

Halde: In Sri Lanka, Symantec and McAfee have been sold through local partners for a good number of years. However, with the position Kaspersky has created for itself in Sri Lanka, it is difficult for our competitors to match and beat our products. All products in technical terms are good. The key factor is the after-sales service offered after the product is sold and this makes a difference. Kaspersky has been successful in being the market leader as the partnership it has with Avian in Sri Lanka is a boost for Kaspersky in the market.

Q: What is your take on the knowledge of online threats in Sri Lanka?

Halde: There is a lot of ignorance in the cyber security arena when it comes to Sri Lanka and this is common in other South Asia regions as well. The younger generations are still naïve about online threats, not quite understanding the plethora of protection anti-virus software offers.

Wang: One cannot expect the knowledge of users to be sufficient as online threats are comprehensive matters. Last year, we saw many targeted threats surfacing simply by connecting USB devises to machines, so it is a very difficult matter for end-users to grasp. It is not necessary to go online to experience a breach of privacy, as by simply using any smart gadget this can happen and this increases the responsibility of the creative vendor to protect the user.

Q: There are complaints that by installing Kaspersky on machines, it greatly slows down systems. How is this being addressed?

Wang: Simply put, there is no such thing as free lunch. If you are seeking protection, there is a price that has to be paid. Unfortunately for users, the price they have to pay is to use a certain hardware resource that builds up the defence system. Addressing this question with my experience, few clients have told me that they find virus and anti-virus the same in terms of hardware compromise.

This is very interesting from a user’s perspective and has certainly raised the bar for vendors offering security solutions. Users will have to make a judgment call – if they are willing to employ resources by compromising memory, CPU power and even battery utilisation. Kaspersky aims at building up defence by using as little resources as possible and by combining cloud security.

In a nutshell, we try our level best to offer a fully fledged defence system where minimum compromise would have to be made from the user’s end. I can guarantee that in terms of detection rate and effectiveness, Kaspersky has been, is, and will be in the number one position. I hope our users feel the sincerity of Kaspersky to offer the best protection possible with the least hardware utilisation.

Q: What does the Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business deliver?

Wang: Aimed at corporate users, with this new product launched we give a new definition to the Kaspersky solution on extending the coverage of security by adding aspects of encryption, systems management, and mobile device management. This is completely a new and unique solution offered by Kaspersky.

It combines several powerful anti-malware technologies, including signature-based protection, proactive protection and cloud-assisted security to deliver multiple layers of defence for business. With this package, we hope to show Sri Lanka how effective one product could be put to multi-purpose use. Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business also allows license management and network access control and implementation.

Today, ‘Bring your own device’ to work is an emerging trend and while it is convenient to end-users, the concept comes with massive management issues for IT staff. With the new Kaspersky solution, IT personnel as well as users will be happy with the easy configuration process. Earlier, even top heads of organisations were required to hand over personal devices to the IT department for configuration and starting from today, thanks to Kaspersky this need not be done anymore.

The IT department would do the initial configuration and a link would be sent to the end-user for acceptance, from where everything else will fall in place automatically. This is the first time a comprehensive solution like this has been offered to our corporate clients

Q: Is the Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business the first of its kind in the market?

Halde: There have been bits and pieces of modules in the market. Kaspersky has come up with the concept of one platform, one console and one cost. This is our mantra and this is what we promote. An integrated package offering, allowing the customer to decide on what he will require in his working environment.

Q: Kaspersky recognises SMEs as the most vulnerable group for security threats. Why is this so?

Halde: When we talk about SMEs, it is imperative to note that they do not have a dedicated security person within the organisation who understands the necessary security and policy requirements. In reality, the SMEs are increasingly being established online and the minute they connect the internet, they become susceptible to new threats which meddle with their operations.

When we look at larger enterprises, they already have invested in network perimeters and have some security related policies in place, but SMEs are still slow to adopt such actions. We feel that the threat level is same for an end-user logging in from home or an SME logging in from office.

Wang: It terms of IT policy, the flexibility needed for SMEs are different to those of large and medium enterprises since they take tactful actions to remain protected. The advantage SMEs gain by using Kaspersky is the one console element. This should not be misunderstood as Kaspersky is also capable of catering to large enterprises. The size of an enterprise does not matter to us; however, we like to focus on protecting the most vulnerable.

Q: What are the challenges for Kaspersky products in Sri Lanka?

Halde: The major challenge would definitely be the piracy rate in the country which stands at 84%. When products are available for a near free cost, consumers prefer to move towards those products. To address this, Kaspersky is in the continuous process of educating the audience on the consequences of using pirated products.

The second challenge in the Sri Lankan environment is the use of hardware. We have come across many organisations where they have machines with outdated operating systems in the midst of new high-tech updated devices and become truly challenging when we extend our one-stop solution.

Lack of awareness on cyber-threats is also a challenge for us as the product we offer would only be accepted when the consumer realises that he has a need for it. Nevertheless, since the infrastructure is certainly improving, it is only a matter of time before Sri Lanka would pick up in the internet space. This I am highly confident about.

Q: According to Kaspersky Lab, what are the prevailing and emerging core cyber threats?

Halde: The latest reports released by Kaspersky Lab in this regard identified that a majority of the upcoming threats are mobile based. Looking at Android, while is the most commonly used operating system, it is also the most attacked and vulnerable operating system today. From a corporate perspective, the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ concept is an open gate for threats which greatly contribute to the corruption of the networking environment.

Q: What is your channel strategy for Sri Lanka for 2013?

Halde: At our product launch, we felicitated our partners for the good work they have done in the region. Kaspersky is a 100% channel driven company and as a matter of fact, our channel commitment is what has made our company successful across the globe including in South Asia. The strategy we have is to continuously work closely with all our partners.

However, there are a handful of them who are better equipped to handle the additional comprehensive solutions and products, such as mobile device management, encryption, and systems management that we offer. With our existing partners, we handpicked a few partners who we feel have the technical capabilities to understand our products better and extend it to their customer base.

Otherwise, I don’t see a need to change our channel strategy as this has worked very successful for us. We have some product partners who have come back to Avian wanting to be distributors of Kaspersky products. The demand for Kaspersky is not only because of its high quality, but also due to the after sales backing it offers to its clientele.

Believing in full sales support, we empower our partners by conducting hands-on training programs. In fact, our technical team from Russia was in Sri Lanka to facilitate a three-day training program for our partners to uplift the standard of technical support offered to our customers.

Q: What are the plans for Kaspersky for this year?

Wang: Product-wise, we a have a few B2C solutions that will be released this year. We are in the stage where we are incorporating the security needs of different regions into the product. From a B2B perspective, the Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business is what we had planned to launch for 2013.