Updated CyberLink FaceMe® to assist post-COVID-19 economic reopening

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 -- CyberLink Corp recently announced new updates to its landmark facial recognition software development kit, designed to assist global economy reopening as the world curtails the COVID-19 pandemic.

Available immediately, FaceMe® can detect whether individuals are wearing a face mask, and if they are wearing it properly fully covering the mouth and nose, while also being able to perform facial recognition.

According to a statement, the features work for assorted types of mask, including but not limited to medical, cloth, fibre or N95 masks, and can do so for all faces and through various angles.

FaceMe® is one of the world’s most accurate facial recognition engines as deemed by the world standard NIST Facial Recognition Vendor Test.

The FaceMe® platform can now be integrated into retail point-of-sales systems, security cameras, digital signage and other connected devices to determine that individuals in required areas are wearing a face mask and notifying pre-designated personnel if they are not.

Further, the new updates allow it to precisely perform facial recognition on people wearing masks and verify their credentials, enabling a wide range of ‘contactless solutions’.

Over the next months, CyberLink will also introduce thermal body imaging and crowd counting to FaceMe®, to assist in distanced temperature detection of individuals as well as the density of people in public venues.

More details at www.cyberlink.com/faceme

-- BERNAMA

Fortanix expansion in Asia Pacific fulfills data security solutions global demand

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 -- Fortanix® Inc, a Runtime Encryption® company has expanded operations in the Asia Pacific region, fulfilling the growing global demand for its data security solutions.

Having invested heavily in Asia Pacific, the company recently unveiled a new in-region staff and growing ecosystem of channel and distribution partners, enabling organisations to improve on-premises and cloud data security, all while lowering costs and reducing complexity of legacy systems.

According to a statement, Fortanix has opened a new office in Singapore to support its growing Asia Pacific customer base and attract local channel partners and distributors to its growing partner programmes.

Meanwhile, the company has named Gerry Sillars as Vice-President Asia Pacific, who most recently ran Asia Pacific for Skybox Security.

Fortanix Self-Defending Key Management Service™ provides a cloud-native data security platform with cryptographic services, sharing secrets and tokenisation across cloud and on-premises environments from a single centralised point of management and audit.

“Fortanix recognises the significant opportunity that the Asia Pacific region represents and we have made a significant early investment to support that opportunity and our global customers, creating a major initial footprint in the region,” said CRO of Fortanix, David Greene.

“We have recruited an experienced team led by Gerry Sillars with a strong track record of successfully taking new cybersecurity technologies to the region to help us meet our aggressive revenue and growth goals.”

-- BERNAMA

The Trade Desk allows ZALORA's brand to measure conversion, optimise advertising

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 -- ZALORA, Asia’s leading online fashion destination and The Trade Desk, a global advertising technology platform have agreed to collaborate on attribution integration across Asia.

According to a statement, the attribution integration will allow participating brands selling on ZALORA the opportunity to measure conversions and sales value generated from advertising campaigns delivered via The Trade Desk.

Under the partnership, ZALORA has the ability to log attribution for any consumer who views or clicks on an ad before purchasing the brand on ZALORA.

This means that eligible brands may be able to optimise their campaigns running on The Trade Desk while they are in progress.

The integration also gives eligible brands the opportunity to understand users’ paths to purchase on ZALORA and attribute their online sales with ads that run through The Trade Desk.

Participating brands will be able to access this measurement solution through their The Trade Desk account.

“ZALORA has been at the forefront of eCommerce since they launched in 2012,” said The Trade Desk senior vice-president (South East Asia Australia and New Zealand), Mitch Waters.

“Given our shared focus on measurement, ZALORA is the perfect platform to demonstrate the integration of eCommerce and data-driven advertising through conversions and sales value.”

-- BERNAMA

COVID-19 expected to affect Singapore insurers' growth - AM BestTV

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 -- The COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine are expected to impact Singapore insurers' growth in the near term, according to an AM BestTV episode.

These were said by Doniella Pliss, the director of analytics and Trung Tran, financial analyst, both of AM Best Rating Services.

For the first time in a decade, the Singapore non-life insurance segment recorded an underwriting loss in 2019. Tran highlighted the factors that led to this result.

“Even before 2019, AM Best saw a trend that showed a decline in underwriting results for the entire market. The key reason was the increase in loss ratio for motor insurance, as well as a very high loss ratio for health insurance,” said Tran.

“It is very hard in Singapore to raise the price of motor insurance because the number of car sales in Singapore is fairly limited, given the restriction on vehicle licences in Singapore. Furthermore, even after the pandemic, AM Best does not expect that trend to go down.”

Pliss said: “On the medical side, the government covers the bulk of COVID-19 treatment expenses. However, in AM Best’s opinion, the more significant impact will come from the investment side.

“Lower interest rates and dividends, as well as a decline in value of equity holdings, will result in reuse of investment income, and potentially overall balance sheet contraction for the industry.

“Growth may be extremely challenging to achieve for the insurance industry, not only in 2020, but also in subsequent years. It is very likely that the industry will face reductions in premiums in multiple lines of business.”

AM BestTV covers exclusive AM Best and insurance industry information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the insurance, reinsurance and related sectors daily.

-- BERNAMA

POLYPLASTICS LAUNCHES NEW DURACON(R) POM GRADE WITH IMPROVED DIESEL FUEL RESISTANCE FOR AUTO FUEL COMPONENTS

TOKYO, May 13 (Bernama) -- The Polyplastics Group has announced the introduction of a new DURACON(R) polyoxymethylene (POM) grade which delivers improved diesel fuel resistance for the production of injection-molded automotive fuel system components. The new material complements Polyplastics' flagship DURACON(R) POM portfolio which is already widely used for automotive fuel system components due to its superior mechanical properties, heat and fuel resistance, and excellent moldability.

(Photo:
https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M100475/202004249387/
_prw_PI1fl_7yw1IM3y.jpg)

The newly launched new grade, DURACON(R) H140DR, offers superior performance over competitive materials and is targeted for global markets. While drive systems will likely shift toward electrification, diesel engines are expected to remain in use for certain commercial vehicles, according to Polyplastics.
Low-quality diesel fuel contains a high concentration of acid and sulfur which has a negative effect on POM.

Fuels that contain a high concentration of sulfur act on main polymer chains and facilitate decomposition in POM. Tests show the percentage of weight change
(decomposition rate) when POM is immersed at high temperature in test diesel fuel with a high concentration of sulfur. DURACON(R) H140DR has superior
resistance compared to a competitor's improved diesel fuel resistant POM and a standard material.

DURACON(R) H140DR has a higher melt flow rate (MFR) than standard grade M90-44, resulting in good formability. It is also denser, with smaller crystal size,
and thus has a high degree of crystallization compared to standard grade M90-44. The new grade has the same level of creep-fracture properties versus
competitive materials, and appears to have enough long-term mechanical resistance properties as well. Environmental stress fracture testing reveals
that DURACON(R) H140DR has high resistance to external factors such as acid  rain and various acidic solvents used in cars.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=37341

ECOKNIGHTS LAUNCHES DIGITAL STREAMING SERVICE KLEFFLIX IN CONJUNCTION WITH EARTH DAY 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Media Kit: bit.ly/PRklefflix

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- In conjunction with Earth Day 2020, EcoKnights announces the launch of KLEFFlix – Malaysia’s first and only streaming service for environmental and community films, a digital maneuver to its flagship event, the International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Fest (KLEFF).

KLEFFlix enables the film festival to transcend beyond its physical element and reach a wider audience by screening past and future KLEFF films digitally. This means that this year’s theme and message of “Climate (in)Justice” can now be spread virtually as well. This is further aligned with the climate action theme of Earth Day 2020 50^th Anniversary - raising awareness on the threat of climate change to our future.

The launch of KLEFFlix also marks another notable milestone of KLEFF partnering with the Ministry of Environment and Water, which further helps the spread of the climate action message nationwide.

Leading up to today’s Earth Day celebration, the Ministry has run a digital contest seeking the best climate action-themed poster or video. In partnership with KLEFF, the 50 best submissions will win a Special Premium Membership to KLEFFlix – giving them access to a host of award-winning and compelling eco-themed films past and present.

EcoKnights Program Director and KLEFF Festival Director, Fadly Bakhtiar, said that the partnership with the Ministry represents positive progress in strengthening the national sustainability agenda by supporting a homegrown initiative utilizing technology as a tool to spread the message of climate action.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=37215

COVID-19: Ground Labs offers free Enterprise Recon NOW for 90 days

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 -- Ground Labs, the global expert in data discovery has announced the availability of Enterprise Recon NOW, a free, limited standalone version of its industry-leading data discovery solution, Enterprise Recon.

As companies transition to remote business models in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations spanning all sizes and sectors can now access Enterprise Recon NOW at no cost for 90 days.

Enterprise Recon NOW enables enhanced data discovery and risk management across a remote workforce, according to a statement.

“COVID-19 has forced organisations worldwide to transition towards a remote business model. In many cases, this is not only uncharted territory for an organisation, but its employees, as well, creating personal data being managed outside of normal policies and procedures,” said Ground Labs Chief Executive Officer, Nellie Manktelow.

“As the leaders in data discovery, it was important for us to offer support and a solution that can help with such a transition, as well as help mitigate the risks during these unprecedented times.”

Enterprise Recon NOW enables the ability to discover, remediate and monitor over 300 data types from a single platform specifically for remote workers, including full complimentary support.

More details at www.groundlabs.com.

-- BERNAMA