On September 14, 2018, the Swiss Management Run will take place in Arosa for the fifth time. Under the motto "Running instead of golfing", the event offers an exclusive platform for exercising and exchanging ideas with managers and business contacts. More than 300 participants benefit from presentations on topics related to the health of managers - in line with the theme "Fit for Management".

Fit through change

Despite the clear rejection of "No-Billag," the Swiss Radio and Television Company (SRG) is continuing on its reform course. Bakel Walden, Director of Development and Offerings, is responsible for coordinating the company's marathon of change. In his presentation, he addresses the personal challenges and explains how he keeps fit through change. Alongside Bernhard Heusler, Jeannine Pilloud, former Head of Passenger Transport at SBB and now Delegate for Public Transport Sector Development, has also undergone a transformation in her management position. In a double interview, the two show why change can be both a threat and an opportunity.

Fifth Swiss Management Run

The topics of the Fit for Management symposium are aimed specifically at Swiss managers. Among other things, the topics include willpower, pressure situations, lifestyle in everyday managerial life, and the right balance of sports and recreation. After the symposium, the starting signal will be given for the 5th Swiss Management Run. On three different courses, with the distances 1.2 km, 5 km and 10 km, the runners will experience Arosa's mountain world from its most beautiful side. Afterwards, the After Run Party invites the participants to a relaxed networking and exchange. The Swiss cadre organization SKO is once again on board as a premium partner and celebrates its 125th anniversary during the event.

Here it goes to the Program and to the Registration

It is true that traditional signature-based anti-virus programs do not provide reliable protection against modern malware. The cybercriminals have now learned their lesson and carry out quality assurance by checking whether the known virus scanners recognize their new malware during malware development. They then modify it until no virus scanner is able to detect it. The criminals then have a time window of a few minutes to hours in which they can successfully spread the malware.

Cybercriminals also use AI

This is to be remedied by so-called NextGen Endpoint Security solutions with machine learning technologies, which no longer detect malware on the basis of similarity with known malware signatures, but by analyzing the properties of a file.

Only - no one is stopping the cybercriminals from also buying licenses of the NextGen endpoint solutions with machine learning and manipulating the malware until the new malware is no longer detected by these solutions either. This is exactly what, for example, the developers of NotPetya did, a sophisticated malware that got onto computers of all companies doing business with Ukraine via the update mechanism of a Ukrainian tax program. Neither traditional anti-malware solutions nor machine learning-based solutions reliably detected the malware initially.

Advanced NextGen endpoint solutions like Sophos's Intercept X, which not only inspect files before execution but also monitor software during execution, identified and stopped NotPetya's malicious intent via behavioral detection - in this case, the attempt to maliciously encrypt the hard drive caught the eye and was prevented by Intercept X.

DeepLearning is more performant

Nevertheless, the use of machine learning - preferably in the very fast and effective Deep Learning variant - can improve security in companies. A good Deep Learning model is much faster than a traditional signature-based anti-virus, so it noticeably reduces the system load. At the same time, many unknown threats are also detected. The basic prerequisite for a high detection rate on the one hand and a low false positive rate on the other is not only a powerful AI model (deep learning models are best suited in practice) but also a large amount of training data. Sophos trains its Deep Learning model with virtually all examples of malware, as well as harmless software, from the last 30 years to minimize false positives. New players in the NextGen endpoint security market also use machine learning models, but have much less training data available, which can have a negative impact on false positives.

There are also bad AI models

A bad AI model can be easily identified if the manufacturer proposes a test scenario in which either "malware samples" specified by the manufacturer are to be used or if the model first has to be trained on the customer environment. This is an indication of an AI model that is not generally applicable and that practically first has to generate exceptions (de facto signatures) for a specific customer environment - which makes the approach of a signatureless technology absurd. In addition, there are AI models that scale poorly and become very large and performance-hungry over time, requiring them to be offloaded to a dedicated scanning environment in the cloud or a scanning appliance. A good AI model is one that is compact, fast, and universally usable, meaning it can be deployed immediately at the customer's site without specific training.

AI as a building block in modern multilayered security systems

It is important to note, however, that the examination of certain file types prior to execution - whether with or without artificial intelligence methods - is only one building block in a multi-layered endpoint security. Only about half of all malware today enters the enterprise as executable files (and can thus be examined with artificial intelligence methods); the other half of threats today comes in the form of document and media malware, as well as completely fileless through infected websites or via exploit.

Therefore, it is important to implement multiple layers of security:

1. Layer - Control of malware entry paths: this includes web filtering, device control, application control and desktop/gateway firewall with network intrusion prevention.
2. Layer - pre-execution examination: here files are examined with signatures, machine learning or heuristics.
3. Layer - Behavior Detection: This is where malicious behavior is detected such as ransomware/encryption detection, exploit prevention, protection against hacker technologies such as password theft protection.
4. Layer - Automatic Response: In addition to traditional threat quarantine and cleanup, this now includes automatic recovery of files encrypted by ransomware and communication with other components to automatically contain threats.
5. Layer - Analysis: Downstream root cause analysis can identify how the malware entered, how/if/where it spread, and which company resources may still be affected and need to be cleaned up.

Attackers will always manage to overcome individual mechanisms, but this effort increases exponentially with multiple layers of protection. Therefore, a multi-layer approach to IT security and the communication of security components with the ability to automatically respond to threats (for example, by the firewall or WLAN access point automatically isolating an infected endpoint in the network) are key to modern and effective IT security.

To the author: Michael Veit is a security specialist at Sophos

"Darn, the new sales rep can't connect with key customers." "Crap, the new IT manager is rubbing the department heads the wrong way." These are the kinds of complaints you often hear from HR managers in companies some time after they have filled a vacant position in their organization. It is not uncommon for the former "dream candidate" to turn out not to be the right one after all. That's why they part ways again after a few weeks or months.

Also pay attention to the personality

But why do the "dream candidates" so often turn out to be flops? One of the main reasons for this is that the selection of personnel often focuses primarily on the professional qualifications of the applicants or candidates. This is because it is relatively easy to assess these on the basis of their (work) references and the challenges they have mastered to date. The situation is different for factors such as:

• What motivates the applicant, what drives him?
• Does he connect with the company's customers, employees or suppliers?
• Does he have the necessary stamina to lead even difficult projects/projects to success?

Determining this takes time and energy. But the effort is worth it when you think of the costs and consequential problems of miscasting.

Create a detailed requirements profile

In the run-up to a personnel selection process, you should therefore also determine exactly which personal skills and characteristics the "newcomer" should possess - for example, by interviewing the previous job holder or his/her colleagues. In this way, you can identify challenges that are typical for the advertised position and that the future job holder will have to master. For example, his or her work situation is usually characterized by a high degree of time pressure and little ability to plan. Then a requirement might be: "The future job holder works in a goal-oriented and concentrated manner even in a hectic work environment." This also makes it easier for you to formulate job advertisements in such a way that they appeal to exactly the right applicants.

It usually proves helpful to consult a personality analysis tool such as the MSA Motivational Structure Analysis when determining the personal skills and characteristics that the new hire needs. Otherwise, dimensions that are important for professional success are quickly forgotten. Using the 18 basic motives examined in the MSA, you can determine, for example: On a scale of 1 to 10, how pronounced should team orientation, pragmatism, self-confidence or willingness to take risks be in the new employee?

Job interviews are sales pitches

You should derive an interview guideline from the written requirements profile and use it in all selection interviews. This ensures that you can compare the applicant profiles well at the end - because all applicants have answered the same core questions.

But be careful when evaluating the answers, because job interviews are ultimately sales pitches. In it, the company tries to present itself in as positive a light as possible in order to profile itself as an attractive employer. The same applies to applicants: they, too, will give you embellished answers. For example, no applicant will say in an application or job interview:

• "When faced with resistance, I'm quick to throw in the towel." Or:
• "I react to critical feedback like a mimosa." Or:
• "The thing that motivates me the most is money.

This is another reason why it is advisable, at least when key positions in a company are to be filled, to use a personality test such as the MSA to determine: Do the results of the analysis match the impression we had of the candidate during the interview, or should we check again on certain points?

You cannot change the personality

This is also important because practice shows: If necessary, you can usually still impart missing specialist knowledge to new employees in training courses. The situation is different with regard to personality and motivational structure. Companies cannot change these - which is why an insufficient fit in this area almost inevitably leads to the decision at some point: We're parting ways again.

To the author: Michael Schwartz heads the Institute for Integral Living and Working Practice (ilea), Esslingen near Stuttgart (www.ilea-institut.de), which trains MSA motivational consultants, among others. Before becoming a consultant, the graduate physicist worked as an executive and project manager in the (software) industry.

An incorrect job description and poor management are the main reasons for quick termination. In other words, if expectations of the employer are disappointed, the resignation takes place within the first month. This is another finding of the labor market study for which the personnel service provider Robert Half surveyed 500 employees in Switzerland. According to the study, it is not only the applicant's first impression that is decisive, but also the impression an employer makes during the job interview.

Application situation has turned

"Especially in industries and fields where success is threatened by the shortage of skilled workers, the application situation has de facto turned around. It's not just applicants who have to present themselves well. Rather, companies must approach potential job candidates in a targeted manner and quickly convince them of their worth," says Sven Hennige, Senior Managing Director at Robert Half. "The same advice applies to companies as to applicants: stay in touch and ask a few days after the interview whether the candidate is still interested in the job. This will help filter out the right fit from the candidate pool more quickly."

The interview is pre-decisive

But that's not all: if the new job does not meet expectations, there is a risk that the employee will quit the job again within the first month. For almost one in two (46 %), tasks other than those originally advertised would be the corresponding knockout criterion, and for 45 %, poor management. 38 % would quit if the company culture did not fit. Almost a third (28 %) would quickly leave the company again if the induction process was not optimal. "Companies that communicate honestly and openly during the interview process about what candidates will face can reduce the risk of a quick termination after hiring. Trial work days are particularly helpful in helping both parties make decisions," Hennige recommends. "After working together, both parties can better assess whether the company culture is a good fit and the tasks are as expected. If a new employee starts a job, a well-structured induction is particularly important. If work and decision-making processes are quickly familiar, the new employee can quickly make a productive contribution."

Source: Robert Half, Labor Market Study 2017/2018, Respondents: 500 employees in Switzerland. http://www.roberthalf.ch

"SuisseEMEX is like a Swiss Army Knife for the marketing of the future", explains the organizer Ewa Ming, Managing Director EMEX Management GmbH and is proud of the top-class event and congress program. With around 500 renowned exhibitors, partners and opinion leaders from Switzerland and abroad, and a broad range of presentations and education with over 100 speakers on various stages, SuisseEMEX'18 is the largest Swiss marketing and digital event and also the most important platform for innovations, trends, best practices and direct knowledge exchange from leading experts, forward thinkers and digital natives. At the annual marketing meeting point in festival style, around 14,000 trade visitors from Switzerland and the surrounding countries are expected to make valuable new business contacts at exhibition stands, after-work aperitifs, meetup events and networking sessions. Accompanying this, the EMEX community app promotes networking among attendees and makes it possible to quickly obtain information on the current event program.

Everything for tangible brand worlds and successful events

Live, emotional brand and customer experiences are becoming increasingly important in the digital world. In Hall 4 "Event & LiveCom" everything revolves around direct customer encounters and effective events. A wide range of offers and products for successful live communication and event planning will be presented. Visitors can find out about the latest developments in the fields of multimedia, exhibition stand construction, event technologies and brand experience and try them out and experience them on site. In keeping with the theme of live and events, this exhibition hall is also home to one of the new exhibition highlights, the "MICE Days Switzerland". The exhibitors in this new special area will present the latest innovations from the meeting, incentive, congress and event business. Here, event planners in particular will find valuable ideas, inspiration and contacts for their next event in no time at all.

The colorful world of creative promotional products

The more digital the world, the more visitors also look forward to hands-on promotional products. In Hall 3 "Creative Advertising Media", well-known fine food specialists, producers and retailers will tempt visitors with thousands of innovative products, exclusive promotional gifts and fun giveaways to try out and taste. The "Zone S" experience area is designed in cooperation with the sustainability specialists at sürprisen gmbh and the 3D experts at Form AG, and focuses on ecologically, socially and fairly produced products. Multisensory experiences are guaranteed in this hall and will demonstrate live that the correctly chosen promotional product still works perfectly and does not miss its effect on the customer.

Experience marketing of the future and the digital working world 4.0

The latest offerings from the fields of digital marketing and communication of the future will take visitors directly to Hall 6 "Digital & Marketing" with its special area "New Working World 4.0". Here, visitors can explore the working models and communication channels of the future and find ideas in the form of new work tools, mobile office concepts and co-creating opportunities. For those interested in self-marketing, the Kaufmännischer Verband Zürich (Zurich Commercial Association) offers - in shielded 15-minute individual discussions - an analysis of the most important application documents free of charge; in addition, the association experts present give tips and input on career issues. The broad range of knowledge on the topic of marketing of the future will be further enriched by the Google Atelier Digital. In this area, Google specialists will demonstrate how companies can successfully market themselves online through search, banner and video advertising and will conduct on-site training sessions for beginners and advanced users.

New marketing congress "Futurize M

The topic of marketing of the future will be expanded this year to include the stand-alone "Futurize M" congress. Under the title "Customer acquisition and customer care in the digital age", it will be shown in concrete terms how to find new customers today and, above all, how to retain them in the long term. The congress will feature a top-class, international speaker program, best practice presentations by proven experts, practical master classes, inspiring and sometimes provocative panel discussions, and a Generation Z Live Lab with digital natives. The congress guarantees participants valuable knowledge as well as the optimal opportunity to expand their personal business network. A separate congress ticket is required for participation.

Largest Swiss Knowledge Congress for Digitization

Parallel to SuisseEMEX'18, the second Digital Summit for SMEs will take place in Hall 7. This is aimed at SME entrepreneurs who are interested in the potential of digitalization and want to expand and deepen their knowledge through practice-relevant keynotes, best practices and learning workshops. All information and tickets: www.swissdigitalcompany.ch

Let's party after the fair closes!

The after-work party "EMEX Night" brings together the who's who of the Swiss marketing, digital and event industry in the middle of Event Hall 4. On Tuesday, August 28, 2018, visitors and exhibitors, industry cracks and celebrities will meet from 7:15 p.m. for informal exchange and networking in a relaxed atmosphere and party mood. On stage, the live band ELIJAH will rock before star DJ MR.DA-NOS gets the hall dancing. Hip foodcorners, cool drinks and numerous entertainment spots amidst the booths make the party perfect.

Tickets for all events around SuisseEMEX'18 are available in the online ticket store: http://www.suisse-emex.ch/tickets

The number of people in companies and organizations who want to innovate has increased dramatically in recent years. More and more employees are faced with the task of organizing, moderating and accompanying innovation processes. At the same time, the number of available methods has almost exploded. In no other area, however, are supporting methods and tools as critical to success as in the area of innovation.

The aim of this book is therefore to provide the reader with a much-needed overview of almost all relevant methods and tools in the field of innovation and change and to present them in such a way that the time required for selecting methods and tools in projects can be significantly reduced. Implementation-oriented filters (innovation phases, booster effects, result types, obstacle effects) help to select the right tool from the 555 current innovation methods and innovation tools presented to match the task at hand. In addition, the book contains an access code that enables access to an extended online method search.

The target group is innovation consultants and innovation managers in companies as well as product and project managers.

Benno van Aerssen / Christian Buchholz: The Great Handbook of Innovation
Vahlen, 2018, ISBN 978-3-8006-5683-7, rand 800 p.

http://www.handbuch-innovation.de

Wage increases of at least 1% are justified in all sectors for 2019, in some cases up to 2%, writes the Kaufmännische Verband in a communiqué. The Swiss economy remains on a robust growth path, the experts of the Swiss Confederation expect GDP growth of 2.4% in 2018.

Improved employment prospects

Companies' order books are also well filled, according to the latest KOF surveys. The export-oriented industrial sectors were able to expand last year thanks to the improved competitiveness of Swiss companies and the positive economic situation in Europe. The solid global economy and favorable exchange rate developments continue to boost demand for Swiss products. At the same time, growth impulses are increasingly coming from the domestic economy, which means that Switzerland's economic growth should become increasingly self-sustaining, according to the latest SECO economic forecast. According to the experts, there is a certain degree of uncertainty in the international trade disputes, which have recently intensified somewhat. The employment outlook has once again improved significantly compared with the previous year and is broadly based across all sectors. SECO's assessment is particularly positive for the industrial sector.

Invest in employees now

This positive momentum on the labor market is supported by above-average consumer sentiment. Due to increased oil and import prices, the experts at KOF and SECO expect inflation to rise. They forecast inflation of 0.8% to 1%. Since nominal wages have hardly risen in recent years, a wage increase is already justified against this background in order to maintain purchasing power. Employees have played a major role in the positive development of the economy and should participate accordingly in the upswing. In addition, investments in employees should be made in order to keep the company competitive in the long term.

Not all industries grow at the same rate

Although growth is broad-based, it remains heterogeneous in the individual sectors. A broad-based recovery has set in in the export-oriented MEM industries, which are reporting rising order intake and sales and are looking positively to the future. The financial services sector and wholesale trade have also made gains. Likewise, the Swiss ICT market continues to grow strongly thanks to investments in the IT sector. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry remains the most important sector of the Swiss export economy and is also developing well this year. Despite a difficult market environment, the situation in the retail sector has brightened and the downward trend of recent years has come to an end. The construction sector is developing solidly at a high level, albeit with lower momentum than during the construction boom in 2014.

The Kaufmännische Verband sees sufficient reasons in this positive dynamic to allow employees to benefit from it. How much more pay should be possible in every industry, you can find out here.

With the appointment of Simon Hammer, the interests of partners and SMEs are now also represented on the Executive Board. Hammer succeeds Pascal Strnad, who is taking on a new management role in the SAP Central and Eastern Europe (MEE) region.

Simon Hammer: "Outstanding salesman and account manager".

Simon Hammer entered sales two decades ago after completing his training as a federally certified sales manager, initially in the publishing industry and from 2002 in the software industry. After initial years in the database and web shop market, he moved to StepStone Solutions. At the end of 2010, he started at SuccessFactors and joined SAP Switzerland through its acquisition in 2013. At both companies, as Key Account Manager and later Global Strategic Account Manager, he earned a reputation as an outstanding salesman and customer service representative, according to a recent SAP media release. As of 2015, he took over the management of the cloud business at SAP Switzerland. With his team, he was able to massively expand the cloud business in Switzerland and win numerous customers for cloud solutions from SAP.

SMEs now represented on the Executive Board of SAP Switzerland

In his new role, Simon Hammer has made it his mission to drive forward the digital transformation and the development into an intelligent company with the help of SAP technologies together with the partners in the SME segment. By joining the Executive Board, the partners and SME customers will have a direct representation of interests in the management body of SAP Switzerland.

Simon Hammer is married and the father of three children. He spends his free time with his family. He also enjoys riding his racing bike or mountain bike, and in winter he likes to ski. He lives with his family near Solothurn.

Source and further information: www.sap.ch

Surveys show that more and more Swiss people are also reachable during their vacations and answer work-related mails, SMS or other messages. This may be done from devices that are not included in the secure corporate network. A reply to a corporate email may be exposed to a cyber threat that the user has no idea about.

General IT security tips

Cisco Security Expert Bremtane Moudjeb describes how to behave properly and keep the risk of cyberattacks as low as possible with a few IT security tips. "Cyber threats are more sophisticated today than ever before. Of course, only the most advanced technologies will help with complex attacks, but even ordinary users and small businesses can make their protection more effective by following a few simple rules. This is especially true during the vacations because we are out of the office and not using a secure corporate network," says Bremtane Moudjeb. "The IT industry also offers security technologies, such as VPN or Secure Internet Gateway for secure email and secure access to corporate data. Communicating over a cellular network (e.g., 4G) is a good alternative because it uses encryption. Using a VPN over a cellular network adds an extra layer of security for users. Additionally, there are alternative collaboration tools, such as Webex, that ensure a protected platform for enterprise communications regardless of location."

Seven important tips for secure email during the vacations

1.  Don't trust public Wi-Fi security: One of the risks is that other people's devices infected with malicious software are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Through this WLAN, the malware can also reach your device and spread to your corporate network. If you need to respond to business emails urgently, use VPN - virtual private network - or prefer mobile data instead.
2.  Use VPN connections or a secure Internet gateway: When you send business documents from your computer over WLAN or wired network outside your business network, you use a so-called virtual private network (VPN). How does VPN work? Your computer acts as if it is connecting from your business. If you know you'll need to work during the vacations, ask your IT manager about VPN connection settings. The current trend in protection for remote connections is the so-called secure Internet gateway, which provides a first line of defense against cyberattacks. Cisco Umbrella, for example, prevents access to dangerous sources before a connection is established or a file is downloaded.
3. Before you go on vacation, back up your data: A backup is one of the most important security basics. Make sure that all the data you need to work with even during the vacations is stored in your company or back up your data on an external drive that you do not take with you on vacation.
4.  Never rely entirely on the security of HTTPS pages: There is a widespread assumption among users that encrypted websites, usually with "HTTPS" and the lock icon in the address bar, are perfectly safe. Although encryption improves user privacy, it is increasingly being used by hackers. "Today, 50 percent of all websites are encrypted. However, finding a malicious file in encrypted communications is a big challenge. Only a very advanced security solution that uses machine learning or artificial intelligence is capable of doing that. That's why we need to keep a special eye on these websites that people connect to, because at first glance they seem very secure," warns Bremtane Moudjeb.
5.  Avoid working on public devices in an Internet café: You should not use devices that are not intended for work. Never send business messages and documents from public computers in an Internet café. You can never be sure that the owner of the Internet cafe protects his computers with sufficient security technology.
6. Communicate only through corporate accounts: Corporate policies typically state that all business communications must be done through corporate accounts - whether it's email or another work tool. However, there may not be access to the corporate account when there is an urgent need. In this case, caution should be exercised when using from the private email account that is not included in the company's security network. "Email is still the most popular communication platform today and also still the most common way for infected software to enter the device. A good alternative to email is collaboration tools that use specialized encryption and protection. I also recommend colleagues, partners or customers to use tools such as Webex Teams," says Bremtane Moudjeb.
7.  Do not send confidential data to third parties: This rule applies not only during the vacation season, but in general. Disguised e-mails aim to request confidential information, such as bank data or login passwords, in order to then misuse them. These are not always easily identifiable, so extra caution is needed with such emails. Similarly, cybercriminals like to use the vacation season to demand unauthorized payments. They assume that employees do not like to disturb their bosses during the vacations, and thus false transfers are made.

Recommendations for companies

Companies should also follow some IT security tips so they don't want to unnecessarily expose employees (and their own company) to cyber risk during the vacation season:

1.  Comprehensive protection of corporate communications: The first step for companies that don't want to risk their employees getting an unwanted surprise should be to deploy a solution that protects all email communications.
2. Security from the cloud: The Secure Internet Gateway monitors the current security situation globally and protects those devices that are not connected via VPN. The solution blocks current and future threats, preventing access to dangerous domains, URLs, IPs and files before a connection is established or a file is downloaded.
3. Endpoint security solutions to protect corporate data: These solutions can track who is logged in, when, from which devices and where, and identify or defend against security threats. The administrator has an overview of what is happening on the corporate network.

The ideal solution is a combination of all these compatible tools. The key to successful protection is a threat intelligence concept and a cloud-based approach that monitors all the latest threats in the world, sends data to security solutions, and then updates and protects them against new malware.

Source: Cisco

The Japanese IT security company Trend Micro has published the results of a global survey on the Internet of Things (IoT) and its protection. More than 1,150 decision-makers from IT and IT security participated in the survey. Among other things, they were asked about investments made and planned, implementation strategies and technological challenges.

Security plays a secondary role in the Internet of Things

The growing number of networked devices makes companies vulnerable to a variety of cyber threats. Nevertheless, 43 percent of respondents answered that IT security plays only a secondary role in the implementation of IoT projects. Among respondents from Germany, this figure was the highest in the world at 46 percent. While nearly two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) said cyberattacks related to IoT applications have increased in the past 12 months, only half (53 percent) of them classify connected devices as a threat to their business.

The findings also suggest that insufficient security testing may be being done before new devices are added to enterprise environments. The survey also found that companies have experienced an average of three attacks on connected devices in the last 12 months. Just over a third of companies (38 percent) that have implemented or are in the process of implementing IoT solutions have involved IT security experts in the implementation process. Of these, smart factories, smart utilities (31 percent) and wearables (30 percent) each account for about a third (32 percent). But that equally means that a sizable portion of companies worldwide are opening the door to a variety of threats. "Many companies see IoT systems as the future and are therefore deploying new types of connected devices in their network environments," said Udo Schneider, security evangelist at Trend Micro. "While this improves their business processes, it also poses a major problem in terms of new cyber risks, as the built-in operating systems typically cannot be patched easily. Investments in IT security measures should therefore be aligned with investments in upgrading systems. This is the only way to reduce the risk of data loss, which can have a major impact on sales and customer confidence."

Security, accountability, reputation and impact on affected companies

According to the respondents, the most important consequences of a data loss are a loss of customer confidence (52 percent), closely followed by financial damage (49 percent). Although the recently enacted EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a high priority for many, the consequences arising from it were rated as significantly less significant. According to respondents, a security-related IoT incident would have a negative impact on the following areas, among others:

• Customer trust (52 percent)
• Financial damage (49 percent)
• Loss of personal data (32 percent)
• Penalties by authorities (31 percent)
• Data security breaches (28 percent)

Companies invest USD 2.5 million per year in the Internet of Things

Data breaches can have a major impact on business processes: For example, they can put companies' GDPR compliance at risk or cripple critical networks. The research confirms that IT security must not be merely a footnote. Instead, it must play a key role in the implementation of IoT projects and processes from the outset. Udo Schneider continues: "The considerable investment in technology shows that IoT solutions offer many benefits for companies. However, IT security must be built into the design of the solutions and IT experts must be involved in the development and implementation process. Otherwise, companies may face damages that far exceed the potential gains of the technology." The findings also show that there is currently heavy investment in IoT technologies: Companies are spending an average of $2.5 million per year. Given the significant financial outlay and the serious impact a cyber attack can have on businesses, IT security should be prioritized to mitigate risks.

Source: www.trendmicro.ch

A top-class speaker program, best practice presentations by proven experts, intensive master classes led by Google and Adesso, inspiring and sometimes even provocative panel discussions, and a Live Lab with workshops geared to Generation Z await the 350 or so marketers. The new parallel congress to SuisseEMEX will be held in a separate area of Messe Zürich and guarantees participants valuable new learnings as well as the optimal opportunity to expand their personal business network. "With the new congress, SuisseEMEX, as the largest Swiss marketing industry event, will live up to its claim of continuously developing and making relevant expertise available to visitors at the highest level" promises Ewa Ming, Managing Director of SuisseEMEX.

Alibaba, Google and perhaps the hottest startup in the U.S. today

The opening keynote "Alibaba Cloud's View on Digitalization" by Toni Cheng, General Manager DACH of the Internet storage service Alibaba Cloud will mark a brilliant start to the new marketing congress. A few days ago, it was also announced that Google and Uber are investing USD 335 million in LimeBike, a startup founded in 2017. Caen Contee, Head of Marketing and co-founder of LimeBike, will give an insight into the advertising strategy of the company, which is currently conquering the city of Zurich with its bikes and eScooters, in his presentation "The Future of Mobility is Now". The startup has just announced plans to double its electric scooter fleet in Zurich.

Masterclasses by Google on the topics of "YouTube as a performance channel", "Mobile marketing" and "Machine learning as the next chapter in online marketing" as well as the masterclass by Adesso, which explores the question of "How artificial intelligence is revolutionizing customer relationship management" set further highlights at the marketing congress in terms of knowledge transfer.

Superpower Storytelling and Mystery Algorithm

Commitments from various Swiss industry luminaries underscore the quality of the congress program. Tobias Fueter is one of the most outstanding advertising filmmakers in Switzerland and, as director and co-founder of the production company Stories AG, sets the bar for successful storytelling with his team. The topic of content marketing and algorithms will be addressed in an exclusive "Best Practice" collaboration by Oliver Schibli, CPO, CMO & CTO of Watson and Thierry Pool, Head of Digital Marketing & Media Planning at Digitec Galaxus. Among the other confirmed speakers are top-class national and international names such as Thomas Lang, CEO and owner of Carpathia AG and top expert in the field of digital business and e-commerce, Kishor Sridhar, bestselling author and expert in emotional economics, and Dr. Axel Jockwer, expert in marketing, digitalization and media. Marcel Korner, Director New Business and Digital at Amer Sports will provide insights into successful brand staging in a best practice keynote. The complete speaker program is available on the website of the Marketing Congress apparent.

Marketing congress seeks proximity to Generation Z as well

The "Generation Z Live Lab" led by Yannick Blättler, founder and owner of Neoviso, focuses on successfully addressing the Young Generation. The already confirmed contributors include YouTube star Silvan Müller aka PandaTooth. DJ and producer Fabian Gähwiler, and Robin Pickis, owner of "schwiizchiste" and producer of "Zwei am Morge" on Play SRF. Not to forget Julian Graf and Ramin Yousofzai, known through their Instagram account UniGAG.

The congress days will conclude with after-work parties featuring a star-studded lineup of music and entertainment. Host, actress and comedian Stéphanie Berger will lead through the congress. Together with the internationally successful mentalist Tobias Heinemann, the entertainer will also host the award ceremony for the "MK Thought Leader of the Year" -Awards.

Tickets and further information at www.suisse-emex.ch/Kongress

In an interview a long time ago, football legend Franz Beckenbauer had answered the following, mutatis mutandis, to the reporter's question "What do you want most from your team?": "I would be happy if every player could at least receive the ball correctly."

Even a Franz Beckenbauer has to know the basics

For all non-football fans: Receiving the ball after a pass from a fellow player is a basic requirement for good play. Every amateur player can tell you that this is not always so easy.

What does this have to do with business? Well, if you want to get your team to higher performance and into the famous metaphorical Champions League, then first of all make sure that everyone can "take the ball". In other words, that the "basics" are mastered.

Where the biggest deficits lie

I recommend starting with these three topics, where I see the biggest deficits in "ball reception" from my experience:

1. Reliability. Unreliability is like a disease that, in my observation, is becoming more and more widespread: Requests are ignored, deadlines are missed without warning, clear commitments are not kept with flimsy reasons, etc. Reliability is not only a virtue, but a necessity for high-performing teams! My tip: Make 100% reliability a non-negotiable standard in your team. If you are a leader, you must of course exemplify this at all times.
2. Responsibility. Accepting the ball means taking full responsibility for it. As soon as I have the ball at my feet, I can't blame anyone else for my successes and failures. But that's exactly what's missing in business: many people complain to their environment and others that they can't achieve results themselves.
3. Act. Once you've accepted the ball, you can't just stand still; you have to do something with it. However, many team members in business seem to believe that once they have taken on a task, they can now wait and see, and are then surprised that the ball moves to the opposing team (i.e.: the competition). Incidentally, this occurs not only with operational tasks, but especially with strategic initiatives: people are often much too slow to take action.

The good news is that all three topics can be learned and trained. Top teams master this to a greater degree than average teams. The decision to do so lies with each individual and, of course, with the leaders.

So then: Go to training camp and practice "ball acceptance"!

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch