White House will meet execs from Apple, Amazon and Meta to discuss software security

The White House will meet executives from leading tech firms, including Alphabet-owned Google, Apple and Amazon, on Thursday to discuss software security after the US suffered several major cyber attacks last year.

In December, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan sent a letter to chief executives of tech firms after the discovery of a security vulnerability in open-source software called Log4j that organisations around the world use to log data in their applications.

In the letter, Mr Sullivan noted that such open source software is broadly used and maintained by volunteers and is a “ key national security concern".

Thursday's meeting, which will be hosted by the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, Anne Neuberger, will discuss concerns over the security of open-source software and how it can be improved, the White House said in a statement.

Anne Neuberger2, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, spoke at a White House press briefing last year about increasing cybersecurity. AFP

Other top tech companies in attendance at the meeting will include IBM, Microsoft, Meta — which owns Facebook — and Oracle. Government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defence and the Commerce Department, will also be in attendance.

Cybersecurity has been a top priority for the administration of US President Joe Biden after several major cyber attacks last year, which exposed thousands of records held by companies and government agencies to hackers.

One hack, which the US government has said was likely orchestrated by Russia, breached software made by SolarWinds and gave hackers access to thousands of companies and government offices that used its products. The hackers received access to emails at the US Treasury, Justice and Commerce departments, and other agencies.

The growing frequency and impact of such attacks prompted the administration to issue an executive order last year that created a review board and new software standards for government agencies.

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
not be younger than 25 years old
not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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White House will meet execs from Apple, Amazon and Meta to discuss software security

Several major cyber attacks last year exposed thousands of records held by companies and government agencies to hackers

The rules on fostering in the UAE

The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands