Ontrex Inside.

11-09-2024

For some time now, the Ontrex team has had IT security experts who deal in depth with the topic of ISMS (Information Security Management System) and offer ISMS gap assessments for companies.

Why does Ontrex recommend ISMS gap assessments?

An effective ISMS not only protects against cyber-attacks, but also helps you to meet compliance requirements. With an assessment, we help you to ensure that your ISMS is still up to date and complies with the relevant standards such as ISO 27001. The gap assessment shows specifically where your ISMS can be improved.

The following steps are carried out during the assessment: 
👨‍💻 Recording the current situation. 
↔ Comparison with the requirements of relevant standards, e.g. ISO 27001. 
📶 Identification of gaps or risks. 
📋 Preparation of a report with recommended measures.

Due to the renewal of the ISO 27001 version (2022) there was a need for action. Our gap assessment can support you in ensuring implementation.

If you would like to find out more about our gap assessment, please contact us here or via info@ontrex.ch!
 

08-08-2024

We are very pleased that we will be able to draw on the expertise of Tania Hess again in the future.

In her self-employment with your-virtual-assistant.ch, she is making profitable use of her strengths and reliability for various clients in the SME sector.

Since she has already proven her organizational skills as a former Ontrex employee, it is particularly valuable that Tania will be at our side again with immediate effect as part of our new cooperation.
 

07-08-2024

Many of our customers have benefited for years from the expertise of Ontrex consultants when it comes to end-user experience management DEX. 
With Nexthink, we have a manufacturer in our portfolio that has long been a leader in this field. The latest Forrester Wave (Q3/2024) also provides a clear picture of Nexthink's strengths.

Would you like to find out more about Nexthink software and end-user experience management? Then contact us at any time via LinkedIn or info@ontrex.ch.

Alternatively, you can download the report here: https://nexthink.com/resource/nexthink-named-as-leader-in-forresters-wave-report

01-08-2024
by Egzon Sadikaj, IT Security Consultant

In order to be well prepared for possible emergencies or crises, it is essential for companies to introduce business continuity management (BCM). This is the only way to ensure that business operations are maintained in the event of an emergency, that further damage is prevented and that normal operations can be resumed as quickly as possible.

The implementation of BCM is made up of a series of sub-processes.

The following sub-processes should be addressed:

• Prioritize important business processes or applications
• Compile emergency organization
• Create an emergency manual
• Define alerting path
• Carry out regular exercises

The following section takes a closer look at the sub-processes:

Prioritize important business processes and applications:

When creating a Business Impact Analysis (BIA), a company's critical processes and applications are listed. A process map can be very helpful here. The assets (dependencies) that are used for the critical processes must also be taken into account. The critical processes or applications are then evaluated and prioritized according to the following criteria:

• Threats
• Vulnerabilities
• Financial impact
• Possible downtime according to the protection goals (confidentiality, integrity, availability)

Put together an emergency organization:

The company needs (existing) resources for the emergency organization to ensure that these resources are available in the event of an emergency. The people in the emergency team should not all come from the same department. Depending on the size of the company, it is recommended that one person from each department is represented who is familiar with the processes in order to be able to react without coordination difficulties in an emergency.

The emergency organization is usually divided into three levels: the strategic, the tactical and the operational level. The strategic level decides how to proceed, the tactical level leads and coordinates and the operational level reports to the tactical level and implements measures from the emergency plan.

You can think of it like the fire department. Although the firefighters may be employed by different employers, they work together smoothly in an emergency because everyone knows exactly what their tasks are in their area.

Create an emergency manual:

It's all well and good to have everything taken care of in your heads. However, if the deputy has to step in in an emergency, which should also be taken into account, they will certainly be happy if the procedure or the topic itself is documented clearly and consistently. The emergency manual is therefore essential.

The following points should be recorded in the emergency manual

• Description of events
• Roles and responsibilities (consider deputization)
• Management of an IT security incident
• Communication plans (prioritization of means of communication)
• Emergency and restart plans (backup strategy)
• Emergency contact list (digital as well as in paper form)

Define the alerting path:

The alerting path should be clear for the entire company. Employees should be trained about threats that could endanger the company. If employees notice something that could endanger the company, they are obliged to inform the contact person, usually someone from the IT security or IT team. It is important that employees are aware of the incident alert procedure so that they can react quickly in an emergency.

Carry out regular drills:

Drills should be conducted to ensure that the emergency response team functions in various emergency scenarios. The exercises should focus on critical processes or applications (test environment).  In the event that one of these processes fails, the emergency team should be as well prepared as possible. Depending on the size of the company, at least one or two exercises should therefore be carried out each year.

The experience gained from the exercises should contribute significantly to continuous improvement.

Discuss the topic of BCM with Egzon Sadikaj on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/die-entscheidende-vorsorge-für-den-ernstfall-egzon-sadikaj-zcxze/
 

19-07-2024

Our consulting team is looking forward to reinforcement!

Ferdinand Schwertner is joining our company as a DEX (Digital Employee Experience) Consultant. Ferdinand studied computer science and sociology. His in-depth specialist knowledge and pronounced passion for technical innovations will undoubtedly represent considerable added value in consulting for our customers.

We look forward to a successful collaboration and welcome, Ferdinand.

Further information about DEX can be found here on our website.

10-07-2024
by Mischa Herzog, IT Consultant and Application Engineer

To understand artificial intelligence, we first need to know what it is: What is intelligence? I understand intelligence as the ability to think and learn. It is not just about accumulating knowledge. It is also about applying this knowledge and recognizing new connections. 🤔

But what is artificial intelligence (AI)?

The term "artificial intelligence" is often used in an inflationary way, usually referring to weak AI. It sounds good when marketing or sales departments throw the term AI around, as this term is not clearly defined anywhere and they can do so without understanding what exactly AI is. It is important to clearly understand the actual capabilities of today's technology. 🤖

Weak and strong AI

AI experts differentiate between weak and strong AI, but what exactly distinguishes these two types of artificial intelligence?

Weak AI:

Weak AI is designed to perform specific tasks and is based on predefined algorithms and data. It has no general intelligence or awareness. It includes technologies such as:

• Natural language processing (NLP): machines understand and generate human language, e.g. chatbots and virtual assistants.🗣️💬
• Pattern recognition: Systems interpret visual data, e.g. facial recognition and medical diagnostic tools. 📸🔍
• Decision-making: Algorithms make decisions based on data analysis, e.g. recommendation systems. 📈🧠
• Robot control: AI-controlled robots carry out specific tasks, e.g. in the manufacturing industry or for household chores (vacuum cleaner robots). 🤖🏠
• Voice recognition: Technologies such as Siri or Google Assistant recognize spoken language and execute commands.🎙️🔊
• Image recognition: AI systems analyze and interpret visual content, e.g. in security surveillance or when analyzing satellite images. 🛰️👁️
• Behavioral analysis: Monitoring and analysis of user behavior, e.g. for fraud detection in financial transactions.💳🕵️
• Game AI: Algorithms that make decisions in computer games, e.g. NPC behavior or game opponents. 🎮🤖
• Automated driving: Systems that control vehicles autonomously, e.g. autopilot functions in cars.🚗
• Logistics optimization: algorithms to improve supply chains and transport routes. 📦🚚

These are just a few examples. There are many other applications of weak AI that are used in various areas of daily life and industry.

Strong AI: 🧠🔬

Strong AI should have human-like cognitive abilities such as independent thinking, learning and problem solving. This form of AI requires a real awareness and understanding of its actions, which distinguishes it from previous AI systems. Despite intensive research, strong AI remains a theoretical concept and has not yet been realized in practice. As part of my training to become an AI professional at HSO Business School Switzerland, I was able to see how research is being conducted into strong AI at the Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. It was very exciting and clearly showed that a lot of research is still needed in this area.

The hype around weak AI:

The hype around AI is huge, mainly thanks to clever marketing by sales and marketing departments, as mentioned in the article above. This hype is based on advances in weak AI. Technologies such as GPT-4 - Generative AI can generate impressive texts. Applications in computer vision are used in medical diagnosis and autonomous driving. However, their "intelligence" remains severely limited. Despite these limitations, the applications of weak AI are remarkably versatile, which is why the hype is so great.

My conclusion:

In my opinion, it is crucial to assess the hype surrounding AI realistically. Weak AI can solve many tasks efficiently and has already made remarkable progress in various areas. Nevertheless, it remains a far cry from the vision of strong AI that possesses human-like cognitive abilities.

Weak AI has the potential to improve our world in many ways. However, it is crucial to look at these technologies with a sober and informed perspective and recognize their limitations.🌍🤖

Open questions for discussion:

1. In which areas do you see the greatest potential for the use of weak AI in the next three years? 🔮
2. What are the key differences between human and artificial intelligence, and how do these differences influence our expectations of AI? 🧠
3. Did this article help you to better understand AI in general and the differences between weak and strong AI?

I am looking forward to your opinions 😀 💡 

Discuss the topic of AI with Mischa Herzog on his LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/die-wahre-bedeutung-von-k%C3%BCnstlicher-intelligenz-wir-unter-herzog-l26lc/?trackingId=weUrXH52QXu0hklKl0CndQ%3D%3D