Hong Kong, November 11, 2021 – AP Lens (Parent company: Hoplite Technology), established in 2018 which aims to provide SMEs with low touch, simple to use and cost-effective cyber security tools, today announces its collaboration with several insurance brokerage firms in Hong Kong and Singapore for the launch of a new cyber security SaaS solution and product guarantee named “Anti-Phishing Care for SMEs”, marking its official foray into the InsurTech industry. The solution is designed with the objective of diversifying insurance firms’ coverage for SMEs, as well as lowering the barrier for SMEs to purchase cyber insurance products.

The prevalence of remote work, digital transformation and shortage of cybersecurity professionals are pushing up cyber risks for SMEs. Proliferating ransomware attacks also affect organisations globally causing a spike in insurance premiums. It has become increasingly difficult for SMEs to keep up with the latest trends and to maintain a secured cyber environment for both their employees and customers. This has in turn resulted in higher cost of cyber insurance coverage aimed at offsetting the cost of responding to and recovering from cyber-attacks.

Detecting cyber-attacks, often via blacklisting have been the practice over the past three decades and since the development of the first generation of anti-virus technology. As an activity based on constantly collecting data (such as logs, user activities or file hashes), blacklisting is a resource-intensive and costly process which is only effective when companies can afford a team of cybersecurity professionals and arguably a never-ending cat and mouse game against cyber threat actors. Furthermore, blacklisting has been made highly ineffective by, on one hand, spear-phishing scams and targeted social engineering that rely on the successful exploitation of human psychology and emotions (usually fear, anxiety, distractibility) and, on the other hand, by attacks that are either new (zero-day) or built as a variant of old attacks.

On the contrary, AP Lens’ AI-powered solution utilizes a “whitelist” strategy, whereby users can freely browse the web or conduct online activities in an environment that has been identified as safe by AP Lens algorithms. Furthermore, the AP Lens cloud-based Remote Browser provides users with another layer of security if they need to visit websites that are not whitelisted, providing users with a disposable virtual machine. AP Lens’ technology runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) global network to deliver low latency connections.

Whitelisting isolates company networks like cities lock-down, preventing virus from entering. AP Lens’ remote browser is like a VR-headset that enables users inside the locked-down network to experience the outside world in a safe environment. It is a more balanced approach and offers total cyber protection, which is low touch, simple to use and cost-effective for SMEs. Solutions provided by AP Lens largely reduce cyber security maintenance costs for SMEs, while motivating insurance brokerage firms to offer cyber insurance coverage for SMEs.

The “Anti-Phishing Care for SMEs” is valid immediately for customers in Hong Kong and Singapore with AP Lens solely offering a product guarantee valid for 12 months, available to clients referred by insurance brokers partners ( MI Insurance Brokers Ltd , LSC Insurance Consultants Ltd and Sky Central Ltd). Customers will also be guaranteed a pay-out of 10-times the purchase price if they suffer a ransomware attack while using AP Lens solution. AP Lens pledges up to HK$100,000 ransomware protection for each company using the product. Terms and conditions apply.

Antony Ma, Founder and CEO of Hoplite Technology commented: “Low touch, simple to use and cost-effective cyber security tools for SMEs were notably missing in the market, so our founders decided to fill this gap in the market with the introduction of AP Lens and we are determined to create something that is more SME friendly. The latest offering is welcomed by our partners from the insurance industry, as AP Lens largely reduces uncertainties in cyber risks. By actively collaborating with insurance industry, we promote a more inclusive cyber security and cyber insurance scene.”

(PR Correction is published on 3 Dec 2021)