Netskope expands in SAARC with leadership promotion & new centres
Netskope has announced the promotion of Ajay Gupta to Vice President and Country Manager for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.
Gupta, who has been with Netskope since 2018 when the company first established operations in India, previously served as Country Manager SAARC. Over the past seven years, he has overseen significant growth for Netskope in the region, with the company expanding its office presence to Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and, more recently, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
During this period, Netskope has substantially increased its local employee base to better serve its customers across India and SAARC. The company now operates its second largest development centre globally within India, highlighting the importance of the region to its worldwide operations.
The expansion of Netskope's infrastructure in India has also accelerated, with three new full compute data centres added over the last twelve months. This development brings the total number of Netskope's Indian data centres to eight, located strategically in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai. These centres are designed to enable fully local processing, supporting optimised user experiences as well as network resilience and security.
According to Netskope, the continued investment in local NewEdge cloud infrastructure aims to provide Indian organisations with enhanced coverage, consistent end-to-end performance, increased resilience against potential disruptions such as natural disasters, and integrated networking and security services. This approach is intended to support the specific demands of local deployments, including for customers in highly regulated sectors.
One recent customer implementation cited by Netskope involved a large IT sector client, where its Security Service Edge (SSE) solutions were provided to 250,000 employees. This underscores the scale Netskope is addressing in the region.
Commenting on the company's deployment, Ashwinkuumar Gaikwad, Head of IT Infrastructure, Data Centre, Cloud Journey, Network & Security at Tata Motors Limited, stated: "Deploying Netskope transformed our cloud security and zero trust strategy. Netskope has invested significantly in its NewEdge India infrastructure to enhance user experience, security control, and network performance. The deployment process was smooth, and the support team was exceptional."
Tony Burnside, Senior Vice President and Head of APAC at Netskope, said: "Our success in India and SAARC is validation that local organisations and security leaders see Netskope as a relevant value proposition as they seek to modernise and converge their security and networking solutions. Customers are turning to us to drive consolidation within their technology stack, combining market-leading security, networking, and analytics products including unified SD-WAN. Ajay and his team have driven success by building further on solid foundations, and I want to congratulate him on this well-deserved promotion, and the team on their excellent work."
Netskope's expansion in SAARC is being supported through new partnerships, with the company adding strategic partners to its channel ecosystem. These partners are helping to advance the availability of modern security technologies in countries with less mature markets across the region.
Ashok Prabhu, Chief Executive - Sales at Noventiq ValuePoint, commented: "In a fast-changing world, Indian organisations are recognising an urgent need to modernise their security and networking infrastructure to better serve their goals and challenges. Netskope is a valuable technology partner for us, with a clear vision for the evolution of security and networking, regularly recognised for its technical leadership. Our continued partnership will enable us to further support the region's organisations in staying ahead of threats and maximising corporate outcomes."
Netskope's customer base has grown to over 3,900 globally, with more than 30 of the Fortune 100 among its clients. The company provides a platform that seeks to help organisations manage security across cloud services, artificial intelligence, software-as-a-service applications, the web, and private applications while focusing on risk reduction, visibility, and performance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
3 days ago
- Scoop
NZ And India Cement Progress As Four-Country Tour Ends
Rt Hon Winston Peters Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs New Zealand and India have discussed their enhanced relationship across a broad range of domains, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. 'New Zealand and India have agreed that we can and should be doing more together,' Mr Peters says. 'Both countries have worked hard over the last 18 months to bring energy, focus and deeper practical cooperation to the relationship.' While in New Delhi, Mr Peters held official talks and had a working dinner with India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. 'This has been an excellent opportunity to take stock of the progress we have made over the past year-and-a-half, while also discussing the pressing regional and global challenges our countries face,' Mr Peters says. 'New Zealand and India have a shared interest in promoting a stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. My discussions with Minister Jaishankar and have been invaluable in understanding Indian perspectives on recent events and charting our course for enhanced bilateral cooperation.' Mr Peters noted that, over the past 18 months, New Zealand and India had made concrete steps towards closer engagement across a wide range of domains, including defence and security, trade and economic cooperation, science and technology and sport. While in New Delhi, Mr Peters also had meetings with the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, JP Nadda, and the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi; and delivered a speech about New Zealand's strengthening ties with South and South East Asia under the Foreign Policy Reset. His visit to India concluded a four-country tour which also included trips to Australia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. 'New Zealand's strategic and economic interests are inextricably tied to the Indo-Pacific, including South Asia. It is crucial that we continue to invest in and strengthen our relationships here,' Mr Peters says. 'This week has also highlighted the quality of our relationships in South Asia, characterised by rich people-to-people connections, a common desire to do more together, and shared perspectives on the challenges facing our region.' During the first half of this Parliamentary term (from December 2023 to May 2025), Mr Peters has visited 45 countries and spent 154 days overseas on official visits. Mr Peters returns to New Zealand later today (31 May).
1News
4 days ago
- 1News
Musk leaves behind upheaval and unmet expectations in Washington
Elon Musk arrived in the nation's capital with the chain saw-wielding swagger of a tech titan who had never met a problem he couldn't solve with lots of money, long hours or a well-calibrated algorithm. President Donald Trump was delighted to have the world's richest person — and a top campaign donor — working in his administration, talking about how he was "a smart guy" who "really cares for our country". Musk was suddenly everywhere — holding forth in Cabinet meetings while wearing a "tech support" shirt and black MAGA hat, hoisting his young son on his shoulders in the Oval Office, flying aboard Air Force One, sleeping in the White House. Democrats described the billionaire entrepreneur as Trump's "co-president". President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House. (Source: Associated Press) Now that's over. Musk said this week that he's leaving his job as a senior adviser, an announcement that came after he revealed his plan to curtail political donations and he criticised the centrepiece of Trump's legislative agenda. ADVERTISEMENT It's a quiet exit after a turbulent entrance, and he's trailed by upheaval and unmet expectations. Thousands of people were indiscriminately laid off or pushed out — hundreds of whom had to be rehired — and some federal agencies were eviscerated. But no one has been prosecuted for the fraud. Musk reduced his target for cutting spending from US$2 trillion (NZ$3.347 trillion) to US$1 trillion (NZ$1.6 trillion) to US$150 billion (NZ$251 billion), and even that goal may not be reached. Musk got a seat at Trump's table and put US$250 million (NZ$418 million) behind his campaign. Musk deployed software engineers who burrowed into sensitive databases, troubling career officials who sometimes chose to resign rather than go along. Trump brushed off concerns about Musk's lack of experience in public service or conflicts of interest from his billions of dollars in federal contracts. His language was that of catastrophism. Excessive spending was a crisis that could only be solved by drastic measures, Musk claimed, and "if we don't do this, America will go bankrupt". But even though he talked about his work in existential terms, he treated the White House like a playground. He brought his children to a meeting with the Indian prime minister. He let the president turn the driveway into a makeshift Tesla showroom to help boost sales. He installed an oversized screen in his office that he occasionally used to play video games. Musk did not give federal workers the benefit of the doubt ADVERTISEMENT From the beginning, Musk treated federal workers with contempt. At best, they were inefficient; at worst, they were committing fraud. People rally at Health and Human Services headquarters to protest the polices of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. (Source: Associated Press) His team offered them a "fork in the road," meaning they could get paid to quit. Probationary employees, generally people new on the job without full civil service protection, were shown the door. Anyone who stayed faced escalating demands, such as what became known as the "five things" emails. Musk wanted every government employee to submit a list of five things they accomplished in the previous week, and he claimed that 'failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.' One day in February, Musk posted "CFPB RIP," plus an emoji of a tombstone. The headquarters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created after the Great Recession to protect Americans from fraud and deceptive practices, was shut down and employees were ordered to stop working. Musk had already started gutting the US Agency for International Development, a pillar of the country's foreign policy establishment and the world's largest provider of humanitarian assistance. "Spent the weekend feeding USAID into a wood chipper," he bragged. ADVERTISEMENT The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of everything from baby formula to biotech drugs, planned to lay off 3500 employees. But the agency was forced to rehire people who were initially deemed expendable. Commissioner Marty Makary, who started his job after many of the cuts took place, told attendees at a recent conference that "it was hard and my job is to make sure we can heal from that". There are also concerns about safety on public lands. The National Park Service has been bleeding staff, leaving fewer people to maintain trails, clean restrooms and guide visitors. More cuts at the Forest Service could undermine efforts to prevent and fight wildfires. The Environmental Protection Agency faces a broad overhaul, such as gutting the Office of Research and Development, which was responsible for improving air pollution monitoring and discovering harmful chemicals in drinking water. Not even low-profile organisations were exempt. Trump ordered the downsizing of the US Institute of Peace, a nonprofit think tank created by Congress, and Musk's team showed up to carry out his plan. The organisations' leaders were deposed, then reinstated after a court battle. Musk made little headway at the top sources of federal spending Thousands of civilian workers were pushed out at the Pentagon, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reducing the ranks of top generals and looking to consolidate various commands and save money. ADVERTISEMENT However, the Pentagon budget would increase by US$150 billion (NZ$251 billion) for a total of more than US$900 billion (NZ$1.5 trillion), under Trump's spending proposal working its way through Congress. Musk also faced blowback for targeting Social Security, which provides monthly benefits to retirees and some children. He suggested that the popular program was 'a Ponzi scheme' and the government could save between $500 billion and $700 billion by tackling waste and fraud. His popularity cratered even though Americans often agreed with his premise that the federal government is bloated and wasteful, according to polling from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research. Just 33% of US adults had a favourable view of Musk in April, down from 41% in December. In addition, 65% said Musk had too much influence over the federal government. Musk talked of staggering savings but delivered modest results During a campaign rally in October, Musk said he could find "at least US$2 trillion (NZ$3.347 trillion)" in spending cuts. In January, before Trump was inaugurated, he revised by saying, "if we try for US$2 trillion (NZ$3.347 trillion), we've got a good shot at getting one". But in April, at a Cabinet meeting, Musk provided a different target. He was "excited to announce" that they could reach US$150 billion (NZ$251 billion) in savings during the current fiscal year. ADVERTISEMENT In the end, said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies for the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, "they set themselves up for failure".
Scoop
5 days ago
- Scoop
Fake AI Tools Lure Social Media Users In Global Malware Scam
Cybercriminals are exploiting the booming interest in artificial intelligence (AI) tools to spread malware through fake ads on Facebook and LinkedIn, a new report has revealed. According to cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a Vietnam-linked hacking group is behind a widespread scam that uses realistic-looking online ads to trick people into downloading malicious software. The ads claim to promote popular AI platforms—like Luma AI, Canva Dream Lab, and Kling AI—but instead redirect users to fake websites designed to steal personal information. 'These attackers are tapping into the public's growing fascination with AI to carry out digital theft,' said Yash Gupta, a senior manager at Mandiant. 'A site that looks like an exciting new AI tool could actually be stealing your passwords, credit card numbers, or social media accounts.' Millions Exposed Mandiant's investigation, which began in late 2024, has uncovered thousands of ads linked to the scam, with many of them reaching audiences in the millions. A sample of 120 Facebook ads targeting European users alone had a combined reach of over 2.3 million people, the report said. The hackers, identified by researchers as UNC6032, use a rotating set of websites and fake business pages to keep the scam alive. In some cases, they also hijack real user accounts to spread the ads. Once a victim clicks the ad and visits the fake AI site, the page appears to offer an AI-generated video or image service. But instead of any real AI functionality, the website automatically downloads malware that installs itself in the background. That malware, known as STARKVEIL, is capable of stealing sensitive data and secretly sending it back to the attackers. Global Victims While the fake ads have been found mostly on Facebook, Mandiant also spotted smaller campaigns on LinkedIn. In one example, a fraudulent website was registered in September 2024 and promoted to tens of thousands of users within a day. Victims include both individual users and employees of businesses across various industries. 'This isn't just a consumer issue,' Gupta said. 'These stolen credentials can give attackers access to corporate networks, making it a risk for organisations too.' Tech Platforms Respond Mandiant says both Meta (Facebook's parent company) and LinkedIn were cooperative and proactive in responding to the findings. Meta had already begun taking down many of the malicious ads and domains before Mandiant alerted them to additional activity. However, the report warns that the threat is far from over. The attackers continue to launch new ads and websites daily, constantly adjusting tactics to avoid detection. How to Stay Safe Experts advise people to be cautious when clicking on social media ads—especially those that promote unfamiliar AI tools. To stay safe: Visit websites directly rather than through ads Double-check URLs before downloading software Use up-to-date antivirus protection Report suspicious ads to the platform The scam is part of a growing trend in cybercrime where criminals take advantage of popular tech trends to deceive the public. With AI tools rising in popularity, experts say this likely won't be the last attempt to turn AI hype into a cyber threat. 'Criminals go where the attention is,' Gupta said. 'Right now, that's AI.'
