ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – News aktuell – 20 March 2021 – It is with great sadness that Elsa Peretti’s death yesterday from natural causes was announced by her family office in Zurich and by the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation. The designer, who was famous for her creations for high-end US jewelers Tiffany, passed away in a village close to Barcelona, Spain, at the age of 80. Her legacy comprises a body of exceptional design work as well as a foundation dedicated to humanitarian, environmental and conservation causes. A true citizen of the world, her absence will be strongly felt within all the different circles where she played such an active and creative role.

A pioneering designer

Elsa Peretti was born in Florence and educated in Rome and Switzerland. She later returned to Rome to pursue a degree in interior design. By 1969, she had established herself as a fashion model in New York and Barcelona and was also beginning to design her own jewelry.

American fashion designer Giorgio di Sant’Angelo used a few of her pieces in a fashion show, where they were an instant hit. By the following day, she was the toast of New York. It was during this period that she met the legendary US fashion designer and seventies icon Halston, who became her lifelong friend and with whom she collaborated frequently. Halston also introduced Elsa to US jewelers Tiffany & Co. in 1974, with whom she rapidly started working in an exclusive collaboration which was to last throughout her entire career.

Her inspiration was often drawn from everyday items – a bean, a bone, an apple could be transformed into cufflinks, bracelets, vases or lighters, scorpions and snakes were turned into appealing necklaces and rings, often in silver which was one of her preferred materials. She herself stated that ‘There is no new design, because good lines and shapes are timeless’, and indeed her pieces are as modern and wearable today as they ever were.

Elsa Peretti’s designs are in the permanent collections of the British Museum in London, England; The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts; and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. In recognition of her remarkable work, Tiffany established the Elsa Peretti Professorship in Jewelry Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the first endowed professorship in the history of FIT. Among other honours, the designer was given an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from FIT in 2001. She also received the 1971 Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award for Jewelry and the Rhode Island School of Design President’s Fellow Award in 1981. In 1996, the Council of Fashion Designers of America named her Accessory Designer of the Year.

Philanthropic work

Elsa Peretti was renowned for her witty charm, openness to others, kindness and generosity. She had a deep humanitarian calling and supported cultural, scientific and educational initiatives as well as committing to the defence of human rights. In 2000, she created a charity in honor of her father, the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation. The Foundation supports a broad range of projects for the promotion of human and civil rights, with a special emphasis on the right to education, children’s rights, and women’s rights and dignity. Proposals are solicited internationally, and the Foundation has supported requests from around the world, including initiatives on behalf of unrepresented people and oppressed minorities, to defend their right to exist and preserve their culture. It also supports medical and scientific research projects to promote physical and mental health, as well as specific interventions including the building of hospitals and other sanitary facilities. It has funded public awareness campaigns for wildlife conservation and environmental protection, and promotes culture and the arts. The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation has financed more than 1,000 non-profit projects in more than 80 countries, for a total investment of over EUR 56 million.

Sant Martí Vell, her Catalan refuge

The small village of Sant Martí Vell in Catalonia was always close to her heart. In 1968, she bought a mustard-yellow house there, which she lovingly restored over the next ten years and which had become her preferred residency over the past few years. While living abroad, she subsequently had entire segments of the village restored, acquiring and preserving further buildings including the church, and supporting the excavation of Roman ruins and the archiving of the village’s history. She also established a working vineyard, which has marketed fine wines under the Eccocivi label since 2008.

She promoted the visual arts and fostered the consolidation, protection and dissemination of the historical, artistic, cultural, architectural and craft heritage of Catalonia. In 2013, Elsa Peretti was the first non-Catalan person to be awarded the National Culture Award by the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CoNCA).

A few things people have said about Elsa Peretti:

She is one of the greatest jewelry designers of the 20th century and has taken us beyond the realm of commercial success into design history. She is a halo for the entire brand.” – Michael Kowalski former chairman and CEO of Tiffany and Co.

“Elsa brought out all these things—the bone bracelet I remember best. Everything was so sensual, so sexy. I just loved it. It was different from anything I’d ever seen, and I’d seen a lot. I’ve only really worn #Peretti jewellery from then on.” Liza Minnelli talking about Elsa, Vanity Fair, August 2014.

“She looks at the thing, but she just doesn’t look at it. She touches it, she turns it around, back of it, front of it, side of it. To really get to the object she is looking at, and that’s what comes through” Hiro talking about Elsa.

“She was the most unique, most wonderful, most chic woman I had seen for years. With that men’s hat and that marvelous gait… ” Joe Eula on Elsa – Vogue Italia , 1996.

“She doesn’t come from one locked culture, it’s all blended. It’s not American, it’s not Europe, it’s not Japanese, it’s Elsa” Hiro on Elsa from “Elsa Peretti 25 years Retrospective” 1999.

“We believe Elsa’s work to be a continual testament to the truth that great design transcends fashion, the heart of our company philosophy. She is one of the greatest jewellery designers of the 20th century and has taken us beyond the realm of commercial success into design history. She is a halo for the entire brand” ” Elsa’s work has a unique instinctive elemental magnetism. She is a design genius” Michael Kowalski Former CEO of Tiffany and Co from an interview for How to Spend it

“In Japan they have an honor bestowed on extraordinary individuals. If we were in Japan, and all over the world, Elsa Peretti would have this honor. She would be considered an international living treasure. I am in awe of Elsa – I always have been because she possesses the very rare combination of the most individual chic made even more individual by her simplicity, kindness, and startling vision. She is a woman who has assisted in creating a new notion of beauty for the rest.” Ralph Rucci, couturier, Lampoon Magazine, Maggio 2020.

“Elsa brought a new intensity, a new commitment, a new passion to our focus of design” Mike Kowalski From “Elsa Peretti 25 years Retrospective” 1999.

“She’ll notice someone’s shoes. She notices something in a corner that you know, most people wouldn’t notice, and she’ll pick up on it and say: “Well isn’t this beautiful? Look at this” …you know. She makes you see things.” Liz Franceschini, from “Elsa Peretti 25 years Retrospective” 1999.

“All of us at Tiffany feel a deep sense of loyalty to Elsa and she’s always returned that loyalty.” William Chaney, From “Elsa Peretti 25 years Retrospective” 1999.

Threat actors weaponizing cloud storage, advanced cloud-based tools to create record ransomware attack effectiveness, volume

CORRECTION by SonicWall:

The title of Debasish Mukherjee (5th paragraph) has been updated to Vice President, Regional Sales APAC

The corrected release reads:

• Ransomware soars with 62% increase since 2019
• Office files preferred by cybercriminals, surpass PDFs, roughly 1 in 4 malicious
• Never-before-seen’ malware variants up 74% year-over-year
• Cryptojacking shows three-year high with 28% year-over-year increase
• IoT malware rises 66% as criminals continue to leverage COVID-19 pandemic
• Retail, healthcare and government face mounting ransomware volume

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 19 March 2021 – The pandemic’s work-from-home reality resulted in an unprecedented change for organisations as they fought to defend exponentially greater attack surfaces from cybercriminals armed with powerful cloud-based tools, cloud storage and endless targets. As working environments evolved, so did the methods of threat actors and other motivated perpetrators, as detailed in the latest 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report.

“2020 offered a perfect storm for cybercriminals and a critical tipping point for the cyber arms race,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bill Conner. “The pandemic — along with remote work, a charged political climate, record prices of cryptocurrency, and threat actors weaponizing cloud storage and tools — drove the effectiveness and volume of cyberattacks to new highs. This latest threat intelligence offers a look at how cybercriminals shifted and refined their tactics, painting a picture of what they are doing amid the uncertain future that lies ahead.”

The 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report highlights how COVID-19 provided threat actors with ample opportunity for more powerful, aggressive and numerous attacks, thriving on the fear and uncertainty of remote and mobile workforces navigating corporate networks from home.

“There is no code of conduct when it comes to cybercriminals, their methods of attacks and the selection of their targets,” said Conner. “Technology is moving at an unprecedented rate. Threats that were once thought to be two or three years away are now a reality, with do-it-yourself, cloud-based tools creating an army of cybercriminals armed with the same devastating force and impact of a nation-state or larger criminal enterprise. Organisations must remain vigilant and proactive in hardening their cybersecurity posture.”

Debasish Mukherjee, Vice President, Regional Sales APAC adds “As more organisations are adopting to digital transformation, it is imperative to have strategies in place to plan mitigation, build resilience and respond to anomalies. With the increase in data breach and leaked information, organisations are now more susceptible to threats and need to be more prepared than ever in combating cyber attacks.” He continues “The findings in the 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report reveals great insights into the latest threats, including those in Asia Pacific and how organisations can better prepare for security optimisation.”

The 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report goes inside the stories that headlined 2020, and takes a closer look at new and disruptive cyber threats to provide insight into the evolving cyber threat landscape. Major findings of the new in-depth SonicWall report include:

• Ransomware reaches new heights with increasingly targeted attacks: A 62% increase in ransomware globally, and 158% spike in North America, points to cybercriminals using more sophisticated tactics and more dangerous variants, like Ryuk, to earn an easy payday.
• Ryuk ransomware rises from obscurity, sees astronomical increase: First identified in August 2018, Ryuk did not appear outside of North America, Europe or Asia as late as January 2020. The following month, Ryuk began climbing the charts, eventually overtaking top-ranking Cerber ransomware. With 109.9 million cases detected worldwide, Ryuk was logged nearly every eight seconds in September alone.
• More ‘never-before-seen’ malware variants identified: SonicWall’s newly patented Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection™ (RTDMI), a component of the company’s Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) sandbox service, discovered 268,362 ‘never-before-seen’ malware variants in 2020, a 74% year-over-year increase. RTDMI™ is proven to proactively detect and block unknown mass-market malware, including malicious Office, and PDF file types.
• Malicious Office files surpass last year’s preferred PDFs: SonicWall research shows the shift to employees working from home full-time could be directly linked to the increased utilization of Office files and PDFs as malicious vehicles armed with phishing URLs, embedded malicious files and other dangerous exploits. New SonicWall data indicates a 67% increase in malicious Office files in 2020, while malicious PDFs dropped 22%.
• Cryptojacking returns as cryptocurrency breaks records: Once thought to be a dying attack vector after the industry’s major mining operation boarded its online service, cryptojacking is back thanks to rising cryptocurrency values and its appeal of concealed payouts. Total cryptojacking for 2020 set records with 81.9 million hits, a 28% increase from last year’s 64.1 million total.
• IoT malware increases as pandemic creates potential network of disruption: In March 2020, masses of employees packed their personal office belongings and equipment to work from home for months on end, simultaneously creating an explosion of new attack vectors. In 2020, SonicWall Capture Labs threat researchers recorded 56.9 million IoT malware attempts, a 66% increase that showed shifting tactics for lurking cybercriminals.
• Intrusion attempts up as attack patterns change: The distribution of intrusion attacks took on an entirely new character as a result of the changes brought on by the pandemic. In 2020, Directory Traversal tactics (34%) took over the top spot after a tie with remote code execution (21% for both) in 2019.
• Retail, healthcare and government face mounting ransomware volume: Industry-specific ransomware data reflects the impact cybercriminals had on retail (365%), healthcare (123%) and government (21%) sectors over the course of the pandemic.

The annual 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report arms enterprises, small- and medium-sized business, government agencies and other organisations with actionable threat intelligence collected by the SonicWall Capture Labs threat research team. In-house researchers work collectively with other industry experts, over 50 industry collaboration groups, research teams and freelance security researchers.

Data for the report is gathered from over 1.1 million sensors strategically placed in over 215 countries and territories around the world as well as cross-vector, threat related information shared among SonicWall security systems, including firewalls, email security devices, endpoint security solutions, honeypots, content filtering systems and the SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) multi-engine sandbox.

To download the complete 2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, please visit www.sonicwall.com/ThreatReport.

About SonicWall

SonicWall delivers Boundless Cybersecurity for the hyper-distributed era in a work reality where everyone is remote, mobile and unsecure. SonicWall safeguards organisations mobilizing for their new business normal with seamless protection that stops the most evasive cyberattacks across boundless exposure points and increasingly remote, mobile and cloud-enabled workforces. By knowing the unknown, providing real-time visibility and enabling breakthrough economics, SonicWall closes the cybersecurity business gap for enterprises, governments and SMBs worldwide. For more information, visit www.sonicwall.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

You can now cook up a chef-designed meal in under 15 minutes without the hassle of grocery shopping and long queues! Our All-in-One Meal Kits contain pre-prepped quality ingredients and clear cooking instructions for a fuss-free, quick and tasty meal. Choose from more than 20 different convenient meal kits including Asian favourites and Western gourmet dishes.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 19 March 2021 – There’s nothing better than sitting down to a freshly prepared meal in the comfort of your own home at the end of a long day. But standing in line at the supermarket and hours of prepping in the kitchen for many us of isn’t much fun, especially if you don’t have a lot of free time or are a novice home cook. To make life easier, 7-Eleven is launching a mouth-watering menu of easy to cook All-in-One Meal Kits, a simple, quick and tasty range of comprehensive meal solutions that will transform even the most time-pressed or inexperienced cook into a confident master chef! These kits won’t only save you time and money, they’re also a joy to cook!

#7ElevenSG #7Eleven #NewProductLaunch #AllinOneMealKits

Cook quick, tasty meals at home without the fuss

With over 20 selections including Asian favourites and gourmet Western dishes to choose from, stressing out about what to cook for dinner will become a thing of the past. Each convenient kit contains fully prepared ingredients that are ready to cook or reheat which means no chopping, peeling, washing or marinading. Simply steam or stir-fry the contents and dinner will be on the table in under 15 minutes!

What’s more, the kits contain perfectly portioned, pre-measured amounts of all the ingredients you need. This is a huge plus when it comes to cutting down on prep time, and also means you won’t have leftover ingredients going bad in your fridge, so you’ll be reducing on food waste as well.

And putting the meals together couldn’t be easier. Just open up the packets, follow the super simple step-by-step instructions, arrange on a plate and voilà, a delicious, homecooked meal in minutes! All the recipes have been designed by expert chefs and the kits are made using top quality ingredients and are packed to the highest food safety and quality standards.

The kits are also very affordably priced with some dishes available in both meal for one and meal for two sized servings. So, feel free to mix and match for variety when you have family and friends over for dinner!

Eating in becomes the new dining out with our All-in-One Meal Kits

Here are some highlights from our range of over 20 All-in-One Meal Kits that will let you rustle up chef-designed dishes in less than 15 minutes.

Taste Asia Kapitan Chicken with Blue Pea Rice (Usual Price: Meal for One $8/Meal for Two $13): Kapitan Chicken, also known as Captain’s Curry, is an iconic Peranakan dish well loved by curry lovers for its distinctive flavours and aromatic blend of Southeast Asian spices. A generous serving of striking blue pea rice prepared using butterfly pea flowers, aromatic coconut milk and pandan leaves, makes for the perfect accompaniment.

Watch the cooking video at the link and see for yourself how quickly and easily you could create this Peranakan dish: http://bit.ly/3r3E9bH

Home Chef Imperial Herbal Chicken (Meal for One $7.50): If you’re looking for a warm hug in a bowl, try this hearty double-boiled chicken dish infused with a nutritious herbal broth made from a blend of seven Chinese herbs.

Cooking video: http://bit.ly/38Rjxgt

7-Select Butter Chicken (Usual Price: Meal for Two $7.50): Our menu of All-in-One Meal Kits would not be complete without this all-time 7-Select favourite. Succulent chicken pieces are coated in a thick, buttery curry sauce – a comfort food classic that will certainly put a smile on your face.

The kits are currently available at these selected 7-Eleven stores: https://www.7-eleven.com.sg/Offer. So, head down to your nearest store and check out the range in the chiller section. Kickstart your cooking adventures with an All-in-One Meal Kit today!

For even greater convenience, the All-in-One Meal Kits are available on 7-Eleven’s foodpanda shops so you can order from home and get them delivered directly to your door. What’s more, enjoy $7 off a minimum spend of $11 with the promo code “711NEW“, valid for new and first time foodpanda shops or users only.

More promotions and updates can always be found on the 7-Eleven Singapore Facebook page so stay tuned!

About 7-Eleven

Established in Singapore in 1983, 7-Eleven has since expanded to more than 400 stores island-wide to become the leading 24-hour convenience chain store. We take pride in serving the Singapore community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 7-Eleven emphasises convenience and value by offering a wide array of quality products, food and services to satisfy the needs of its customers. Think 7-Eleven and what comes to mind are the refreshing Slurpee, 7Café as well as a wide range of quality Ready Meals and sandwiches under 7-Select. 7-Eleven is also a 24/7 one-stop destination for customers who need to access bill payment services in their own time. Our services cover payment of utilities, courier services, and even cash withdrawal.

For more information, visit www.7-eleven.com.sg

The fast-growing insurtech company is pairing convenience with accessibility in its market offerings

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 19 March 2021 – BLACAZ., a digital insurance intermediary company has announced its arrival in the insurtech market with a uniquely convenient online alternative when it comes to corporate insurance subscription and management.

The first and only insurance platform in Southeast Asia region to offer customisable insurance policies for companies that can be purchased in just 7 minutes and managed online, BLACAZ. is looking to ease the woes of corporate entities when it comes to the complicated insurance industry.

All corporate insurances, including Health & Employee Benefits, Professional Indemnity, Work Injury Compensation (WICA), Directors & Officers, Travel, and Office are available for subscription on BLACAZ.’s digital platform. In addition to the purchase of corporate plans, BLACAZ. users are able to access and manage their subscriptions all on the platform itself.

This allows for instant quote pricing, fully personalised options, contract generation, and payment to be made without the need to navigate elsewhere. For consumers, this is an unprecedented level of convenience in the complex insurance industry.

“After 15 years working in the insurance industry seeing the complexity of corporate insurance processes, I wanted to allow companies to get their insurances within 7 minutes and have them all centralized at the same place”, added CEO and founder, Frédéric Gauthier.

Designed for Users In Mind

Companies can choose to store all their insurance documents on the platform, with augmented features to reduce the need for constant management, such as instant addition of employees to the policy, or auto-renewal of their existing subscriptions. For corporations, this allows their insurance management to be scaled up accordingly without additional manpower.

The viability of BLACAZ.’s platform has allowed for companies of all sizes to leverage technology and simplify administrative processes, while benefiting from a bespoke approach to corporate insurance.

The optimism is shared by the tech industry, as BLACAZ. successfully secured a US$300,000 seeding round with angel investors. The insurtech company is also currently in its acceleration phase and is looking to secure a new funding round of US$2 million in a Pre-Series A round.

“We feel supported by investors but also by clients and insurers to carry on this mission and continue to disrupt insurance experience for companies and their employees. There was clearly an urgent need.” concluded Operations Leader & cofounder, Maxime Berger.

About BLACAZ.

BLACAZ. is a fast-growing insurtech company and an expert in online insurance distribution and insurance Management for start-ups, SMEs, and large organisations.

The digital insurance platform simplifies the management of your insurances by bringing together insurance policies in one secure place, accessible and editable at any time.

Companies can get a policy fully personalised to what the company really needs, online, and in just 7 minutes.

Visit https://www.blacaz.com/ for more information or contact BLACAZ. at contact@blacaz.com