Q&A with Cameron Worth, CEO & Founder, SharpEnd

Media 7 | April 22, 2020

Cameron Worth, CEO & Founder of SharpEnd leads the company’s mission to help brands move closer than ever to consumers by connecting packaging, retail and experiential activity.

He is a regular speaker and writer on how to build brands in a connected world. He has spoken at Cannes, the Festival of Marketing, LuxePack Monaco and New York, Ad:Week Europe and New York, DMA, the Connected Consumer Conference, Mobile World Congress and the IoT World Forum.

MEDIA 7: How did the idea of “the agency of things” come to your mind?
CAMERON WORTH:
 SharpEnd was created in 2015 as the world’s first Internet of Things focused agency, so there is a slight play on words when we say we’re the Agency of Things. I think the idea of giving things their own agency is an interesting concept, and the strapline fits our capabilities on multiple levels.

M7: In what way does technology drive the association of SharpEnd with global brands? What approaches are followed to enable sustainability?
CW:
Our simple proposition is to help build brands in a connected world, and to do that you must always start with identified consumer needs or pain points and look at technology as just an enabler to deliver an appropriate solution (when appropriate). 

Take the issue of sustainability, which is often a pain point for brands that grapple with issues such as how we can reward sustainable behaviour change. One of our approaches to this could be to look at communicating the recycling credentials of the different products. Whilst the consumer can engage with a product as part of a wider consumer experience, the same technology could also house content that could tell you whether the product is recyclable, which type of bin it goes in etc.

SharpEnd’s work with Unilever is a case in point. We built a digital product that incentivised recycling through gamification but also served to educate through informing people how and where to recycle in a clear fashion. All users had to do was simply scan their packaging to have all this information at their disposal.


"Brands tend to overlook their largest owned media asset - the product itself."

M7: What are the modern brands not doing enough to engage with their customers?
CW:
Brands tend to overlook their largest owned media asset - the product itself. It’s a costly oversight when you consider that brand owners have far more products in the market than they do TV spots, or outdoor posters.

For us at SharpEnd, we look at activating the product as a digital touchpoint – whether that’s an NFC enabled wine bottle, QR codes or augmented reality.

Ultimately, it’s about using the product as a direct channel for engagement. We believe every progressive brand that makes and sells products should be doing this.

M7: How important for you is creating value for your consumers? Could you tell us how connected packaging provides value?
CW:
It’s central to what we do - it's why we start with the pain point rather than the technology.

Our starting point creatively is always “how do we heighten the enjoyment in the context of use?”

Connected packaging is different to traditional advertising. You’re no more than 5cm away from the product, and usually the product is in hand at the point of engagement. You’re either thinking of using, or actively using the product. The relationship is arguably more intimate and therefore more compelling.

Take our work with  Böen Wines for example. As part of the world’s largest roll out of NFC in the wines category, the post-tap creative platform included providing food and wine pairings that complemented the wine consumers were interacting with, as well as sharing information on the brand’s heritage and tasting notes. Everything we implemented went towards heightening the consumption moment experience, and the brand has been reaping the rewards with high engagement rates and session lengths of well over a minute per engagement.


"Every progressive brand that makes and sells products should use the product as a direct channel for engagement."

M7: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work - what day to day processes have you had to re-tool to be able to pull them off remotely? What does your remote tech stack look like?
CW:
We are benefiting from the fact that as a five-year-old business, we’re natively connected. We’re very collaborative, we’ve always been working from Google Docs and we’ve been using Slack religiously for a few years now.

The very nature of our work means that the brand owners we’re supporting are based in various locations across the globe, so we’ve always been using video conferencing too. So there hasn’t been too much of an impact on SharpEnd’s ways of working.

That being said, one of the main things our leadership team is focusing on is mastering remote management and leadership. How do you keep the team motivated? How do you make sure everyone is feeling included? What are you doing on a weekly basis to make sure that it’s not just professional, but there are social elements as well? We’re being very respectful of the fact this is a lockdown from the greater world and not just from the office.

Figuring out what we can be doing in terms of team building exercises is on-going. This is something that I don’t think anyone can nail by themselves, and we’re looking online for a lot of inspiration on how to go about doing this.



"At SharpEnd, we look at activating the product as a digital touchpoint – whether that’s an NFC enabled wine bottle, QR codes or augmented reality."

M7: Do you think we will constantly be looking over our shoulders and have to have a remote plan ready?
CW:
I have made an active decision to not comment on potential long-term impacts of Covid-19. There will be a time for that, but now is the time for sensitivity on a human level, in my opinion.

My only request to the team is that we make sure we’re staying sensitive, responsive and productive.


M7: When did you start working and what was it?
CW:
I started when I was 16 in publishing and got to see first hand how brands were shifting spend from print to online. I was there when the publication I was working on launched its first website, and saw the ad sales starting to increase, and the print sales starting to shift over.

That was 15 years ago now, but my career path has always been in and around online, from digital innovation to engagement tech, to where I am now as the founder of the world’s first IoT agency.

ABOUT SHARPEND

SharpEnd – The Agency of Things™ - is moving brands closer than ever to consumers by connecting packaging, retail and experiential activity.  We are a full-service partner to some of the largest global brand owners across fashion, spirits and CPG including Estée Lauder Companies, Pernod Ricard, PepsiCo, Mattel and Nestlé. You can find out more here https://wearesharpend.com

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8 Vulnerabilities in OAS Platform for IoT Data, Detected by Cisco

Cisco | September 14, 2023

Cisco disclosed eight vulnerabilities in the OAS platform’s engine configuration management functionality. Three of the eight detected vulnerabilities were rated as high-severity. The issues detected in OAS platform v18.00.0072 were addressed and, v19 was released. Cisco's Talos security researchers have identified eight vulnerabilities in the Open Automation Software (OAS) Platform that can be exploited to bypass authentication, disclose sensitive information, and overwrite files. The OAS Platform is commonly used to facilitate communication and data transfer between servers, industrial control systems (ICS), IoT devices, and other hardware in industrial and enterprise settings. The OAS Platform is widely deployed in industrial operations, enterprise environments, and cross-platform integrations. It plays a crucial role in facilitating communication and data exchange across various devices and systems, facilitating logging and notifications. The vulnerabilities pose a significant security risk, especially in environments where the OAS Platform is used for critical industrial and enterprise operations. Unauthorized access and data breaches can lead to operational disruptions and potentially compromise sensitive information. Among the eight vulnerabilities, three are rated as high-severity. Cisco's Talos security researchers were responsible for discovering and disclosing these vulnerabilities. The most critical issues are CVE-2023-31242 and CVE-2023-34998, both of which are authentication bypass flaws. CVE-2023-31242 can be triggered through a sequence of requests, while CVE-2023-34998 can be exploited by sniffing network traffic. The identified vulnerabilities in the OAS Platform mainly revolve around authentication bypass, information disclosure, and file manipulation. Attackers could leverage these weaknesses to create new users, gain unauthorized access, decrypt sensitive information, and perform arbitrary file and directory actions. These vulnerabilities essentially allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to the system by loading and saving configurations to a disk and installing them on other devices. The issues were identified in OAS Platform version 18 and have been addressed in the subsequent release, version 19.00.0000, highlighting the importance of keeping software up-to-date to mitigate security risks. These issues stem from the fact that when the OAS engine is deployed, by default, no admin user is defined and no authentication is required to access functionality such as new user creation. Even if an admin user is created, the configuration must be stored prior to restarting the engine, or it will revert to its default state. An attacker can create a new user, save the changes, and thus gain access to the underlying system. Also, the vulnerability enables an attacker to acquire a protobuf containing valid admin credentials and construct their own requests. The perpetrator could then again obtain access to the underlying system by utilizing the user creation and saving functionality. Cisco warns that these authentication bypass flaws could be combined with CVE-2023-34317, an improper input validation flaw in the user creation functionality, to gain access to the underlying system by adding ‘a user with the username field containing an SSH key.’ CVE-2023-34353 is another high-severity authentication bypass that allows an attacker to perform network snooping to acquire the protobuf containing admin credentials and then decrypt sensitive information. While two of the remaining vulnerabilities could result in information disclosure, the other two could be exploited to create or overwrite arbitrary files and create arbitrary directories.

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Gorilla Technology Group Joins Protactics to Expand Global Footprint

Gorilla Technology Group | September 15, 2023

Gorilla Technology Group, a global provider of AI-based edge video analytics, IoT technologies, and security convergence, has entered into a partnership with Protactics, a Colombian-based enterprise specializing in integral solutions and technology for state-of-the-art security and defense equipment in Latin America. Juan Arango, the COO of Protactics, expressed confidence in the partnership with Gorilla, stating that Protactics and Gorilla together are well-positioned to redefine security, defense, and smart cities across Latin America. This partnership highlights their unwavering commitment to pioneering solutions, harnessing the full potential of AI and Cybersecurity in the region, and ushering in an era of enhanced safety and technological advancement. The collaboration aims to leverage Gorilla's innovative smart and safe city solutions to expand Protactics' presence in Latin America, focusing on the broader Latin American market. This partnership will accelerate the adoption of AI and cybersecurity solutions in Latin America, enhancing safety and security in the rapidly evolving technological landscape of the region. Established in July 2023, it grants Protactics the rights to offer sales and support for Gorilla's AI-based Video Analytics and Security Convergence solutions in select Latin American markets, including Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. Additionally, Protactics will acquire Gorilla's solutions to conduct customer demonstrations and training for its team of experts. Vice President at EMEA, Gorilla Technology, William Addison, stated, The partnership is a resounding win for both Protactics and Gorilla. We believe this collaboration will expedite the adoption of AI & Cybersecurity solutions in Latin America. With our shared values of providing superior technology to enhance safety and security, we are excited to drive innovation and create a lasting relationship with Protactics to positively impact Latin America's rapidly evolving technological landscape. [Source: GlobeNewswire] Chairman and CEO of Gorilla Technology, Jay Chandan, remarked that their collaboration with Protactics strengthens their determination to expand Gorilla further as part of their global expansion strategy. This partnership extends the reach into markets with significant potential as they embark on digitalization and the implementation of smart and secure city solutions. He extended their thoughts that they are confident about the cooperation of their new partner and that they together will deliver outstanding deployments throughout Latin America, creating sustainable solutions and enhancing community protection and economic growth. About Gorilla Technology Group Gorilla Technology Group is a global solutions provider specializing in security intelligence, network intelligence, business intelligence, and IoT technology. Gorilla offers a diverse range of solutions, including smart city, network, video, security convergence, and IoT services across various sectors. Through relentless technological advancements, ethical practices, and an unwavering dedication to quality, the company aspires to shape a future where every interaction, transaction, and experience is elevated through technology. About Protactics Protactics, based in Bogota, Colombia, specializes in providing unique security and defense equipment. Its product range encompasses cybersecurity solutions, smart law enforcement tools, non-invasive inspection systems, end-to-end encrypted storage and data management, contraband detection technologies, and biometric fever screening devices. Protactics plays a pivotal role in enabling government agencies to elevate their security and defense capabilities.

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