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FERC Proposes to Accept Updated CIP Standards and Calls for New Cybersecurity Controls

On July 16, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) addressing the critical infrastructure protection (“CIP”) reliability standards. The NOPR proposes to accept with limited modifications seven updated CIP cybersecurity standards. The NOPR also proposes that new requirements be added to the CIP standards to protect supply chain vendors against evolving malware threats and addresses risks to utility communications networks.

Spotlight

Indus Valley Partners

Indus Valley Partners is a leading provider of technology solutions and services to the alternative investment industry. Founded in 2000, Indus Valley Partners client base includes 25 of the top 50 global hedge funds. Managing more than $825 billion these clients represent over 25% of global hedge fund AUM.

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Enterprise Security, Platform Security

Protection vs Privilege

Article | July 13, 2023

As of May 2023, 39% percent of workers in the UK work from home at some point during their week. Whilst understandable, the hybrid-working environment continues to pose more risks to organisations and their data. As more devices are accessed beyond the confines of the corporate network, businesses must account for the inherent risks presented by insecure or non-existent endpoint control. As users of these devices have more administrative control, and without the constant presence of IT services, the door is left open for increased phishing, ransomware and malware attacks. A daunting 88% of data breaches are now caused by employee error. Just earlier this month, the genealogy company 23andMe confirmed that its data had been compromised in an attack from hackers who claimed to have accessed millions of data points from accounts by taking advantage of users login credentials. The problem with this is that the users are not the root of the issue. The concern comes not only from employees, but from the number of endpoints being accessed from multiple locations, and the lack of control over the access and privileges that these devices have. A frightening statistic revealed in a study from Forbes, showed that 23% of UK and US small businesses used no form of endpoint security, and that a further 57% simply believe they won’t be targeted by cyber-attacks. The reason this is so concerning is that cybersecurity companies have reported a 20% increase in victims of such attacks just in the last year. These attacks not only put company and customer data at risk but can also result in a strain on IT services and leave users without the systems and tools essential for productivity. Preventing unlimited access One of the ways that attacks break through endpoints and escape into an organisation's network is by exploiting local admin rights on end-users' workstations. Those local admin rights are handy for the user. For example, they can install a new printer driver or update an application plug-in without calling the IT help desk. But they can also be abused to install malware or configure the computer to make an attack easier. It could be easy to remove those local admin rights or the shadow user account on the workstations with those elevated permissions. But that will frustrate end-users and increase the load on the help desk. The key issue here, is the concept of privilege. Users often need the privilege to elevate their devices by running an administrator account in order to gain access to, and update applications. Unfortunately, this greatly increases risk as these elevated administrator accounts are much more attractive to hackers for this exact reason - their access to more lucrative data. It has been reported that 70% of all data breaches are targeted at privileged accounts, which is especially alarming when taking into account the fact that 90% of IT security professionals have said that their organisations’ users have more privilege than is necessary. The issue for many companies arises in finding the balance between the users’ access to local admin rights and their productivity. More open access to the admin rights makes things easier and convenient for the users but opens the door to security risks with more endpoints to target. A study by the Ponemon Institute showed that 73% of organisations believed that threats to their endpoints had significantly increased, and that a staggering 80% of organisations that had been compromised by cyber-attacks did not know what type of attack they had been subjected to. The need for a more effective and efficient security measure is clear. Endpoint privilege management (EPM) oversees and governs the privilege of network devices. It completely removes the need for users to have administrator accounts on the devices they use, whilst still enabling them to have elevated access to certain applications. EPM only elevates approved applications and provides the users with a clear audit list of those which have been approved. Privilege to protect Whilst not a universal fix, the implementation of EPM, for example, can help alleviate the risks and reinforce a culture of security within organisations. It is understandable to be cautious when faced with words and phrases such as “approved applications” or “removing administrator rights”, but EPM is not about limiting your users’ experience or productivity. EPM does not forbid or remove access to applications. The IT team can grant approved users’ permission to run specific applications with elevated permissions for a limited period, to carry out specific actions. Users can then access what they need to, while IT retains visibility over all actions in case activity needs to be stopped, or incidents need to be investigated at a later date. If permissions need to be granted on an individual basis, for each user and application, IT will be buried under an avalanche of requests – so EPM tools will allow rules and policies to be created and then applied at scale. Users can do the work they need with few calls to the Help Desk. IT gets fewer interruptions and can focus on more valuable work. Auditors can see who had access to which applications and logs show the actual users, not an arbitrary administrator account. Endpoint privilege management is vital to any organisation's cybersecurity strategy, not only to manage and control access to sensitive data and resources but minimise the chance of a data breach. EPM also plays a crucial role in ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations to avoid the legal liabilities that may ensue should a breach occur.

Read More
Data Security, InfoSec Project Management

The NIS2 cyber security rules are coming – are you ready?

Article | July 13, 2023

The EU NIS cyber security regulations are evolving for 2024 – and if you’re not currently aware of how they’ll apply to your organisation, now is the time to get up to speed with the likely requirements. Not only is the directive being tightened, but an extended range of healthcare and related organisations will be added to the list of ‘critical entities’ that must comply. These include certain medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and organisations that carry out R&D. The Network and Information Systems (NIS) standards were set up in 2016 to protect essential services – such as water, energy, healthcare, transport and digital infrastructure – from online cyberattacks. The updated legislation, NIS2, will have stricter rules and reporting requirements, and higher penalties for non-compliance. They will apply to medium-sized and large businesses that operate within one or more EU countries. Those based only in the UK can’t sit back, however, as the original NIS regulations will still apply as part of British law. What’s more, a UK version of the rules is coming very soon, and it’s likely that the framework will closely resemble the EU’s. What will the requirements cover? There are a number of cyber risk management measures that all organisations that come under the scope of NIS2 will be required to put in place. For instance, they will need to conduct regular security assessments and risk analyses, adopt incident response and handling plans, and appoint a chief information security officer (CISO), among other obligations. The new directive will streamline and strengthen incident reporting requirements. Entities must notify regulators of any incident that has compromised data, or had a significant impact on the provision of their services, for instance by causing severe operational disruption or financial loss. Applying information system security policies and business continuity plans will form part of the obligations, as will conducting cyber security testing, and training for all staff. The use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) and encryption, where appropriate, will also be mandated. There is plenty of focus within the directive on the cornerstones of cyber security best practice – in particular the proper control of administrator-level account credentials, privileged access, and endpoints, all of which are prime targets for attackers. Under NIS2, organisations are being separated into ‘critical’ and ‘important’ entities. It’s important to determine which category yours will fall under, as requirements are different for each. The third party threat will also be addressed in NIS2 through the pulling in of managed service providers (MSPs) to the list of ‘critical entities’, with the aim of keeping digital supply chains secure. MSPs are often granted privileged access to clients’ corporate systems and networks, which creates security risks. What are the consequences of non-compliance? Organisations that come under the regulations’ purview will be subject to random checks, regular security audits, on-site inspections and off-site supervisions. For those found to be in breach, sanctions could include warnings, temporary suspension of certain activities, and temporary prohibition to exercise certain managerial functions. Financial penalties could be as high as 10 million Euros or 2% of an organisation’s global turnover – whichever is higher. What steps should healthcare organisations take now? Organisations should take action to establish whether the EU or UK NIS2 regulations will apply to them and what their responsibilities will be. Having identified any gaps in existing cyber security processes, policies and practices, they must determine what changes need making to address them. As a priority, they must review their incident response plans, and incident management and reporting procedures. It’s also a good idea to begin assessing the security posture of partners and third parties in the supply chain, and incorporating relevant security requirements into contracts. Given the framework’s focus on protecting privileged admin accounts, organisations should implement controls that will limit the number of staff members who hold these powerful credentials. Implementing privileged access management (PAM) will allow IT to control who is granted access to which systems, applications and services, for how long, and what they can do while they’re using them. Preparing for the introduction of the EU NIS2 regulations should be considered as more than just a compliance exercise. By meeting the strengthened requirements, healthcare organisations will be building a foundation of resilience that protects them, their customers, and the essential services they provide.

Read More
Software Security

Security by Sector: Improving Quality of Data and Decision-Making a Priority for Credit Industry

Article | September 6, 2023

The subject of how information security impacts different industry sectors is an intriguing one. For example, how does the finance industry fare in terms of information security compared to the health sector, or the entertainment business? Are there some sectors that face greater cyber-threats and risks than others? Do some do a better job of keeping data secure, and if so, how and why?A new study of credit management professionals has revealed that improving the quality of data and decision-making will be a top priority for the credit industry in the next three years. The research, from Equifax Ingnite in collaboration with Coleman Parkes, takes a deep dive into the views of credit management pros across retail, banking, finance and debt management/recovery sectors.

Read More

3 Trends in Data Privacy Breach Laws That Will Carry Over to 2020

Article | February 12, 2020

During 2019, new privacy laws were introduced, and many current laws evolved in the United States and across the global landscape. With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in full effect, we saw expensive fines levied upon companies that fell victim to data privacy breaches. As we move into a new year, probably the biggest takeaway from 2019 is that being proactive and having a data privacy strategy in place is important to help mitigate the risk of a data privacy breach. The regulatory landscape continues to evolve as states and countries actively pass new expanded requirements for privacy and cybersecurity regulations. While laws in the U.S., like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), are getting significant attention, many other states and countries are actively amending their breach notification laws to include tighter restrictions.

Read More
Enterprise Security, Platform Security

Transformative Cybersecurity Detection Reshapes the Battle Against Constantly Evolving Cyber Threats

Article | July 13, 2023

As of May 2023, 39% percent of workers in the UK work from home at some point during their week. Whilst understandable, the hybrid-working environment continues to pose more risks to organisations and their data. As more devices are accessed beyond the confines of the corporate network, businesses must account for the inherent risks presented by insecure or non-existent endpoint control. As users of these devices have more administrative control, and without the constant presence of IT services, the door is left open for increased phishing, ransomware and malware attacks. A daunting 88% of data breaches are now caused by employee error. Just earlier this month, the genealogy company 23andMe confirmed that its data had been compromised in an attack from hackers who claimed to have accessed millions of data points from accounts by taking advantage of users login credentials. The problem with this is that the users are not the root of the issue. The concern comes not only from employees, but from the number of endpoints being accessed from multiple locations, and the lack of control over the access and privileges that these devices have. A frightening statistic revealed in a study from Forbes, showed that 23% of UK and US small businesses used no form of endpoint security, and that a further 57% simply believe they won’t be targeted by cyber-attacks. The reason this is so concerning is that cybersecurity companies have reported a 20% increase in victims of such attacks just in the last year. These attacks not only put company and customer data at risk but can also result in a strain on IT services and leave users without the systems and tools essential for productivity. Preventing unlimited access One of the ways that attacks break through endpoints and escape into an organisation's network is by exploiting local admin rights on end-users' workstations. Those local admin rights are handy for the user. For example, they can install a new printer driver or update an application plug-in without calling the IT help desk. But they can also be abused to install malware or configure the computer to make an attack easier. It could be easy to remove those local admin rights or the shadow user account on the workstations with those elevated permissions. But that will frustrate end-users and increase the load on the help desk. The key issue here, is the concept of privilege. Users often need the privilege to elevate their devices by running an administrator account in order to gain access to, and update applications. Unfortunately, this greatly increases risk as these elevated administrator accounts are much more attractive to hackers for this exact reason - their access to more lucrative data. It has been reported that 70% of all data breaches are targeted at privileged accounts, which is especially alarming when taking into account the fact that 90% of IT security professionals have said that their organisations’ users have more privilege than is necessary. The issue for many companies arises in finding the balance between the users’ access to local admin rights and their productivity. More open access to the admin rights makes things easier and convenient for the users but opens the door to security risks with more endpoints to target. A study by the Ponemon Institute showed that 73% of organisations believed that threats to their endpoints had significantly increased, and that a staggering 80% of organisations that had been compromised by cyber-attacks did not know what type of attack they had been subjected to. The need for a more effective and efficient security measure is clear. Endpoint privilege management (EPM) oversees and governs the privilege of network devices. It completely removes the need for users to have administrator accounts on the devices they use, whilst still enabling them to have elevated access to certain applications. EPM only elevates approved applications and provides the users with a clear audit list of those which have been approved. Privilege to protect Whilst not a universal fix, the implementation of EPM, for example, can help alleviate the risks and reinforce a culture of security within organisations. It is understandable to be cautious when faced with words and phrases such as “approved applications” or “removing administrator rights”, but EPM is not about limiting your users’ experience or productivity. EPM does not forbid or remove access to applications. The IT team can grant approved users’ permission to run specific applications with elevated permissions for a limited period, to carry out specific actions. Users can then access what they need to, while IT retains visibility over all actions in case activity needs to be stopped, or incidents need to be investigated at a later date. If permissions need to be granted on an individual basis, for each user and application, IT will be buried under an avalanche of requests – so EPM tools will allow rules and policies to be created and then applied at scale. Users can do the work they need with few calls to the Help Desk. IT gets fewer interruptions and can focus on more valuable work. Auditors can see who had access to which applications and logs show the actual users, not an arbitrary administrator account. Endpoint privilege management is vital to any organisation's cybersecurity strategy, not only to manage and control access to sensitive data and resources but minimise the chance of a data breach. EPM also plays a crucial role in ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations to avoid the legal liabilities that may ensue should a breach occur.

Read More
Data Security, InfoSec Project Management

Identity-Based Authentication Sets New Industry Standards for Secure and Streamlined User Onboarding

Article | July 13, 2023

The EU NIS cyber security regulations are evolving for 2024 – and if you’re not currently aware of how they’ll apply to your organisation, now is the time to get up to speed with the likely requirements. Not only is the directive being tightened, but an extended range of healthcare and related organisations will be added to the list of ‘critical entities’ that must comply. These include certain medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and organisations that carry out R&D. The Network and Information Systems (NIS) standards were set up in 2016 to protect essential services – such as water, energy, healthcare, transport and digital infrastructure – from online cyberattacks. The updated legislation, NIS2, will have stricter rules and reporting requirements, and higher penalties for non-compliance. They will apply to medium-sized and large businesses that operate within one or more EU countries. Those based only in the UK can’t sit back, however, as the original NIS regulations will still apply as part of British law. What’s more, a UK version of the rules is coming very soon, and it’s likely that the framework will closely resemble the EU’s. What will the requirements cover? There are a number of cyber risk management measures that all organisations that come under the scope of NIS2 will be required to put in place. For instance, they will need to conduct regular security assessments and risk analyses, adopt incident response and handling plans, and appoint a chief information security officer (CISO), among other obligations. The new directive will streamline and strengthen incident reporting requirements. Entities must notify regulators of any incident that has compromised data, or had a significant impact on the provision of their services, for instance by causing severe operational disruption or financial loss. Applying information system security policies and business continuity plans will form part of the obligations, as will conducting cyber security testing, and training for all staff. The use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) and encryption, where appropriate, will also be mandated. There is plenty of focus within the directive on the cornerstones of cyber security best practice – in particular the proper control of administrator-level account credentials, privileged access, and endpoints, all of which are prime targets for attackers. Under NIS2, organisations are being separated into ‘critical’ and ‘important’ entities. It’s important to determine which category yours will fall under, as requirements are different for each. The third party threat will also be addressed in NIS2 through the pulling in of managed service providers (MSPs) to the list of ‘critical entities’, with the aim of keeping digital supply chains secure. MSPs are often granted privileged access to clients’ corporate systems and networks, which creates security risks. What are the consequences of non-compliance? Organisations that come under the regulations’ purview will be subject to random checks, regular security audits, on-site inspections and off-site supervisions. For those found to be in breach, sanctions could include warnings, temporary suspension of certain activities, and temporary prohibition to exercise certain managerial functions. Financial penalties could be as high as 10 million Euros or 2% of an organisation’s global turnover – whichever is higher. What steps should healthcare organisations take now? Organisations should take action to establish whether the EU or UK NIS2 regulations will apply to them and what their responsibilities will be. Having identified any gaps in existing cyber security processes, policies and practices, they must determine what changes need making to address them. As a priority, they must review their incident response plans, and incident management and reporting procedures. It’s also a good idea to begin assessing the security posture of partners and third parties in the supply chain, and incorporating relevant security requirements into contracts. Given the framework’s focus on protecting privileged admin accounts, organisations should implement controls that will limit the number of staff members who hold these powerful credentials. Implementing privileged access management (PAM) will allow IT to control who is granted access to which systems, applications and services, for how long, and what they can do while they’re using them. Preparing for the introduction of the EU NIS2 regulations should be considered as more than just a compliance exercise. By meeting the strengthened requirements, healthcare organisations will be building a foundation of resilience that protects them, their customers, and the essential services they provide.

Read More
Software Security

Leading the Pack: Top 15 Network Security Providers for Businesses

Article | September 6, 2023

The subject of how information security impacts different industry sectors is an intriguing one. For example, how does the finance industry fare in terms of information security compared to the health sector, or the entertainment business? Are there some sectors that face greater cyber-threats and risks than others? Do some do a better job of keeping data secure, and if so, how and why?A new study of credit management professionals has revealed that improving the quality of data and decision-making will be a top priority for the credit industry in the next three years. The research, from Equifax Ingnite in collaboration with Coleman Parkes, takes a deep dive into the views of credit management pros across retail, banking, finance and debt management/recovery sectors.

Read More

3 Trends in Data Privacy Breach Laws That Will Carry Over to 2020

Article | February 12, 2020

During 2019, new privacy laws were introduced, and many current laws evolved in the United States and across the global landscape. With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in full effect, we saw expensive fines levied upon companies that fell victim to data privacy breaches. As we move into a new year, probably the biggest takeaway from 2019 is that being proactive and having a data privacy strategy in place is important to help mitigate the risk of a data privacy breach. The regulatory landscape continues to evolve as states and countries actively pass new expanded requirements for privacy and cybersecurity regulations. While laws in the U.S., like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), are getting significant attention, many other states and countries are actively amending their breach notification laws to include tighter restrictions.

Read More
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Spotlight

Indus Valley Partners

Indus Valley Partners is a leading provider of technology solutions and services to the alternative investment industry. Founded in 2000, Indus Valley Partners client base includes 25 of the top 50 global hedge funds. Managing more than $825 billion these clients represent over 25% of global hedge fund AUM.

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Network Threat Detection

Fortinet Focuses on Business Growth to Drive Cybersecurity Innovation

Fortinet | November 06, 2023

Fortinet prioritizes secure networking, universal SASE, and security operations to expand globally and innovate in cybersecurity. Secure networking is estimated to reach $86 billion by 2027 and universal SASE $36 billion, aligning with the strategic change. Focusing on cybersecurity growth strengthens Fortinet's commitment to customer value and innovation. Fortinet, a global leader in cybersecurity, is focusing its business strategy on high-growth markets, emphasizing secure networking, universal secure access service edge (SASE), and security operations. This shift will drive innovation and reinforce its commitment to customers. Fortinet is reorganizing its research & development (R&D) and go-to-market (GTM) strategies around the three markets mentioned. They will develop integrated and advanced products to cater to these areas. Fortinet operates globally, serving hyperscale customers and promoting cybersecurity technologies. The three core markets Fortinet is concentrating on are secure networking, universal SASE, and security operations. These markets are expected to experience substantial growth, and Fortinet has a competitive advantage in them. This strategy aims to expand Fortinet's global business and provide value to its customers. The company is aligning with areas of high demand in the cybersecurity sector. Its current collection of organically developed and integrated products and services enjoys a notable competitive edge in the aforementioned three crucial markets: The market for secure networking is anticipated to reach $86 billion by 2027, expanding at a rate of nearly nine percent per year. 5G gateways, network firewalls, secure switches, and access points comprise the majority of its composition. With the expansion of its firewall business, Fortinet anticipates a corresponding increase in revenue for its FortiGuard Security Services, which are propelled by artificial intelligence (AI). Secure networking remains an integral component of Fortinet's strategy, given that it dominates both firewall revenues and units shipped in its greatest addressable market. Also, by 2027, the universal SASE market is anticipated to reach $36 billion, representing an annual expansion of nearly 20%. The system integrates various cloud-native networking and security technologies, including SD-WAN, secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), data loss prevention (DLP), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), SASE, and others. Its purpose is to streamline the process of implementing a zero-trust strategy. All functions of the SASE solution developed by Fortinet can be executed either in an appliance or in the cloud. This capability is facilitated by a unified management console, networking and security layer, and operating system. Recently, Fortinet was positioned in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE in 2023. Lastly, the security operations market is anticipated to reach $78 billion by 2027, expanding at slightly more than 14% per year. Fortinet's SecOps platform is the most comprehensive, integrated, and broad in the industry, enabling organizations to gain control and insight into their distributed operations through security orchestration, endpoint detection and response (EDR), automation and response (SOAR), security information and event management (SIEM), network detection and response (NDR), and additional integrated enterprise-grade cybersecurity technologies. Complementing Fortinet's R&D expenditures are strategic realignments in its GTM investments, concentrating on security operations, universal SASE, and secure networking. With the assistance of marketing support and training, sales will be structured in accordance with these three strategic areas in order to increase market penetration and consumer engagement.

Read More

Software Security

SCYTHE Latest Version 4.1 Introduces Enhanced Deployment Flexibility and AI-Driven Productivity Boost

Business Wire | November 02, 2023

SCYTHE, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions, announces the release of SCYTHE 4.1, the latest evolution in its cutting-edge cyber resilience offering. This release brings new and enhanced features to empower organizations in their continuous efforts to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. SaaS Offering for Unparalleled Flexibility SCYTHE 4.1 introduces its initial Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, providing organizations with newfound deployment flexibility. This SaaS option offers the same robust capabilities as the on-premises version, ensuring that teams can choose the deployment model that best suits their needs without pricing changes. SCYTHE's commitment to flexibility ensures that organizations can secure their infrastructure on their terms. Advanced Agent Support with Scheduling for Continuous Testing To unlock even greater control over security testing, SCYTHE 4.1 introduces advanced agent support with scheduling. This feature allows organizations to perform continuous testing by automating the deployment and execution of security assessments at specified intervals. With the power of scheduling, teams can proactively identify threats, assess controls, and evaluate their readiness to respond to cyber threats. SCYTHE empowers organizations to maintain the highest level of cyber resilience without manual intervention. Cloppy - Your AI-Powered Security Analyst In a significant leap forward, SCYTHE unveils the early access beta release of "Cloppy," its supervised machine learning (ML)-based AI analyst chatbot. Cloppy enhances team productivity, job satisfaction, and cybersecurity capabilities by delivering instant insights and recommendations. This AI-driven assistant will leverage private knowledge base instances, ensuring sensitive information stays secure. Cloppy is poised to become a trusted companion for security professionals, providing real-time guidance and augmenting their decision-making processes. As cyber threats continue to evolve, so must our approach to cybersecurity. SCYTHE 4.1 represents our commitment to innovation and empowering organizations to stay ahead of cyber adversaries, said Marc Brown, Head of Product at SCYTHE. With our SaaS offering, advanced agent support, and the introduction of Cloppy, we're equipping organizations with the tools they need to enhance their cyber resilience while simplifying offensive security. SCYTHE 4.1 Platform is now available for both new and existing customers. For more information on SCYTHE's comprehensive cyber resilience solutions, please visit https://scythe.io. About SCYTHE SCYTHE represents a paradigm shift in cybersecurity risk management, empowering organizations to Attack, Detect, and Respond efficiently. The SCYTHE platform enables collaboration between red, blue, and purple teams to build and emulate real-world adversarial campaigns. SCYTHE's innovative dual-deployment options and comprehensive features ensure a proactive cybersecurity approach. Headquartered in Arlington, VA, SCYTHE is privately funded by distinguished partners dedicated to shaping a more resilient cybersecurity landscape.

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Cloud Security

Palo Alto Networks Announces Intent to Acquire Cloud Security Start-up Dig Security

PR Newswire | November 01, 2023

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire cloud security start-up Dig Security, an innovative provider of Data Security Posture Management (DSPM). Today, almost 70% of organizations already have data stored in the public cloud1. With increased interest and adoption of generative AI, sensitive data is often even more spread out across cloud services, including distributed databases, vector databases, PaaS services, and more. Organizations need help identifying sensitive data, effectively managing user access, and implementing robust security measures to protect against internal and external threats. Simultaneously, the relentless surge in the volume and impact of cloud data breaches persists2, causing significant damage to enterprises. This underscores the critical role that DSPM will play within a comprehensive cloud security strategy. Dig's DSPM solution enables organizations to discover, classify, monitor, and protect sensitive data across all cloud data stores, which will give Palo Alto Networks' customers visibility into and control of their multi-cloud data estate. After the close of the proposed acquisition, Dig's capabilities will be seamlessly integrated into the Prisma® Cloud platform to provide near real-time data protection from code to cloud. Dig was founded by entrepreneurs Dan Benjamin, Ido Azran, and Gad Akuka. They will continue leading their teams in joining the Prisma Cloud team at Palo Alto Networks after closing. Lee Klarich, Chief Product Officer for Palo Alto Networks: "As companies build AI-enabled applications, there will be a substantial increase in the amount of data transferred to the cloud. Dig's highly innovative DSPM technology helps safely enable this shift, and its dedicated team will complement and help advance Palo Alto Networks' strengths across cloud security. The announcement of our intent to join forces with Dig reinforces our longstanding commitment to our team in Israel and to continue growing our footprint with its talented and dedicated cybersecurity professionals." Ankur Shah, SVP Products, Prisma Cloud for Palo Alto Networks: "Data protection was the top priority for cloud security cited in the 2023 The State of Cloud-Native Security Report. Upwards of 75% of respondents noted that the number of point tools they use creates blind spots. Dig lets security teams see and secure their data across multi-cloud environments. This visibility and security is becoming increasingly important in the age of generative AI. Dig's innovation, coupled with Prisma Cloud's leading code-to-cloud intelligence highlighted in the recent Darwin release, will create what CISOs need to drive complete cloud security and data protection with a single, integrated, cloud-native platform." Dan Benjamin, Co-Founder & CEO, Dig Security: "Modern cloud applications leverage a broad set of data stores to meet the complex needs of businesses. We developed an award-winning DSPM solution to alleviate this strain by providing a centralized offering to monitor and manage the security of these cloud data stores. Integrating Dig's technology with Prisma Cloud will enable customers to effectively manage the security of their diverse data stores in modern cloud applications and reduce the risk of data breaches. My co-founders and I look forward to continuing our innovation journey with Palo Alto Networks to make the world safer."

Read More

Network Threat Detection

Fortinet Focuses on Business Growth to Drive Cybersecurity Innovation

Fortinet | November 06, 2023

Fortinet prioritizes secure networking, universal SASE, and security operations to expand globally and innovate in cybersecurity. Secure networking is estimated to reach $86 billion by 2027 and universal SASE $36 billion, aligning with the strategic change. Focusing on cybersecurity growth strengthens Fortinet's commitment to customer value and innovation. Fortinet, a global leader in cybersecurity, is focusing its business strategy on high-growth markets, emphasizing secure networking, universal secure access service edge (SASE), and security operations. This shift will drive innovation and reinforce its commitment to customers. Fortinet is reorganizing its research & development (R&D) and go-to-market (GTM) strategies around the three markets mentioned. They will develop integrated and advanced products to cater to these areas. Fortinet operates globally, serving hyperscale customers and promoting cybersecurity technologies. The three core markets Fortinet is concentrating on are secure networking, universal SASE, and security operations. These markets are expected to experience substantial growth, and Fortinet has a competitive advantage in them. This strategy aims to expand Fortinet's global business and provide value to its customers. The company is aligning with areas of high demand in the cybersecurity sector. Its current collection of organically developed and integrated products and services enjoys a notable competitive edge in the aforementioned three crucial markets: The market for secure networking is anticipated to reach $86 billion by 2027, expanding at a rate of nearly nine percent per year. 5G gateways, network firewalls, secure switches, and access points comprise the majority of its composition. With the expansion of its firewall business, Fortinet anticipates a corresponding increase in revenue for its FortiGuard Security Services, which are propelled by artificial intelligence (AI). Secure networking remains an integral component of Fortinet's strategy, given that it dominates both firewall revenues and units shipped in its greatest addressable market. Also, by 2027, the universal SASE market is anticipated to reach $36 billion, representing an annual expansion of nearly 20%. The system integrates various cloud-native networking and security technologies, including SD-WAN, secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), data loss prevention (DLP), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), SASE, and others. Its purpose is to streamline the process of implementing a zero-trust strategy. All functions of the SASE solution developed by Fortinet can be executed either in an appliance or in the cloud. This capability is facilitated by a unified management console, networking and security layer, and operating system. Recently, Fortinet was positioned in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE in 2023. Lastly, the security operations market is anticipated to reach $78 billion by 2027, expanding at slightly more than 14% per year. Fortinet's SecOps platform is the most comprehensive, integrated, and broad in the industry, enabling organizations to gain control and insight into their distributed operations through security orchestration, endpoint detection and response (EDR), automation and response (SOAR), security information and event management (SIEM), network detection and response (NDR), and additional integrated enterprise-grade cybersecurity technologies. Complementing Fortinet's R&D expenditures are strategic realignments in its GTM investments, concentrating on security operations, universal SASE, and secure networking. With the assistance of marketing support and training, sales will be structured in accordance with these three strategic areas in order to increase market penetration and consumer engagement.

Read More

Software Security

SCYTHE Latest Version 4.1 Introduces Enhanced Deployment Flexibility and AI-Driven Productivity Boost

Business Wire | November 02, 2023

SCYTHE, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions, announces the release of SCYTHE 4.1, the latest evolution in its cutting-edge cyber resilience offering. This release brings new and enhanced features to empower organizations in their continuous efforts to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. SaaS Offering for Unparalleled Flexibility SCYTHE 4.1 introduces its initial Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, providing organizations with newfound deployment flexibility. This SaaS option offers the same robust capabilities as the on-premises version, ensuring that teams can choose the deployment model that best suits their needs without pricing changes. SCYTHE's commitment to flexibility ensures that organizations can secure their infrastructure on their terms. Advanced Agent Support with Scheduling for Continuous Testing To unlock even greater control over security testing, SCYTHE 4.1 introduces advanced agent support with scheduling. This feature allows organizations to perform continuous testing by automating the deployment and execution of security assessments at specified intervals. With the power of scheduling, teams can proactively identify threats, assess controls, and evaluate their readiness to respond to cyber threats. SCYTHE empowers organizations to maintain the highest level of cyber resilience without manual intervention. Cloppy - Your AI-Powered Security Analyst In a significant leap forward, SCYTHE unveils the early access beta release of "Cloppy," its supervised machine learning (ML)-based AI analyst chatbot. Cloppy enhances team productivity, job satisfaction, and cybersecurity capabilities by delivering instant insights and recommendations. This AI-driven assistant will leverage private knowledge base instances, ensuring sensitive information stays secure. Cloppy is poised to become a trusted companion for security professionals, providing real-time guidance and augmenting their decision-making processes. As cyber threats continue to evolve, so must our approach to cybersecurity. SCYTHE 4.1 represents our commitment to innovation and empowering organizations to stay ahead of cyber adversaries, said Marc Brown, Head of Product at SCYTHE. With our SaaS offering, advanced agent support, and the introduction of Cloppy, we're equipping organizations with the tools they need to enhance their cyber resilience while simplifying offensive security. SCYTHE 4.1 Platform is now available for both new and existing customers. For more information on SCYTHE's comprehensive cyber resilience solutions, please visit https://scythe.io. About SCYTHE SCYTHE represents a paradigm shift in cybersecurity risk management, empowering organizations to Attack, Detect, and Respond efficiently. The SCYTHE platform enables collaboration between red, blue, and purple teams to build and emulate real-world adversarial campaigns. SCYTHE's innovative dual-deployment options and comprehensive features ensure a proactive cybersecurity approach. Headquartered in Arlington, VA, SCYTHE is privately funded by distinguished partners dedicated to shaping a more resilient cybersecurity landscape.

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Cloud Security

Palo Alto Networks Announces Intent to Acquire Cloud Security Start-up Dig Security

PR Newswire | November 01, 2023

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire cloud security start-up Dig Security, an innovative provider of Data Security Posture Management (DSPM). Today, almost 70% of organizations already have data stored in the public cloud1. With increased interest and adoption of generative AI, sensitive data is often even more spread out across cloud services, including distributed databases, vector databases, PaaS services, and more. Organizations need help identifying sensitive data, effectively managing user access, and implementing robust security measures to protect against internal and external threats. Simultaneously, the relentless surge in the volume and impact of cloud data breaches persists2, causing significant damage to enterprises. This underscores the critical role that DSPM will play within a comprehensive cloud security strategy. Dig's DSPM solution enables organizations to discover, classify, monitor, and protect sensitive data across all cloud data stores, which will give Palo Alto Networks' customers visibility into and control of their multi-cloud data estate. After the close of the proposed acquisition, Dig's capabilities will be seamlessly integrated into the Prisma® Cloud platform to provide near real-time data protection from code to cloud. Dig was founded by entrepreneurs Dan Benjamin, Ido Azran, and Gad Akuka. They will continue leading their teams in joining the Prisma Cloud team at Palo Alto Networks after closing. Lee Klarich, Chief Product Officer for Palo Alto Networks: "As companies build AI-enabled applications, there will be a substantial increase in the amount of data transferred to the cloud. Dig's highly innovative DSPM technology helps safely enable this shift, and its dedicated team will complement and help advance Palo Alto Networks' strengths across cloud security. The announcement of our intent to join forces with Dig reinforces our longstanding commitment to our team in Israel and to continue growing our footprint with its talented and dedicated cybersecurity professionals." Ankur Shah, SVP Products, Prisma Cloud for Palo Alto Networks: "Data protection was the top priority for cloud security cited in the 2023 The State of Cloud-Native Security Report. Upwards of 75% of respondents noted that the number of point tools they use creates blind spots. Dig lets security teams see and secure their data across multi-cloud environments. This visibility and security is becoming increasingly important in the age of generative AI. Dig's innovation, coupled with Prisma Cloud's leading code-to-cloud intelligence highlighted in the recent Darwin release, will create what CISOs need to drive complete cloud security and data protection with a single, integrated, cloud-native platform." Dan Benjamin, Co-Founder & CEO, Dig Security: "Modern cloud applications leverage a broad set of data stores to meet the complex needs of businesses. We developed an award-winning DSPM solution to alleviate this strain by providing a centralized offering to monitor and manage the security of these cloud data stores. Integrating Dig's technology with Prisma Cloud will enable customers to effectively manage the security of their diverse data stores in modern cloud applications and reduce the risk of data breaches. My co-founders and I look forward to continuing our innovation journey with Palo Alto Networks to make the world safer."

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