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Ransomware: To Blame or Not to Blame in Baltimore Cyberattack?

June 2, 2019 | 212 views

As the city of Baltimore continues to recover from the devastating ransomware attack that struck on May 7, 2019, the total incident costs are estimated to be at least $18.2 million, according to the Baltimore Sun. City leaders have not given a timetable for how long the total recovery effort will take, other than saying it could be months. As the number of U.S. ransomware incidents has skyrocketed, the national discussion has shifted regarding who is to blame for our current predicament. Some of the broader questions now being asked include: Are creators of destructive malware or cyber tools, which were originally intended for use against foreign adversaries, responsible if those cyber weapons are later reused against friendly targets? What legal responsibility do three-letter agencies have to ensure that hacking tools do not fall into the wrong hands and/or to defend potential victims if the weapons are used against allies? What happens when the military or intelligence agencies fail in their hacking efforts and people, or companies, or governments, get harmed somehow? (Or a corollary: What if bad actors hack back and most Americans don’t have the tools to stop them.)

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DATA SECURITY, PLATFORM SECURITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY

The Great CISO Resignation

Article | August 20, 2022

CISOs Are Leaving in Droves The Great Resignation has been front-page news since Covid lockdowns, with many employees looking for the work-life balance they enjoyed at the time. Now, the phenomenon has spread to the role of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and shows no signs of letting up. In fact, industry experts predict that it is likely to worsen. A recent study from cybersecurity company BlackFog found that 32% of CISOs in the U.K. and U.S. have considered leaving and many planned to do so in just six months. The majority noted that the top reason for leaving was a lack of work-life balance. The CISO role is demanding, with firefighting and frequent changes in regulations and customer expectations taking up significant time both on and off the job. In another recent study in which 581 CISOs were surveyed, the IANS Research and Artico Search explored CISO compensation and job satisfaction. Three-fourths of CISOs are satisfied with their job, which is 7% higher than in the 2021 sample and more than double that of the 2020 sample. The main drivers of satisfaction are compensation, budget, executive visibility, and organizational support. However, despite high satisfaction numbers, the study found that as many as 44% of respondents are considering a job change. CISO Challenges LIABILITY AND EXPOSURE OF THE CISO There is a perception that CISOs face heightened liability for cyber intrusions and the response to cyber events. One extraordinary example is the recent conviction of Uber’s former security officer, which represents the first time a security executive has faced federal crime prosecution over a data security response. In this case the finding was that he obstructed justice by concealing information about a breach, destroying data, and covering up the incident. CISOs are often in the hot seat when it comes to cyber-intrusions and how they are handled. The Board of Directors (possibly including named corporate officers) in most cases are protected by being diligent about the Business Judgement Rule (BJR). Heavily adopted in Delaware case law and since adopted in various forms in many states, this “rule” stipulates that proper oversight includes demonstrating the duty of loyalty (no conflicting interests) and duty of care (make informed decisions) to be protected from liability. There are few cases (although Enron being one) where liability was found but it was for illegalities and poor business judgment. Since CISOs are not named corporate officers in most cases, BJR does not provide comfort. Similarly, liability insurance which covers legal defense fees and cash judgments often covers only directors and named corporate officers unless the CISO has been specifically included in the policy. DUTY TO REPORT Improving Board-CISO Transparency There is a mechanism found in corporate governance best-practices for ensuring that the most senior people in an organization get direct, unfiltered input from a key executive, regardless of reporting structure. It is called the executive session. This is in common use by Boards of Directors who meet individually with the Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and other key executives, notably without other management in the room. Questions are intended to be penetrating and the respondent is expected to respond openly. Now that cybersecurity has risen to a top risk for the enterprise, the CISO position should be among those who appear individually in an executive session with the highest governing body of an enterprise at least annually. This addition to governance best-practices would give Board members and State governors unfiltered information on cybersecurity matters, thereby helping to fulfil their oversight responsibility. Bob Zukis, founder and CEO of the Digital Directors Network, reports that a survey of its membership of more than 900 IT, cyber, and boardroom leaders shows nearly half of the respondents already have some form of this policy in practice. However, this is still a minority of the overall CISO population, signaling more transparency between the CISO and Board is needed. CISOs in State Governments Government organizations also face many of these issues. Evidence shows that CISOs in state governments are as vulnerable to other job offers as CISOs in the private sector. In the span of eight days in October 2022, there were several reports of state CISOs resigning, including Oklahoma, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Dakota. [1] Legal liability is not an issue the government CISO needs to be worried about since governments and their employees are immune from legal suits. However, government CISOs are highly concerned about shouldering blame, especially in the press, for security intrusions or their coverup. As with private industry, state governments should also institute this recommended practice. NCC recommends CISOs be called upon to appear in an executive session with agency heads and even the governor at least once a year. The State of Texas, for example, already has a version of this policy implemented in a statute and in practice. Texas Administrative Code includes provisions for: Reporting, at least annually, directly to the agency head the status and effectiveness of the security program and its controls. Informing any relevant parties in the event of noncompliance with the state agency’s information security policies Resolving the Great CISO Resignation For organizations across the public and private sectors, cybersecurity has risen to one of the top risks and has increased the importance of the role of the CISO. Most are looking to improve their work-life balance and reduce some of the stressors of the job. While many CISOs are also concerned about trends in liability and becoming headline news for decisions made on the job, requiring CISOs to appear in executive sessions with board members or state governors can help to alleviate these concerns and improve CISO job satisfaction while at the same time improving how the most senior levels of organizations fulfil their responsibilities for oversight of top risks.

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PLATFORM SECURITY

Top 5 Application Security Trends Businesses Must Be Aware of in 2023

Article | October 12, 2022

Introduction Top 5 Trends for Businesses to Improve Their Existing Application Security 1.AppSec and Convergence 2.Adoption of Automated AI Security Capabilities 3.Emphasis on Securing the Software Supply Chain 4.Extreme 'Shift Left' 5.Upsurge in Demand for Vulnerability Prioritization Moving Forward with Application Security Introduction The proliferation of applications and their usage across the business landscape has made application security a strategic initiative that spans departments rather than an activity. Several factors are driving the rethinking of application security as a broader strategic program, including the evolving threat landscape, more incremental software development frameworks, and the adoption of nimbler. With the acceleration of software development and the greater-than-ever role of code in current business infrastructure, application security is shifting left in the process and infusing every step to ensure that the applications reaching customers' hands are secure and reliable. Top 5 Trends for Businesses to Improve Their Existing Application Security Applications serve as a doorway to servers and networks, making them an excellent target for malicious actors. Since cyber attackers constantly improve their techniques for breaking into software, it is becoming essential for businesses to gain insights into ever-evolving trends in the AppSec space. Here are some of the prominent trends that businesses should aware of to improve their existing application security. Trend 1: AppSec and CloudSec Convergence To accurately estimate attack surface and overall security posture, both application code vulnerabilities and cloud service hosting misconfigurations must be examined. The convergence of AppSec and CloudSec is becoming a critical component of modern security operations. It allows organizations to gain a comprehensive view of the attack surface and better understand the risks posed by application code and cloud service providers. By looking at these two areas cohesively, organizations can identify business-critical vulnerabilities and prioritize their remediation efforts. Trend 2: Adoption of Automated AI Security Capabilities The increasing volume and complexity of security threats pose significant challenges for organizations, causing strain on their threat detection and response capabilities. This leads to slower response times, higher costs, and a greater impact on security incidents. To address this issue, many companies are turning to security automation as a potential solution. One of such approaches involves the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which can automate data gathering, threat identification, and incident response processes. By adopting security automation, companies can optimize the use of limited security personnel and resources, enabling them to focus on high-value activities that provide maximum benefit to the organization. Trend 3: Emphasis on Securing the Software Supply Chain The software supply chain is emerging as a primary area of focus due to the heightened risks associated with software development. This urgency has been further compounded by the recent attack, such as Solarwind data breach and the Log4j attack on Apache, increasing the significance of software security measures. Companies are taking a more proactive approach for making enhancements in the software supply chain to protect their applications, including conducting Static Application Security Testing (SAST) to identify and address vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. Trend 4: Extreme 'Shift Left' The ‘shift left’ in software development has gained significant momentum in recent years. The idea behind this approach is to prioritize security and other critical aspects of software development at the earliest possible stage in the development process. By doing so, organizations can make more informed security decisions and identify and address security vulnerabilities before they cause any damage. As the pace of development continues to increase, organizations are increasingly adopting this approach in their software development processes to protect their systems and data from security risks. Trend 5: Upsurge in Demand for Vulnerability Prioritization Managing vulnerabilities in a software system requires analyzing vast amounts of data to determine issues that require immediate attention and prioritization. However, the growing presence of false positives is negatively impacting this process, resulting in decreased efficiency and wasted resources. Organizations are increasingly looking for vendors to provide vulnerability management tools that can reduce false positives, differentiate between low-priority issues and severe security threats, and offer actionable insights to mitigate them. Moving Forward with Application Security Applications security has become more critical than ever before for businesses in the current digital scape. With the attack surface constantly expanding and the frequency of threats on the rise, organizations must remain agile and employ the best effective strategies to protect their applications from potential cyberattacks. The significance of application security has not gone unnoticed. As organizations continue to invest in security measures, they are increasingly upgrading themselves as per emerging security trends to protect themselves against evolving cyber threats. This includes adopting the ‘shift left’ approach, tightening controls, and having a clear definition of remediation processes.

Read More
PLATFORM SECURITY

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

Article | July 12, 2022

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.

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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
DATA SECURITY, PLATFORM SECURITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY

Cloud Security: The Next-generation Security Framework

Article | August 20, 2022

CISOs Are Leaving in Droves The Great Resignation has been front-page news since Covid lockdowns, with many employees looking for the work-life balance they enjoyed at the time. Now, the phenomenon has spread to the role of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and shows no signs of letting up. In fact, industry experts predict that it is likely to worsen. A recent study from cybersecurity company BlackFog found that 32% of CISOs in the U.K. and U.S. have considered leaving and many planned to do so in just six months. The majority noted that the top reason for leaving was a lack of work-life balance. The CISO role is demanding, with firefighting and frequent changes in regulations and customer expectations taking up significant time both on and off the job. In another recent study in which 581 CISOs were surveyed, the IANS Research and Artico Search explored CISO compensation and job satisfaction. Three-fourths of CISOs are satisfied with their job, which is 7% higher than in the 2021 sample and more than double that of the 2020 sample. The main drivers of satisfaction are compensation, budget, executive visibility, and organizational support. However, despite high satisfaction numbers, the study found that as many as 44% of respondents are considering a job change. CISO Challenges LIABILITY AND EXPOSURE OF THE CISO There is a perception that CISOs face heightened liability for cyber intrusions and the response to cyber events. One extraordinary example is the recent conviction of Uber’s former security officer, which represents the first time a security executive has faced federal crime prosecution over a data security response. In this case the finding was that he obstructed justice by concealing information about a breach, destroying data, and covering up the incident. CISOs are often in the hot seat when it comes to cyber-intrusions and how they are handled. The Board of Directors (possibly including named corporate officers) in most cases are protected by being diligent about the Business Judgement Rule (BJR). Heavily adopted in Delaware case law and since adopted in various forms in many states, this “rule” stipulates that proper oversight includes demonstrating the duty of loyalty (no conflicting interests) and duty of care (make informed decisions) to be protected from liability. There are few cases (although Enron being one) where liability was found but it was for illegalities and poor business judgment. Since CISOs are not named corporate officers in most cases, BJR does not provide comfort. Similarly, liability insurance which covers legal defense fees and cash judgments often covers only directors and named corporate officers unless the CISO has been specifically included in the policy. DUTY TO REPORT Improving Board-CISO Transparency There is a mechanism found in corporate governance best-practices for ensuring that the most senior people in an organization get direct, unfiltered input from a key executive, regardless of reporting structure. It is called the executive session. This is in common use by Boards of Directors who meet individually with the Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and other key executives, notably without other management in the room. Questions are intended to be penetrating and the respondent is expected to respond openly. Now that cybersecurity has risen to a top risk for the enterprise, the CISO position should be among those who appear individually in an executive session with the highest governing body of an enterprise at least annually. This addition to governance best-practices would give Board members and State governors unfiltered information on cybersecurity matters, thereby helping to fulfil their oversight responsibility. Bob Zukis, founder and CEO of the Digital Directors Network, reports that a survey of its membership of more than 900 IT, cyber, and boardroom leaders shows nearly half of the respondents already have some form of this policy in practice. However, this is still a minority of the overall CISO population, signaling more transparency between the CISO and Board is needed. CISOs in State Governments Government organizations also face many of these issues. Evidence shows that CISOs in state governments are as vulnerable to other job offers as CISOs in the private sector. In the span of eight days in October 2022, there were several reports of state CISOs resigning, including Oklahoma, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Dakota. [1] Legal liability is not an issue the government CISO needs to be worried about since governments and their employees are immune from legal suits. However, government CISOs are highly concerned about shouldering blame, especially in the press, for security intrusions or their coverup. As with private industry, state governments should also institute this recommended practice. NCC recommends CISOs be called upon to appear in an executive session with agency heads and even the governor at least once a year. The State of Texas, for example, already has a version of this policy implemented in a statute and in practice. Texas Administrative Code includes provisions for: Reporting, at least annually, directly to the agency head the status and effectiveness of the security program and its controls. Informing any relevant parties in the event of noncompliance with the state agency’s information security policies Resolving the Great CISO Resignation For organizations across the public and private sectors, cybersecurity has risen to one of the top risks and has increased the importance of the role of the CISO. Most are looking to improve their work-life balance and reduce some of the stressors of the job. While many CISOs are also concerned about trends in liability and becoming headline news for decisions made on the job, requiring CISOs to appear in executive sessions with board members or state governors can help to alleviate these concerns and improve CISO job satisfaction while at the same time improving how the most senior levels of organizations fulfil their responsibilities for oversight of top risks.

Read More
PLATFORM SECURITY

A Look at Cryptographic Use Case Trends Around the World

Article | October 12, 2022

Introduction Top 5 Trends for Businesses to Improve Their Existing Application Security 1.AppSec and Convergence 2.Adoption of Automated AI Security Capabilities 3.Emphasis on Securing the Software Supply Chain 4.Extreme 'Shift Left' 5.Upsurge in Demand for Vulnerability Prioritization Moving Forward with Application Security Introduction The proliferation of applications and their usage across the business landscape has made application security a strategic initiative that spans departments rather than an activity. Several factors are driving the rethinking of application security as a broader strategic program, including the evolving threat landscape, more incremental software development frameworks, and the adoption of nimbler. With the acceleration of software development and the greater-than-ever role of code in current business infrastructure, application security is shifting left in the process and infusing every step to ensure that the applications reaching customers' hands are secure and reliable. Top 5 Trends for Businesses to Improve Their Existing Application Security Applications serve as a doorway to servers and networks, making them an excellent target for malicious actors. Since cyber attackers constantly improve their techniques for breaking into software, it is becoming essential for businesses to gain insights into ever-evolving trends in the AppSec space. Here are some of the prominent trends that businesses should aware of to improve their existing application security. Trend 1: AppSec and CloudSec Convergence To accurately estimate attack surface and overall security posture, both application code vulnerabilities and cloud service hosting misconfigurations must be examined. The convergence of AppSec and CloudSec is becoming a critical component of modern security operations. It allows organizations to gain a comprehensive view of the attack surface and better understand the risks posed by application code and cloud service providers. By looking at these two areas cohesively, organizations can identify business-critical vulnerabilities and prioritize their remediation efforts. Trend 2: Adoption of Automated AI Security Capabilities The increasing volume and complexity of security threats pose significant challenges for organizations, causing strain on their threat detection and response capabilities. This leads to slower response times, higher costs, and a greater impact on security incidents. To address this issue, many companies are turning to security automation as a potential solution. One of such approaches involves the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which can automate data gathering, threat identification, and incident response processes. By adopting security automation, companies can optimize the use of limited security personnel and resources, enabling them to focus on high-value activities that provide maximum benefit to the organization. Trend 3: Emphasis on Securing the Software Supply Chain The software supply chain is emerging as a primary area of focus due to the heightened risks associated with software development. This urgency has been further compounded by the recent attack, such as Solarwind data breach and the Log4j attack on Apache, increasing the significance of software security measures. Companies are taking a more proactive approach for making enhancements in the software supply chain to protect their applications, including conducting Static Application Security Testing (SAST) to identify and address vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. Trend 4: Extreme 'Shift Left' The ‘shift left’ in software development has gained significant momentum in recent years. The idea behind this approach is to prioritize security and other critical aspects of software development at the earliest possible stage in the development process. By doing so, organizations can make more informed security decisions and identify and address security vulnerabilities before they cause any damage. As the pace of development continues to increase, organizations are increasingly adopting this approach in their software development processes to protect their systems and data from security risks. Trend 5: Upsurge in Demand for Vulnerability Prioritization Managing vulnerabilities in a software system requires analyzing vast amounts of data to determine issues that require immediate attention and prioritization. However, the growing presence of false positives is negatively impacting this process, resulting in decreased efficiency and wasted resources. Organizations are increasingly looking for vendors to provide vulnerability management tools that can reduce false positives, differentiate between low-priority issues and severe security threats, and offer actionable insights to mitigate them. Moving Forward with Application Security Applications security has become more critical than ever before for businesses in the current digital scape. With the attack surface constantly expanding and the frequency of threats on the rise, organizations must remain agile and employ the best effective strategies to protect their applications from potential cyberattacks. The significance of application security has not gone unnoticed. As organizations continue to invest in security measures, they are increasingly upgrading themselves as per emerging security trends to protect themselves against evolving cyber threats. This includes adopting the ‘shift left’ approach, tightening controls, and having a clear definition of remediation processes.

Read More
PLATFORM SECURITY

Addressing Digital Supply Chain Risks

Article | July 12, 2022

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

STL

STL's mission: Deliver innovative IT services and reliable staffing solutions to our clients. A lot of famous companies were started in a garage or basement. We may not be famous yet, but STL’s story is similar. An acronym for Sky’s The Limit, STL was founded in 1991 by Katie and Tim Norman—in their basement.

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PLATFORM SECURITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY, API SECURITY

Traceable AI Announces the Industry’s First API Security Reference Architecture for a Zero Trust World

Businesswire | June 06, 2023

Traceable AI, the industry's leading API security company, today announced the release of the industry's first API Security Reference Architecture for Zero Trust. This groundbreaking reference architecture serves as a guide for security leaders as the industry addresses the urgency of integrating API Security into Zero Trust Security initiatives. Zero Trust, a cybersecurity framework that emphasizes continuous verification and helps to minimize the attack surface, has proven effective in enhancing security for many organizations, from large enterprises, to the US Government. However, traditional Zero Trust approaches have primarily focused on network-level controls and identity access management, neglecting the critical API layer. Traceable’s API Security Reference Architecture is aligned with the NIST Zero Trust Architecture, a publicly available, vendor-neutral framework widely adopted by government entities such as CISA, DoD, DISA, NSA, GSA and NCCoE, as well as by many leading cybersecurity vendors. By leveraging the NIST framework, Traceable ensures compatibility, interoperability, and adherence to industry standards, making it a reliable and trusted guide for organizations implementing Zero Trust for their APIs. The extensive reference architecture provides organizations with a prescriptive methodology to operationalize Zero Trust for APIs: Advanced API Security: The reference architecture gives organizations a way to implement robust security measures specifically designed for APIs, including eliminating implied or persistent trust for APIs, thereby minimizing the risk of API-related vulnerabilities, attacks, and data breaches. Comprehensive Risk Management: The reference architecture recommends incorporating automatic user authentication and authorization, granular data access policies, and asset risk assessments, can organizations can effectively manage and mitigate risks associated with API access and usage. Increased Visibility and Control: The architecture explains why organizations should obtain granular visibility, which allows organizations to monitor and record all API transactions, enabling better analysis, threat detection, and incident response capabilities. Improved Compliance and Data Protection: The automatic identification and classification of sensitive data sets ensure compliance with data protection regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS, reducing the risk of regulatory penalties and reputational damage. Seamless Automation and Orchestration: The reference architecture recommends integration with XDR, SIEM, and SOAR solutions, so organizations can enhance their overall security posture, automate response actions, and streamline security operations. Scalability and Flexibility: The architecture offers a flexible distribution model for PEPs and data collection points, allowing organizations to scale their API security infrastructure based on their unique requirements and architecture. Future-Proofing: By aligning with the NIST Zero Trust Architecture and industry standards, organizations adopting the API Security Reference Architecture can ensure compatibility, interoperability, and the ability to evolve alongside emerging technologies and security best practices. Traceable’s API Security Reference Architecture for Zero Trust introduces a new approach to secure APIs using Zero Trust concepts, acknowledging their unique security requirements. It provides organizations with a comprehensive framework to implement Zero Trust controls specifically tailored to APIs, ensuring the protection of digital assets and mitigating the risk of data breaches. Dr. Chase Cunningham weighs in on Traceable’s approach: "APIs provide a new means of applying controls across enterprise applications, " says Dr. Cunningham, “However, the security practices for APIs have not yet matured, leaving a significant gap in the overall attack surface. Traceable has developed their own API Security Reference Architecture to help fill this gap by providing organizations with a methodical way to secure their APIs with Zero Trust principles. By combining Zero Trust strategic concepts with API-specific security measures, Traceable can help organizations protect their digital assets effectively." Throughout the past year, Traceable has continued to reaffirm its commitment to extending Zero Trust methodologies to API Security. With the addition of Zero Trust creator John Kindervag and Dr. Zero Trust, Chase Cunningham as Traceable advisors, Traceable continues to strengthen its expertise in this space. To date, Traceable has become a valuable partner to a number of large enterprises as the industry turns its eyes toward the importance of API security. With the rollout of their Zero Trust API Access solution alongside this reference architecture, Traceable continues to lead the industry toward the advancement of API security. This reference architecture is now available for organizations to explore and implement, empowering them to achieve complete API security in a Zero Trust world. About Traceable Traceable is the industry’s leading API Security company that helps organizations achieve API protection in a cloud-first, API-driven world. With an API Data Lake at the core of the platform, Traceable is the only intelligent and context-aware solution that powers complete API security – security posture management, threat protection and threat management across the entire Software Development Lifecycle – enabling organizations to minimize risk and maximize the value that APIs bring to their customers. To learn more about how API security can help your business, book a demo with a security expert.

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ENTERPRISE IDENTITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY, CLOUD SECURITY

Lookout Announces the Successful Divestiture of Its Consumer Mobile Security Business Segment

Businesswire | June 05, 2023

Lookout, Inc., the endpoint-to-cloud security company, today announced it has closed the previously announced sale of its consumer mobile security business to F-Secure, a global provider of consumer security products and services. With this strategic divestiture Lookout will focus on expanding its core enterprise business, built around the Lookout Cloud Security Platform. The sale of Lookout’s consumer mobile security business represents a deliberate and strategic decision to optimize its enterprise product portfolio and concentrate its product innovation and go-to-market on the expansion of these core competencies. The divestiture sets Lookout up for long-term growth and further positions the Company to address the security transformation impacting organizations today, including the increase in remote work, the shift to cloud-based delivery models and the transition to zero trust architectures. “We are pleased to announce the successful divestiture of our mobile consumer security business, which represents a significant milestone in our strategic transformation to become a pure-play enterprise cybersecurity company,” Jim Dolce, CEO at Lookout. “With this refined focus, we will continue to drive innovation, invest in the development of cutting-edge solutions and drive greater value for our customers.” Lookout’s core enterprise business includes Lookout Mobile Endpoint Security and its security services edge (SSE) cloud-native solution, the Lookout Cloud Security Platform. The Company entered the cloud security market through its acquisition of CipherCloud in March 2021. Its Cloud Security Platform was recently scored among the highest three vendors in the 2023 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Security Service Edge (SSE)1 report in each of the four use cases. The Gartner Critical Capabilities for SSE – an essential companion to the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for SSE2 in which Lookout was named a Visionary for the second year in a row – is a comparative analysis that scores products or services against a set of critical differentiators that every business needs, as identified by Gartner. These four use cases include Secure Web and Cloud Usage, Detect and Mitigate Threats, Connect and Secure Remote Workers and Identify and Protect Sensitive Information. As part of the sale agreement, F-Secure acquires all of the Lookout consumer mobile security products and technology and assumes all responsibility for ongoing operations and customer relationships. Additionally, the Company’s consumer employees will become part of F-Secure. About Lookout Lookout, Inc. is the endpoint-to-cloud cybersecurity company that delivers zero trust security by reducing risk and protecting data wherever it goes, without boundaries or limits. Our unified, cloud-native platform safeguards digital information across devices, apps, networks and clouds and is as fluid and flexible as the modern digital world. Lookout is trusted by enterprises and government agencies of all sizes to protect the sensitive data they care about most, enabling them to work and connect freely and safely. To learn more about the Lookout Cloud Security Platform, visit www.lookout.com and follow Lookout on our blog, LinkedIn and Twitter. © 2023 Lookout, Inc. LOOKOUT®, the Lookout Shield Design®, LOOKOUT with Shield Design®, and SIGNAL FLARE® are registered trademarks of Lookout, Inc. in the United States and other countries. DAY OF SHECURITY®, LOOKOUT MOBILE SECURITY®, and POWERED BY LOOKOUT® are registered trademarks of Lookout, Inc. in the United States. Lookout, Inc. maintains common law trademark rights in EVERYTHING IS OK, PROTECTED BY LOOKOUT, CIPHERCLOUD, SCREAM, the 4 Bar Shield Design, and the Lookout multi-color/multi-shaded Wingspan design.

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ENTERPRISE SECURITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY, CLOUD SECURITY

Safe Security Unveils Industry's First AI-Fueled Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds Platform with SafeGPT to Answer Cyber Questions a Hundred Times Faster

Prnewswire | June 02, 2023

Safe Security (SAFE), the leader in AI-based cyber risk management SaaS platform, announced today the industry's first Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds for predicting and preventing cyber breaches. In contrast to the rest of the industry that takes a reactive approach, SAFE's Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds enables organizations to make informed and predictive dynamic security decisions to reduce risk. Real-Time, Data-Driven, Aggregated Risk in a Single Place SAFE's Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds provides organizations with a granular and aggregated view of enterprise security risk by bringing together multiple disparate cyber signals, including Crowdstrike, Wiz, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Provider, Qualys, Tanium, Rapid7, ServiceNow, and more in a single view. This provides organizations with visibility across their entire attack surface ecosystem, including technology, people, and third parties. AI Breach Predictions and Prioritized Actions to Prevent Breaches Using SAFE's predictive AI data models, co-developed with MIT, SAFE generates breach likelihood for different risk scenarios like ransomware. For example, accurately answer questions like: How likely are you to be hit by a ransomware attack in the next 12 months? What is your likelihood of being hit by the latest malware like "Snake" malware? What is your dollar impact for that attack? What prioritized actions can you proactively take to reduce the ransomware breach likelihood and reduce dollar risk? "The CISO is facing an unprecedented level of pressure and the role has evolved into a major business decision maker. With SAFE, CISOs can gain a new level of visibility with higher confidence, through real-time access into their cybersecurity posture, to make the most impactful strategy to decrease cyber risk," said Saket Modi, CEO and Co-Founder of SAFE. "The new release of SafeGPT, a generative AI interface, powered by LLM models is a game-changer. It helps CISOs get the right answers a hundred times faster." SafeGPT Drives Easy Access and Risk Reducing Decisions SAFE's generative AI chat interface powered by LLM models, SafeGPT, offers an intuitive platform for managing cyber risk with ease, providing stakeholders with a clear and comprehensible overview of the organization's cybersecurity posture. With its user-friendly dashboard and natural language processing capabilities, SafeGPT enables users to ask targeted questions of their cyber risk data, determine the most effective strategies for mitigating risk, and respond confidently to inquiries from regulators and other key stakeholders. "The market transitions going on now are going to affect every industry and vertical worldwide," said John Chambers, former Executive Chairman and CEO of Cisco and current founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures." AI is going to have a tremendous impact on cybersecurity, which is why I am excited about the launch of SafeGPT. It simplifies complex problem-solving for board members and C-level executives." About Safe Security Safe Security is the leader in cyber risk management SaaS platforms. It has redefined cyber risk measurement and management with its real time, data driven approach that empowers enterprises, boards, regulators and cyber insurance carriers to understand cyber risk in an aggregated and granular manner. Using SAFE's predictive AI driven data models, co-developed with MIT, customers are now empowered to translate the bits and bytes of cyber risk into dollars and cents so that they can prioritize their cyber investments to most effectively mitigate their risk and understand the return on security investments. Having raised over $100m, SAFE is growing over 200% year-over-year and serves some of the largest global enterprises.

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PLATFORM SECURITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY, API SECURITY

Traceable AI Announces the Industry’s First API Security Reference Architecture for a Zero Trust World

Businesswire | June 06, 2023

Traceable AI, the industry's leading API security company, today announced the release of the industry's first API Security Reference Architecture for Zero Trust. This groundbreaking reference architecture serves as a guide for security leaders as the industry addresses the urgency of integrating API Security into Zero Trust Security initiatives. Zero Trust, a cybersecurity framework that emphasizes continuous verification and helps to minimize the attack surface, has proven effective in enhancing security for many organizations, from large enterprises, to the US Government. However, traditional Zero Trust approaches have primarily focused on network-level controls and identity access management, neglecting the critical API layer. Traceable’s API Security Reference Architecture is aligned with the NIST Zero Trust Architecture, a publicly available, vendor-neutral framework widely adopted by government entities such as CISA, DoD, DISA, NSA, GSA and NCCoE, as well as by many leading cybersecurity vendors. By leveraging the NIST framework, Traceable ensures compatibility, interoperability, and adherence to industry standards, making it a reliable and trusted guide for organizations implementing Zero Trust for their APIs. The extensive reference architecture provides organizations with a prescriptive methodology to operationalize Zero Trust for APIs: Advanced API Security: The reference architecture gives organizations a way to implement robust security measures specifically designed for APIs, including eliminating implied or persistent trust for APIs, thereby minimizing the risk of API-related vulnerabilities, attacks, and data breaches. Comprehensive Risk Management: The reference architecture recommends incorporating automatic user authentication and authorization, granular data access policies, and asset risk assessments, can organizations can effectively manage and mitigate risks associated with API access and usage. Increased Visibility and Control: The architecture explains why organizations should obtain granular visibility, which allows organizations to monitor and record all API transactions, enabling better analysis, threat detection, and incident response capabilities. Improved Compliance and Data Protection: The automatic identification and classification of sensitive data sets ensure compliance with data protection regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS, reducing the risk of regulatory penalties and reputational damage. Seamless Automation and Orchestration: The reference architecture recommends integration with XDR, SIEM, and SOAR solutions, so organizations can enhance their overall security posture, automate response actions, and streamline security operations. Scalability and Flexibility: The architecture offers a flexible distribution model for PEPs and data collection points, allowing organizations to scale their API security infrastructure based on their unique requirements and architecture. Future-Proofing: By aligning with the NIST Zero Trust Architecture and industry standards, organizations adopting the API Security Reference Architecture can ensure compatibility, interoperability, and the ability to evolve alongside emerging technologies and security best practices. Traceable’s API Security Reference Architecture for Zero Trust introduces a new approach to secure APIs using Zero Trust concepts, acknowledging their unique security requirements. It provides organizations with a comprehensive framework to implement Zero Trust controls specifically tailored to APIs, ensuring the protection of digital assets and mitigating the risk of data breaches. Dr. Chase Cunningham weighs in on Traceable’s approach: "APIs provide a new means of applying controls across enterprise applications, " says Dr. Cunningham, “However, the security practices for APIs have not yet matured, leaving a significant gap in the overall attack surface. Traceable has developed their own API Security Reference Architecture to help fill this gap by providing organizations with a methodical way to secure their APIs with Zero Trust principles. By combining Zero Trust strategic concepts with API-specific security measures, Traceable can help organizations protect their digital assets effectively." Throughout the past year, Traceable has continued to reaffirm its commitment to extending Zero Trust methodologies to API Security. With the addition of Zero Trust creator John Kindervag and Dr. Zero Trust, Chase Cunningham as Traceable advisors, Traceable continues to strengthen its expertise in this space. To date, Traceable has become a valuable partner to a number of large enterprises as the industry turns its eyes toward the importance of API security. With the rollout of their Zero Trust API Access solution alongside this reference architecture, Traceable continues to lead the industry toward the advancement of API security. This reference architecture is now available for organizations to explore and implement, empowering them to achieve complete API security in a Zero Trust world. About Traceable Traceable is the industry’s leading API Security company that helps organizations achieve API protection in a cloud-first, API-driven world. With an API Data Lake at the core of the platform, Traceable is the only intelligent and context-aware solution that powers complete API security – security posture management, threat protection and threat management across the entire Software Development Lifecycle – enabling organizations to minimize risk and maximize the value that APIs bring to their customers. To learn more about how API security can help your business, book a demo with a security expert.

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ENTERPRISE IDENTITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY, CLOUD SECURITY

Lookout Announces the Successful Divestiture of Its Consumer Mobile Security Business Segment

Businesswire | June 05, 2023

Lookout, Inc., the endpoint-to-cloud security company, today announced it has closed the previously announced sale of its consumer mobile security business to F-Secure, a global provider of consumer security products and services. With this strategic divestiture Lookout will focus on expanding its core enterprise business, built around the Lookout Cloud Security Platform. The sale of Lookout’s consumer mobile security business represents a deliberate and strategic decision to optimize its enterprise product portfolio and concentrate its product innovation and go-to-market on the expansion of these core competencies. The divestiture sets Lookout up for long-term growth and further positions the Company to address the security transformation impacting organizations today, including the increase in remote work, the shift to cloud-based delivery models and the transition to zero trust architectures. “We are pleased to announce the successful divestiture of our mobile consumer security business, which represents a significant milestone in our strategic transformation to become a pure-play enterprise cybersecurity company,” Jim Dolce, CEO at Lookout. “With this refined focus, we will continue to drive innovation, invest in the development of cutting-edge solutions and drive greater value for our customers.” Lookout’s core enterprise business includes Lookout Mobile Endpoint Security and its security services edge (SSE) cloud-native solution, the Lookout Cloud Security Platform. The Company entered the cloud security market through its acquisition of CipherCloud in March 2021. Its Cloud Security Platform was recently scored among the highest three vendors in the 2023 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Security Service Edge (SSE)1 report in each of the four use cases. The Gartner Critical Capabilities for SSE – an essential companion to the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for SSE2 in which Lookout was named a Visionary for the second year in a row – is a comparative analysis that scores products or services against a set of critical differentiators that every business needs, as identified by Gartner. These four use cases include Secure Web and Cloud Usage, Detect and Mitigate Threats, Connect and Secure Remote Workers and Identify and Protect Sensitive Information. As part of the sale agreement, F-Secure acquires all of the Lookout consumer mobile security products and technology and assumes all responsibility for ongoing operations and customer relationships. Additionally, the Company’s consumer employees will become part of F-Secure. About Lookout Lookout, Inc. is the endpoint-to-cloud cybersecurity company that delivers zero trust security by reducing risk and protecting data wherever it goes, without boundaries or limits. Our unified, cloud-native platform safeguards digital information across devices, apps, networks and clouds and is as fluid and flexible as the modern digital world. Lookout is trusted by enterprises and government agencies of all sizes to protect the sensitive data they care about most, enabling them to work and connect freely and safely. To learn more about the Lookout Cloud Security Platform, visit www.lookout.com and follow Lookout on our blog, LinkedIn and Twitter. © 2023 Lookout, Inc. LOOKOUT®, the Lookout Shield Design®, LOOKOUT with Shield Design®, and SIGNAL FLARE® are registered trademarks of Lookout, Inc. in the United States and other countries. DAY OF SHECURITY®, LOOKOUT MOBILE SECURITY®, and POWERED BY LOOKOUT® are registered trademarks of Lookout, Inc. in the United States. Lookout, Inc. maintains common law trademark rights in EVERYTHING IS OK, PROTECTED BY LOOKOUT, CIPHERCLOUD, SCREAM, the 4 Bar Shield Design, and the Lookout multi-color/multi-shaded Wingspan design.

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ENTERPRISE SECURITY, SOFTWARE SECURITY, CLOUD SECURITY

Safe Security Unveils Industry's First AI-Fueled Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds Platform with SafeGPT to Answer Cyber Questions a Hundred Times Faster

Prnewswire | June 02, 2023

Safe Security (SAFE), the leader in AI-based cyber risk management SaaS platform, announced today the industry's first Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds for predicting and preventing cyber breaches. In contrast to the rest of the industry that takes a reactive approach, SAFE's Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds enables organizations to make informed and predictive dynamic security decisions to reduce risk. Real-Time, Data-Driven, Aggregated Risk in a Single Place SAFE's Cyber Risk Cloud of Clouds provides organizations with a granular and aggregated view of enterprise security risk by bringing together multiple disparate cyber signals, including Crowdstrike, Wiz, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Provider, Qualys, Tanium, Rapid7, ServiceNow, and more in a single view. This provides organizations with visibility across their entire attack surface ecosystem, including technology, people, and third parties. AI Breach Predictions and Prioritized Actions to Prevent Breaches Using SAFE's predictive AI data models, co-developed with MIT, SAFE generates breach likelihood for different risk scenarios like ransomware. For example, accurately answer questions like: How likely are you to be hit by a ransomware attack in the next 12 months? What is your likelihood of being hit by the latest malware like "Snake" malware? What is your dollar impact for that attack? What prioritized actions can you proactively take to reduce the ransomware breach likelihood and reduce dollar risk? "The CISO is facing an unprecedented level of pressure and the role has evolved into a major business decision maker. With SAFE, CISOs can gain a new level of visibility with higher confidence, through real-time access into their cybersecurity posture, to make the most impactful strategy to decrease cyber risk," said Saket Modi, CEO and Co-Founder of SAFE. "The new release of SafeGPT, a generative AI interface, powered by LLM models is a game-changer. It helps CISOs get the right answers a hundred times faster." SafeGPT Drives Easy Access and Risk Reducing Decisions SAFE's generative AI chat interface powered by LLM models, SafeGPT, offers an intuitive platform for managing cyber risk with ease, providing stakeholders with a clear and comprehensible overview of the organization's cybersecurity posture. With its user-friendly dashboard and natural language processing capabilities, SafeGPT enables users to ask targeted questions of their cyber risk data, determine the most effective strategies for mitigating risk, and respond confidently to inquiries from regulators and other key stakeholders. "The market transitions going on now are going to affect every industry and vertical worldwide," said John Chambers, former Executive Chairman and CEO of Cisco and current founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures." AI is going to have a tremendous impact on cybersecurity, which is why I am excited about the launch of SafeGPT. It simplifies complex problem-solving for board members and C-level executives." About Safe Security Safe Security is the leader in cyber risk management SaaS platforms. It has redefined cyber risk measurement and management with its real time, data driven approach that empowers enterprises, boards, regulators and cyber insurance carriers to understand cyber risk in an aggregated and granular manner. Using SAFE's predictive AI driven data models, co-developed with MIT, customers are now empowered to translate the bits and bytes of cyber risk into dollars and cents so that they can prioritize their cyber investments to most effectively mitigate their risk and understand the return on security investments. Having raised over $100m, SAFE is growing over 200% year-over-year and serves some of the largest global enterprises.

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