'Innovative, strategic marketing that’s well-executed yields substantial ROI,' believes Ann Strackhouse Miller

Media 7 | April 3, 2023 | Read Time : 07:06 min

Autonomous Penetration Testing for Companies
Ann Strackhouse Miller is a strategic marketing leader with 11+ years of experience building pipelines for high-growth companies through various marketing disciplines. Read on to know her perspective on thought leadership in a rapidly changing information security landscape and the importance of robust cybersecurity solutions.

While thinking about all of the different channels you can access to reach your buyers, it’s also important to start thinking about how to get your brand on the map.

Media 7: Hi Ann, thank you for time to this. Can you walk us through your experience in strategic market leadership and developing pipelines for high-growth firms across different marketing disciplines over the past 11+ years?
Ann Strackhouse: One of the values my parents instilled in me from a young age is that you can never stop learning. That's something I've applied to my career and have found it to be a main seed of growth for me.
I've worked at several startups in various funding stages, and I've also worked at enterprise-sized companies.
Each experience I've had was considerably different from the next. The most valuable roles where I've learned the most have been at earlier stage startups, but it's very hard to succeed in implementing an entire Marketing function if you haven't lived through examples of larger team structures and how things operate behind the scenes. You're essentially inheriting a blank canvas, and there is a world of opportunity for innovation.

When I'm in the job market, there are 3 things I initially evaluate about the company to decide if I want to move forward:
  • Is the product solving a problem that isn't already being solved?
  • Are they doing it in an innovative way?
  • Is there a significant total addressable market to go after?
If the answer to any of these is no, then it's not a fit because I won't be set up for success from the start. When the answer to these 3 is yes, it's a green light, but then the hard part begins.

My key pillars of focus are always lead generation, brand awareness and operations. I've found that operational workflows should be incredibly intricate and strategic, and have often times seen that function of Marketing neglected. It's crucial that the MarTech stack aligns together and is a scalable model from the outset. Marketing budgets are sizeable and there will always be a need to prove the ROI on any spend. Equally important is the need to review Marketing program performance so data-driven decisions can be made. Through experimentation, you should evaluate your programs and their effectiveness and iterate from there -- doubling down on where you see the most traction. Depending on what industry, there will be learnings throughout the process. For example: Targeting Government? Expect to get creative because of the mandates on employees receiving any type of monetary gift for an exchange of service. You can also expect a much longer deal cycle, which leads me to filling the funnel.
 
Strategically planning the timing of inbound leads is crucial. If you're working at a high-growth start up it's best to front-end your lead generation activities at the beginning of your Go-to-Market launch. From there as you evaluate your programs you can start to see where your conversion rates are high and move to a more even-paced model. While thinking about all the different channels you can access to reach your buyers, it's also important to start thinking about how to get your brand on the map.

This is where my company evaluation criteria come into play. You have a solid product to bring to the market, and then it's about getting your company on the map. Tap into differentiators. What is unique to your company that competitors don't have? This will often lead to 'newsworthy' shareables and an increase in brand recognition. One of the unique features we have at Horizon3.ai is that our rapid response program is open to anyone at our company who wants to comment. Typically, there are only a few leaders who are permitted to comment on industry news. But if you have a group of incredibly skilled individuals, why not open it up to everyone? 

It's been an exciting journey full of learnings, successes, challenges and failures. Driving change keeps you up at night. And it should.
Innovative, strategic marketing that's well-executed yields substantial ROI, but it also lifts the brand and all associated with it. Great marketing engages prospects and customers, motivates employees and reinforces the company's mission and product value to investors, partners and other key stakeholders. Exceptional growth starts with a "be great or be gone" mindset and the recognition that great creativity doesn't land without equally strong, programmatic execution. That demands clear planning and integration across marketing and public relations elements, across campaigns, across regions, and across product lines.


M7: In your role as Director of Marketing at Horizon3.ai, how would you prioritize the development of strategic partnerships and collaborative relationships in order to drive business growth and success?
AS: Partnerships are really the circulatory system that moves technology innovation through the market. If you look at cybersecurity for medium-sized businesses as an example, you see it's a major part of the overall opportunity over the next 10 years, but the profound shortage of experienced cybersecurity talent is likely to limit the opportunities for strong cybersecurity solutions that aren't supported by equally strong partnerships. Many of the best emerging organizations will, by necessity, need to tightly define the roles their internal cybersecurity teams play, and instead will turn to integrators and MSSPs as their "forward operations."

This is just one example of the role that strategic partnerships will play, and it's a dynamic that will only strengthen over time because, by virtue of their ongoing experience on the front lines fighting cyber threats, those partners will further consolidate and strengthen their position.

Likewise, the current talent shortage should inspire forward-looking organizations to work with ecosystem partners to drive certain aspects of usability and ease of reporting, particularly when it comes to helping the customer's CISO communicate to and with their senior-most executives, board members, risk officers and regulators.


M7: Please provide a brief description of the products and services offered by Horizon3.ai.
AS: It's likely every organization will be attacked at some point. It's not a case of if, but when. Experts urge (and regulations increasingly mandate) that organizations continuously identify their ineffective security controls and identify the critical, exploitable weaknesses that they must immediately fix.

The situation is further complicated by the abundance of "noisy" security tools that issue false positives, overwhelming security teams and forcing them to chase vulnerabilities that can't be exploited while at the same time overlooking readily exploitable, high-impact threats.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero pentesting platform is based on the concept of using offense to inform defense. It lets organizations find and fix their vulnerabilities before an attacker exploits them. It can continuously assess an enterprise's attack surface, identifying the ways that an attacker can chain together harvested credentials, misconfigurations, dangerous product defaults, and exploitable vulnerabilities to compromise systems and data. It provides organizations, MSSPs and integrators with a laser focus on the problems and vulnerabilities that can actually be exploited, without wasting their time and resources chasing false positives. NodeZero answers the top three questions that every CISO and security team needs to ask: "What's exposed?" "What needs to be fixed first?" and "How will we do more with less?"

Read more: 'Enterprises that don't leverage AI and ML will likely be at a disadvantage,' believes Miquido's Jerzy Biernacki


Exceptional growth starts with a be great or be gone mindset and the recognition that great creativity doesn't land without equally strong, programmatic execution.

M7: What makes content such an important factor in the marketing of products and services in the information technology industry?
AS: Content is king. This is a widely adapted notion with good reason. It's incredibly important to meet buyers where they are in their journey. Every organization should be doing an ongoing content audit to ensure each phase of the buyer's journey (research, consideration, and purchase) has messaging and content to match the stage they're in. If you have a comprehensive handle on who your personas are, what they care about and what role they play in their buying teams, you're going to see increased email open rates, assistance in closing deals, and higher conversion rates. A continuous nurture stream of relevant content will always help leads move down the funnel.

From a thought leadership standpoint, it's paramount to produce high-quality content that people want to keep coming back for. One of my current goals for our content strategy is to move away from trying to make a sale by promoting our product, to becoming a resource hub for cybersecurity professionals. Attackers only have to get it right once, while cybersecurity professionals have to be on point 24/7. Because the threat landscape is ever-evolving, CISOs and their teams constantly have to stay at the forefront of innovating their security stack, strategy and operations. Due to the high stress of the SOC function, these professionals greatly rely on peer-to-peer references and learnings from like-minded professional's stories on how to maximize risk avoidance and ultimately stay out of the news.

Creating a customer advocacy program will provide the space for these interactions. Cultivate customer champions who will share their story on a webinar and participate in a written case study or a video testimonial. 
Communication is the core of effective marketing, and content is at the core of communication.

M7: What do you think are the most significant changes that have taken place in the information and technology business during the past few years?
AS: Without a doubt, the global pandemic drove waves of workers to migrate from offices to working from home, massive upticks in retail and ecommerce, and almost immediate retooling and evolutions of major systems for "pickup at curbside" continuity. We all moved fast to drive the changes that helped meet public needs and kept businesses running, and that wave of change vastly altered and expanded the threat surface, creating ripple effect vulnerabilities. It also newly empowered threat actors in ways too numerous to list here. That seismic growth is also being followed by economic disruptions. And what thrives in disruption and economic uncertainty? Cybercrime.

Simultaneously, the world's threat landscape has shifted, with unfriendly nation state players more determined, resourced, and skilled than ever before.
We're in a different world than we were in just four years ago. The rate of change has been historic.

M7: There is already evidence that criminal organizations use highly automated attack techniques. In your opinion, what do you think is the future of cybersecurity?
AS:
The future of cyber threats will run at machine speed – algorithm vs. algorithm – with humans by exception. Attackers have accelerated their attacks using AI faster than defenders can improve their security effectiveness. So it's time for organizations to shift from a business-as-usual to an under-attack cybersecurity mindset.

Committed attackers will invest resources to compromise high-value targets as we saw with the SolarWinds attack. For these organizations – the Global 100, defense companies, critical infrastructure, e-Commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, social, etc. – a "wartime" mindset is critical. They must assume the attacker will get in and focus on actively defending their cyber terrain.


M7: Can you explain Horizon3.ai's approach to identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities and verifying the effectiveness of the solutions implemented?
AS: To understand and address IT infrastructure vulnerabilities before a cyber-attacker can exploit them, organizations have to continuously identify their ineffective security controls and identify critical, exploitable weaknesses that they must immediately fix.

And that's what autonomous pentesting with NodeZero does.It also leverages expertise, data, and insights to build an autonomous defense designed to be automated, with the intervention of humans by exception. That is the advanced level of effectiveness that sets NodeZero and Horizon3.ai apart. Right now, there are less than 5,000 OSCP-certified ethical hackers in the United States, and it takes ten years of hands-on experience to become a senior penetration tester. Meanwhile, demand for security testing has increased exponentially. Until NodeZero, only the most well-funded companies and organizations could conduct such testing. It's why the platform was specifically architected for usability – to help "democratize" autonomous pentesting.

Last year, Horizon3.ai customers ran nearly 7,000 pentests with NodeZero before coming to us, many of these customers could conduct pentests only once a year or, for some, not at all. Today, many constantly verify their security posture by running multiple pentests in a single month, and some prolific users run over 40 pentests a month with NodeZero.-  which is well above the often-cited recommendation of one to two pentests a year.

Usability must go hand-in-hand with results comprehension. NodeZero testing yields a graphical representation of the actual attack paths an attacker could use to chain together misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses to compromise their organization. This gives customers the insight needed to mitigate risk by prioritizing exploitable weaknesses with their corresponding fix actions, verifying that each weakness actually has been remediated, and giving the C-Suite and Board a new, clearly understandable lens into the organization's security posture.

Read more: Panzura's Glen Shok explains why file security and military-grade encryption should be applied to all data stored in the cloud


It’s time for organizations to shift from a business-as-usual to an under attack cybersecurity mindset.

M7: Can you shed light on why attackers prioritize obtaining credentials and explain how Horizon3.ai Node Zero tackles this problem?
AS:
Compromised credentials are how attackers get in, and billions of compromised passwords and usernames are now available cheap on the dark web as a result of the breaches of the last ten years. Human nature being what it is, people continue reusing passwords and not updating them regularly.

So the big question is: "if they get in, what could they do?" NodeZero answers it. NodeZero was able to compromise a major financial services organization in 7 minutes and 19 seconds in a recent pentest. This customer had purchased best-in-class security tools, yet few alerts were triggered, and defenders could not react fast enough to stop the attack. Security effectiveness is the critical initiative every enterprise should undertake to ensure they are getting the most impact out of their security investments, and the best way to verify that effectiveness is through continuous penetration testing.

M7: What is password spray and how does NodeZero weaponize the technique in internal and external pentests?
AS:
In a password spraying attack, a threat actor tries to access a large number of accounts (usernames) on an application by using a single commonly used password, which avoids the account lockouts that happen during other types of attacks, such as brute force attacks. Our customers understand the risks that credential-based attacks pose to their organizations because NodeZero allows them to safely assess their environment against such attacks. In the last year, NodeZero successfully executed credential-based attacks over 6,000 times (out of the 34,000 times in which NodeZero successfully executed an attack compromising at least one host), and to significant effect. For example, when a medical clinic ran an internal pentest with NodeZero, it learned that its systems were exploitable after NodeZero conducted open-source intelligence gathering on the company's name, scraped potential employees from LinkedIn, then conducted password spraying.

Just as an actual cyber threat actor would do, NodeZero chained other weaknesses with the successful password spray to achieve multiple critical impacts. In this case, over 1,600 credentials were captured and used to access services and infrastructure. NodeZero compromised one domain, almost 50 hosts, and two domain users while discovering nearly 50 data stores open to ransomware. NodeZero was able to execute this operation completely safely. It showed proof of the exploit and gave the customer the steps necessary to fix their weaknesses.

M7: Can you tell me about Horizon3.ai's plans for innovation and growth in the coming years? How do you see the company evolving to meet new challenges in the cybersecurity market?
AS:
We're best in class today, but we know that threat actors are investing heavily in development of ever more sophisticated threats.
In addition to autonomous testing across premise, cloud and hybrid environments, we're focused on usability. We've just rolled out NodeZero Analytics, a level of usability that empowers cyber pros regardless of their level of experience. Additionally, we're focused on refining usability so that autonomous pentesting is a force multiplier. At the heart of the refresh are detailed attack paths with proof of exploitation, prioritized fix actions, and 1-click verification that the remediation was successful.

ABOUT HORIZON3.AI

Horizon3.ai was founded in 2019 by former industry and U.S. National Security veterans with the mission to help organizations to see their networks through the eyes of the attacker and proactively fix problems that truly matter, improve the effectiveness of their security initiatives, and ensure organizations are prepared to respond to real attacks.
To know more about Horizon3.ai, please visit; https://www.horizon3.ai/.

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Additionally, the company has implemented another layer of security for file transfer within the OT/ICS environment, through query anti-virus software to scan files before they are delivered to their destination. Cyolo is also adapting for further usability, allowing teams to securely invite external users by generating a secure one-time password; and import groups from existing IdPs, using SCIM. “Ensuring the security of critical infrastructure and industrial processes has become increasingly critical as organizations unite their IT and OT systems. This convergence has expanded the OT threat landscape and introduced significant cybersecurity challenges, as the once-isolated OT networks are now vulnerable to the same threats that have targeted IT networks for years” said Joe O'Donnell, Vice President ICS/OT of Cyolo. “With Cyolo 4.3, industrial entities can confidently navigate the complexities of the modern threat landscape and fortify their defenses against evolving cyber threats.” The announcement of Cyolo 4.3 highlights the company’s commitment to advancing zero-trust capabilities and it comes on the heels of Cyolo being listed as a Representative Vendor in the 2023 Gartner® “Market Guide for Zero Trust Network Access” report for the second consecutive year and recognized by Frost & Sullivan with the 2023 North American New Product Innovation Award for Secure Remote Access to Operational Infrastructure and Industrial Control Systems (OT/ICS). As the threats to critical infrastructure continue to evolve, Cyolo zero-trust access solution continues to provide the utmost protection and ease of use. To learn more about Cyolo 4.3, visit here. Access the report for a full view of the industry here. Register here to attend the joint webinar from Cyolo and KuppingerCole on how to achieve secure remote access for OT environments, to be held on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 a.m. PT. About Cyolo Cyolo helps hybrid organizations in the IT and OT spaces to stay safe, secure and productive in an era of distributed workforces and unprecedented cyberthreats. Cyolo’s next-generation zero-trust access solution enables all users, including employees, third parties as well as remote and on-site workers, to connect to their working environments seamlessly and securely via modern identity-based access. Providing one unified solution that integrates with the existing tech stack and deploys easily in the cloud, on-premises or in a hybrid model, Cyolo empowers the global workforce to securely access anything from anywhere.

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Platform Security

Fortinet Announces Formation of Veterans Program Advisory Council to Narrow the Cybersecurity Skills Gap with Military Veteran Talent

GlobeNewswire | September 29, 2023

Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced it has formed the Veterans Program Advisory Council, made up of a global board of esteemed members from organizations that support the military veterans community across the Five Eyes countries: United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. Members will provide counsel on how Fortinet can continue meeting the needs of military veterans looking to transition into the cybersecurity field. Military veterans have many complementary skillsets that make them ideal candidates for cybersecurity roles, including discipline, problem-solving under immense pressure, situational awareness, and an understanding of the importance of maintaining a strong defense posture. With the industry facing a talent shortage with an estimated 3.4 million security roles needing to be filled worldwide, the veteran community can play a key role in filling critical cyber roles with access to training, mentorship, and employment opportunities. Yet, the Fortinet 2023 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Global Research Report found that 43% of organizations indicated difficulty in recruiting qualified veterans for cybersecurity roles. At the same time, veteran turnover is high in the industry, with one key reason being the shortage of staff, leading to overwork and burnout. To further address these hurdles veterans face, the esteemed members of the Veterans Program Advisory Council with extensive backgrounds working with the military veteran community and as veterans themselves will help Fortinet strengthen its Veterans Program offerings by providing guidance on how to continue reskilling and upskilling veterans so they can start and stay in various cyber career pathways. Veterans Program Advisory Council members (listed in alphabetical order) include: Chris Barlow, Managing Director at Cerco IT Ltd (U.K.) Marty Donoghue, Chief Executive of the RNZRSA (New Zealand) Colin Grimes, Training Coordinator of TechVets Programme, The Forces Employment Charity (U.K.) Tom Marsland, Board Chairman and CEO at VetSec, Inc. (U.S.) Heath Moodie, Director of Vets in Cyber (Australia) James Murphy, Director of TechVets Programme, The Forces Employment Charity (U.K.) Bryan Radliff, CyberVets Program Manager at Onward to Opportunity, D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (U.S.) Patrick Shaw, Founder of Cyber Catalyst (Canada) Mark Wilcox, Head of Cyber Training, Permanent Opportunities and Partnership at Cerco IT Ltd (U.K.) Fortinet’s Commitment to Supporting Veterans to Close the Cyber Skills Gap The Veterans Program Advisory Council will help build on the Veterans Program's success in providing more cybersecurity training pathways for military veterans with both existing technical background or no IT experience. Fortinet provides Veterans Program members access to its Network Security Experts (NSE) Certification Program curriculum to help them transition into the cybersecurity field and advance in their security careers through access to cyber training, professional development resources, and employment opportunities. This year, the Veterans Program is celebrating five years of helping military service members, veterans, and military spouses receive the fundamental resources they need to transition into cyber roles. Fortinet has also been recognized as a 2023 VETS Indexes Recognized Employer, further underscoring the company’s commitment to supporting the veteran community throughout their careers. Veterans Program Advisory Council Members Biographies Chris Barlow, Managing Director at Cerco IT Ltd (U.K.) Chris Barlow joined Cerco in 2003, and has since established a recruitment division for graduates through Cerco Training, a large proportion of which were British forces veterans. Chris acquired the entire business in 2017, and the company has continued to grow, prosper, and develop further. The vision for Cerco is to become a market leader in taking novice talent and guiding them to the highest levels of IT support and cybersecurity. Chris has made employment connections for new engineers with global IT companies such as Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. Marty Donoghue, Chief Executive of the RNZRSA (New Zealand) Marty Donoghue has been chief executive of the RNZRSA since October 2020. Marty has a 35-year track record of transformational leadership, successfully building and managing teams and mobilizing volunteers in New Zealand and internationally across defense, sport, science, and in the not-for-profit sector. Marty served in the New Zealand Army for 25 years and is a veteran of Bosnia, Angola, Bougainville, and Iraq. Colin Grimes, Training Coordinator of TechVets Programme, The Forces Employment Charity (U.K.) Colin Grimes joined TechVets from the education sphere, where he worked as a primary school teacher with particular responsibility for computing across the curriculum. During his time in education, he also worked as a consultant to schools for the National Centre of Computing Education, delivering training to schools in computing and remote learning, leaning on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before this, he enjoyed a 24-year career as an air battle management specialist in the Royal Air Force. He also served as an instructor within the U.K. School of Air Battle Management, where he was responsible for training the next generation of air surveillance specialists. Tom Marsland, Board Chairman and CEO at VetSec, Inc (U.S.) Tom Marsland is a cybersecurity professional with over 21 years of experience in the information technology and nuclear power industry. He has also served over 21 years in the U.S. Navy and has a BS in IT security and an MS in cybersecurity. He is the board chairman of VetSec and the VP of technology and technical services at Cloud Range. Heath Moodie, Director of Vets in Cyber (Australia) Heath is the director of Vets in Cyber, where he is helping to build a mentoring program, running community events, and partnering with industry-leading training providers to offer employment assistance to veterans. As a five-year Australian Army infantry veteran, Heath transitioned into cybersecurity and was immediately confronted with the different cultures between the military community and civilian life. Wanting to be the change that he needed, Heath created a grassroots organization, Vets in Cyber, which is focused on helping to build a community around veterans to offer them the support they need within the cybersecurity industry. James Murphy, Director of TechVets Programme, The Forces Employment Charity (U.K.) James Murphy joined TechVets from Government Digital Services in the Cabinet Office, where he was employed as the head of threat intelligence, providing strategic cyber threat intelligence advice to key decision makers within central government with specific focus on protecting national infrastructure. Prior to this, James served for 19 years in the British military, deploying to Northern Ireland, East Africa, and Afghanistan with the infantry, receiving lifelong injuries as a result of enemy action. James then served the remainder of his service in intelligence, developing the army’s exploitation capability, providing support to U.K. Defence Engagement in East Asia before delivering strategic support to global joint military operations.​ Bryan Radliff, CyberVets Program Manager at Onward to Opportunity (O2O) (U.S.) Bryan Radliff serves as the CyberVets program manager in the Onward to Opportunity Program for the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. CyberVets is a skills-to-job pathway that aims to fast-track veterans into high-demand cyber careers by providing no-cost employment training, industry certifications, and career services to transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses. Bryan is a 31-year veteran of the U.S. Army, serving as an enlisted medical supply specialist, infantryman, and an armor/cavalry officer before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Patrick Shaw, Founder of Cyber Catalyst and Tech Vets (Canada) Founder of Cyber Catalyst and co-founder of Coding For Veterans (CFV), Pat initiated Cyber Catalyst Talent Solutions to assist veterans achieve meaningful and rewarding careers using the skills developed through their upskilling or reskilling studies. Pat curated the CFV secure software development and the cybersecurity curriculum and established the learning approach aligning widely recognized industry certification exams to meet the cyber talent needs of employers. Cyber Catalyst Talent Solutions offers job-focused microcredentialing and certifications in support of job placement. Tech Vets Canada engages veterans and military family members with career mentorship and learning support. Mark Wilcox, Cyber Training, Opportunities and Partnership at Cerco IT Ltd (U.K.) Mark has over 30 years of commercial software development experience, the majority of which has involved web technologies. Throughout his career, Mark has developed and supported complex systems for a range of clients, including the London Stock Exchange, Lloyds Bank, Ryman stationers, Debenhams, and Woolworths. In January 2022, Mark joined Cerco IT to head up the cybersecurity training and employment division. As a key architect of Cerco's Cradle to Cyber training program, an initiative to provide advanced network security skills to Cerco’s trained graduates (many of whom are ex-armed forces), Mark continues to forge relationships with internationally renowned tech and training partners, such as Fortinet and CompTIA. About Fortinet Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere you need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet's solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

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Software Security

Cisco to Secure Splunk for Resilience and Security in AI-Driven World

Cisco | September 25, 2023

Cisco and Splunk are joining forces to advance organizations from reactive threat handling to proactive threat anticipation and prevention. Together, they will emerge as a major global software entity, boosting Cisco's shift towards recurring revenue. This collaboration unites two esteemed workplaces with shared values, robust cultures, and skilled teams. The synergy between these pioneering companies positions them for leadership in AI-driven security and observability. Anticipated to yield positive cash flow and improved gross margins in the initial fiscal year following the merger, with non-GAAP EPS enhancement expected by year two. Cisco and Splunk, the leader in cybersecurity and observability, today announced a definitive agreement under which Cisco will acquire Splunk for $157 per share in cash, representing an equity value of approximately $28 billion. Gary Steele, president and CEO of Splunk, will join Cisco's Executive Leadership Team upon completion of the acquisition, reporting to Cisco chair and CEO Chuck Robbins. Chair and CEO of Cisco, Chuck Robbins, remarked, We're excited to bring Cisco and Splunk together. Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability. From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organizations of all sizes more secure and resilient. [Source: Cision PR Newswire] Every company relies on data to operate its business and make mission-critical choices in today's hyper-connected environment. Accelerating and adopting generative AI, growing danger surfaces, and different cloud environments offer unprecedented complexity for enterprises. To be digitally resilient, organizations must better manage, preserve, and unleash data's value. Gary Steele, president and CEO of Splunk, stated that they would together form a global security and observability leader that will harness the power of data and AI to deliver outstanding customer outcomes and transform the industry. Steele added that they’re eager to join forces with a trusted and long-time partner who shares their passion for innovation and top customer experience, and they expect their community of Splunk employees to benefit from the greater opportunities as they bring together two purpose-driven and respected organizations. Cisco and Splunk will give insight across hybrid and multi-cloud systems, enabling clients to provide seamless application experiences for digital enterprises. The companies can help other organizations responsibly use AI due to their scale, data visibility, and trust. These two firms will unite to invest more in innovative products, accelerate innovation, and expand globally to serve clients of all sizes. The transaction is expected to be cash flow positive and gross margin accretive in the first fiscal year post-close, with non-GAAP EPS accretive in year two. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, including approval by Splunk shareholders. Advisors for the Cisco-Splunk acquisition include Tidal Partners LLC, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Cravath and Swaine & Moore LLP, among others.

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Software Security

Cyolo Unveils Key Insights into OT Cybersecurity Threat Landscape from KuppingerCole and Releases Cyolo 4.3 for Enhanced Security

Business Wire | September 27, 2023

Today, Cyolo, provider of the fastest and most secure zero-trust access and connectivity solution for hybrid organizations with IT and OT, in partnership with KuppingerCole, released an industry analysis focused on zero trust and remote access for operational technology (OT) environments. The analysis reveals key insights about the OT cybersecurity threat landscape, outlines high-level security architecture for OT, critical infrastructure systems (CIS) and industrial control systems (ICS), and evaluates key requirements of security regulations and frameworks. OT environments experience the same kinds of threats as enterprise IT – including ransomware, account takeovers, APTs, and Supply Chains as vectors – while experiencing expanded OT-specific threats. While traditional IT security tools may be adapted, developing robust security architectures for OT environments is inherently complex compared to their IT counterparts. Its unique nature, from equipment and software to communication protocols requires dedicated OT security solutions. Cyolo can help organizations with OT infrastructure to define and manage access control to those complex environments, said John Tolbert, Lead Analyst at KuppingerCole. Overall key insights include: OT Threat Landscape. Heightened geopolitical factors have intensified attacks on OT and ICS, posing significant consequences ranging from operational disruptions and service denial to financial repercussions and potential harm to human well-being. Core Cybersecurity Regulations. The risks and consequences of cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure advanced regulations globally mandating secure architectures and technical controls. KRITIS and the follow-on IT Security Act 2.0 are related examples of such regulations, as well as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. OT Security Architectures and Key Functionalities. There are eight areas of functionality that are central to effective OT security architectures. Cybersecurity architectures for OT must address asset discovery, access control, IT security tool integration, detection and response capabilities, and OT protocol level threats. As the analysis breaks down, within critical infrastructure interruptions and downtime are not an option. To address the increasing need for secure access in OT environments, Cyolo introduced Cyolo 4.3, which expands key capabilities with more layers of security and making the product easier than ever to use for both administrators and end users in the industrial space. With Cyolo 4.3, industrial organizations will be able to extend their multi-factor authentication (MFA) across environments through an integration with Duo Security to support their physical tokens as required. Additionally, the company has implemented another layer of security for file transfer within the OT/ICS environment, through query anti-virus software to scan files before they are delivered to their destination. Cyolo is also adapting for further usability, allowing teams to securely invite external users by generating a secure one-time password; and import groups from existing IdPs, using SCIM. “Ensuring the security of critical infrastructure and industrial processes has become increasingly critical as organizations unite their IT and OT systems. This convergence has expanded the OT threat landscape and introduced significant cybersecurity challenges, as the once-isolated OT networks are now vulnerable to the same threats that have targeted IT networks for years” said Joe O'Donnell, Vice President ICS/OT of Cyolo. “With Cyolo 4.3, industrial entities can confidently navigate the complexities of the modern threat landscape and fortify their defenses against evolving cyber threats.” The announcement of Cyolo 4.3 highlights the company’s commitment to advancing zero-trust capabilities and it comes on the heels of Cyolo being listed as a Representative Vendor in the 2023 Gartner® “Market Guide for Zero Trust Network Access” report for the second consecutive year and recognized by Frost & Sullivan with the 2023 North American New Product Innovation Award for Secure Remote Access to Operational Infrastructure and Industrial Control Systems (OT/ICS). As the threats to critical infrastructure continue to evolve, Cyolo zero-trust access solution continues to provide the utmost protection and ease of use. To learn more about Cyolo 4.3, visit here. Access the report for a full view of the industry here. Register here to attend the joint webinar from Cyolo and KuppingerCole on how to achieve secure remote access for OT environments, to be held on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 a.m. PT. About Cyolo Cyolo helps hybrid organizations in the IT and OT spaces to stay safe, secure and productive in an era of distributed workforces and unprecedented cyberthreats. Cyolo’s next-generation zero-trust access solution enables all users, including employees, third parties as well as remote and on-site workers, to connect to their working environments seamlessly and securely via modern identity-based access. Providing one unified solution that integrates with the existing tech stack and deploys easily in the cloud, on-premises or in a hybrid model, Cyolo empowers the global workforce to securely access anything from anywhere.

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Horizon3.ai

Horizon3.ai

Horizon3.ai's mission is to help you find and fix attack vectors before attackers can exploit them. NodeZero, our autonomous penetration testing solution, enables organizations to continuously assess the security posture of their enterprise, including external, identity, on-prem, IoT, and cloud atta...

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