PLATFORM SECURITY
CrowdStrike | April 08, 2022
CrowdStrike , a leader in cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data, and Mandiant , announced a strategic partnership that will help joint customers investigate, remediate and defend against increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity events that plague organizations globally. As part of the collaboration, Mandiant will utilize the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform and subscription offerings for its incident response (IR) services and proactive consulting engagements for joint customers. Further, the Mandiant Managed Defense offering intends to include support for customers leveraging the Falcon platform later this year.As two of the most respected leaders in the cybersecurity industry, CrowdStrike and Mandiant share a common mission to stop breaches and put customers' needs first. Both companies have long operated under the practice that in order to defend against tenacious cyber adversaries, there must be a combination of cutting edge products and elite cybersecurity experts. Because of this, both companies have embraced an open and collaborative approach with high caliber partners and technologies to provide organizations superior protection.
Today’s complex threat environment calls for a collaborative approach that brings together industry-leading technologies and world class teams to build the strongest defense for customers, which is exactly what this partnership is about,” said George Kurtz, co-founder and chief executive officer of CrowdStrike. “CrowdStrike has worked with Mandiant many times over the years and there is a mutual respect for the caliber of technical and team expertise we both bring to the fight. We are proud to establish this alliance with them and to more effectively enable the people, processes and procedures necessary to secure the modern organization.
“CrowdStrike and Mandiant have developed reputations as go-to cybersecurity resources for public and private sector entities across the globe,This partnership between two mission-focused companies strengthens cyber defenses at a time when cyber attacks have become a notable business issue faced by organizations every day.”
-Kevin Mandia, chief executive officer of Mandiant.
About CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike , a global cybersecurity leader, has redefined modern security with the world’s most advanced cloud-native platform for protecting critical areas of enterprise risk — endpoints and cloud workloads, identity and data.Powered by the CrowdStrike Security Cloud and world-class AI, the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft and enriched telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver hyper-accurate detections, automated protection and remediation, elite threat hunting and prioritized observability of vulnerabilities.Purpose-built in the cloud with a single lightweight-agent architecture, the Falcon platform delivers rapid and scalable deployment, superior protection and performance, reduced complexity and immediate time-to-value.
About Mandiant, Inc.
Since 2004, Mandiant® has been a trusted partner to security-conscious organizations. Effective security is based on the right combination of expertise, intelligence, and adaptive technology, and the Mandiant Advantage SaaS platform scales decades of frontline experience and industry-leading threat intelligence to deliver a range of dynamic cyber defense solutions. Mandiant’s approach helps organizations develop more effective and efficient cyber security programs and instills confidence in their readiness to defend against and respond to cyber threats.Join the conversation.
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SOFTWARE SECURITY
Palo Alto Networks | May 12, 2022
Palo Alto Networks , the global cybersecurity leader, today urged the industry to move to Zero Trust Network Access 2.0 (ZTNA 2.0) — the foundation for a new era of secure access. ZTNA was developed as a replacement for virtual private networks (VPNs) when it became clear that most VPNs did not adequately scale and were overly permissive, but the first-generation ZTNA products (ZTNA 1.0) are too trusting and can put customers at significant risk. ZTNA 2.0 solves these problems by removing implicit trust to help ensure organizations are properly secured.
"This is a critical time for cybersecurity. We are in an era of unprecedented cyberattacks, and the past two years have dramatically changed work — for many, work is now an activity, not a place. This means that securing employees and the applications they need is both harder and more important. Zero trust has been embraced as the solution — and it is absolutely the right approach! Unfortunately, not every solution with Zero Trust in its name can be trusted. ZTNA 1.0 — for example — falls short."
Nir Zuk, founder and chief technology officer at Palo Alto Networks
For modern organizations where hybrid work and distributed applications are the norm, ZTNA 1.0 has several limitations. It is overly permissive in granting access to applications because it can't control access to sub-applications or particular functions. Additionally, there is no monitoring of changes in user, application or device behavior, and it can't detect or prevent malware or lateral movement across connections. ZTNA 1.0 also cannot protect all enterprise data.
ZTNA 2.0-capable products, such as Palo Alto Networks Prisma® Access, help organizations meet the security challenges of modern applications, threats and the hybrid workforce. ZTNA 2.0 incorporates the following key principles:
Least-privileged access — enables precise access control at the application and sub-application levels, independent of network constructs like IP addresses and port numbers.
Continuous trust verification — after access to an application is granted, continuous trust assessment is ongoing based on changes in device posture, user behavior and application behavior.
Continuous security inspection — uses deep and ongoing inspection of all application traffic, even for allowed connections to help prevent threats, including zero-day threats.
Protection of all data — provides consistent control of data across all applications, including private applications and SaaS applications, with a single data loss prevention (DLP) policy.
Security for all applications — consistently secures all types of applications used across the enterprise, including modern cloud native applications, legacy private applications and SaaS applications.
In a new report, John Grady, ESG senior analyst, said: "[F]irst-generation/ZTNA 1.0 solutions fall short in many ways on delivering on the promise of true zero trust. In fact, they grant more access than is desired. What's more, once access is granted in ZTNA 1.0 solutions, the connection is implicitly trusted forever, allowing a handy exploit route for sophisticated threats and/or malicious actions and behavior." Grady also said, "It is time to embrace a new approach to ZTNA, one that has been designed from the ground up to meet the specific challenges of modern applications, threats, and a hybrid workforce."
"Securing today's hybrid workforce, with an increase in cloud and mobile technologies and evolving requirements, can be complicated," said Jerry Chapman, engineering fellow, Optiv. "Rethinking Zero Trust is essential for modern, hybrid organizations to prevent threats. Together with Palo Alto Networks, we're advising our customers to incorporate ZTNA 2.0 principles like continuous review of identity and connection across their domains to stay secure."
New Prisma Access Capabilities
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access is the industry's only solution that meets today's ZTNA 2.0 requirements. Prisma Access protects all application traffic with best-in-class capabilities while securing both access and data.
New additions to Prisma Access announced today add the following capabilities:
ZTNA connector — simplifies the process of onboarding cloud native and traditional applications into the service, helping make ZTNA 2.0 easier to deploy and more secure.
The industry's only unified SASE product — providing a common policy framework and data model for all SASE capabilities, managed from a single cloud management console.
Self-serve autonomous digital experience management (ADEM) — helps proactively notify users of issues that require prompt attention and provides them with guidance on how to remediate.
Availability
Prisma Access is generally available today with full support for ZTNA 2.0. The new ZTNA connector, unified SASE, and self-service ADEM will be available in the next 90 days.
About Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks, the global cybersecurity leader, is shaping the cloud-centric future with technology that is transforming the way people and organizations operate. Our mission is to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life. We help address the world's greatest security challenges with continuous innovation that seizes the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, analytics, automation, and orchestration. By delivering an integrated platform and empowering a growing ecosystem of partners, we are at the forefront of protecting tens of thousands of organizations across clouds, networks, and mobile devices. Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before.
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WEB SECURITY TOOLS
Star Atlas | May 25, 2022
Star Atlas, a next-gen metaverse with triple-A game design and Unreal Engine 5 graphics built on the Solana blockchain, today announced an expanded focus on security to ensure consumer protection and digital safety in the metaverse. This multi-pronged initiative includes signing Kudelski Security, the cybersecurity division of the Kudelski Group - the world leader in digital security, and the forefront leader in providing security solutions for major blockchain-based applications, exchanges, and ecosystems - as its security partner. Kudelski Security will perform ongoing audits and analysis to help ensure the integrity of the Star Atlas metaverse is maintained and both partners will work together to explore setting standards for web3 security.
"We are pleased to partner with the team at Kudelski Security to advance the digital security of our fast-expanding metaverse," said Michael Wagner, Co-Founder and CEO of ATMTA, Inc., the principal development studio of Star Atlas. "We understand there is a lot of skepticism when it comes to web3 and security, so we want to be proactive by partnering with one of the top cybersecurity firms to help make sure our community feels safe. Protection of assets is paramount, and we look forward to working with Kudelski Security to establish the best practices for security when it comes to web3 gaming."
As security auditor of record, Kudelski Security will increase the safety and security of the Star Atlas metaverse by testing the protocols and looking for potential vulnerabilities to be addressed. Star Atlas players will have greater assurance that the metaverse has been built securely and tested rigorously, and that Star Atlas has taken the necessary action to become the leader in the web3 space when it comes to security.
The relationship with Kudelski Security goes beyond the hardening of the Star Atlas environment. Star Atlas is looking to expand collaborations with the wider Group to focus on new standards that can help to transition companies and projects into web3, including security standards, tokenization, and best practices in web3 gaming. By developing standard technology and processes that enable safe and secure on-chain gaming, players will be protected from the hacks that currently plague web3 and some of the main barriers to wider stakeholder adoption will be lowered.
"Web3 is growing rapidly, and we are seeing more need for developing a security standard that is adopted across the industry to act as a framework. This is why we are excited to partner with a native web3 leader like Star Atlas and to come together to solve potential security issues before they arise."
Andrew Howard, CEO of Kudelski Security
In addition to Kudelski Security's blockchain and cybersecurity experience, the Kudelski Group is recognized as global leaders in digital security – with specialized expertise in encryption, anti-piracy, watermarking, cryptography, and digital rights management.
Executives from Star Atlas, the Kudelski Group, Kudelski Security, and NAGRA Kudelski are meeting during the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, to further discuss establishing a framework for securing the web3 ecosystem.
ABOUT STAR ATLAS
Star Atlas is a next-gen gaming metaverse emerging from the confluence of state of the art blockchain, real-time graphics, multiplayer video game, and decentralized financial technologies. Real-time graphics technology using Unreal Engine 5's Nanite allows for cinematic quality video game visuals. Blockchain technology using the Solana protocol establishes a largely serverless and secured gameplay experience. Non-fungible tokens obtained and traded within Star Atlas creates an economy that replicates the tangibility of real world assets and ownership.
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PLATFORM SECURITY
LogicBoost Labs | March 09, 2022
LogicBoost Labs, a startup accelerator focused on promoting the growth of early-stage B2B SaaS startups, announced today an investment into Information Shield, a provider of products and services that help automate the process of building and validating a robust cyber security program.
The investment package includes putting cash on the balance sheet for growth and expert advice in sales, marketing, customer success, and tech development from the in-house team of LogicBoost Labs experts.
Supported by a panel of leading information security experts, Information Shield and its ComplianceShield software solution allow organizations to quickly validate cyber security readiness to customers, regulators, and insurance providers. Clients can save thousands of dollars and weeks of effort when addressing third-party risk assessments and preparing for external certifications for compliance frameworks, including ISO 27002, NIST-CSF, HIPAA, CMMC, among many others.
"Having spent 15 years working in cybersecurity, I've seen firsthand how difficult it can be for companies and their IT teams to meet compliance mandates. Information Shield dramatically reduces the amount of time it takes to build, roll out, and validate your modern cybersecurity program to meet internal requirements and your client's needs."
Jonathan Cogley, Founder and CEO of LogicBoost Labs
David Lineman is president and CEO of Information Shield, Inc., a global provider of information security leading practices. Lineman has more than 25 years of software, security, and information technology management experience, and holds 3 patents on software technology, and has consulted on information security policy development for over 50 organizations.
"If your business is handling information, you need to have a defensible cyber security program in place that addresses key industry standards," said Lineman. "Using our Security Wizard and Common Control Library (CCL), we have dramatically simplified the process by helping organizations quickly build programs that address key regulations and frameworks. Built-in security policy templates enable rapid documentation and key supporting evidence to support external audits, such as SOC II or ISO Certification. We have leveraged our experience with over 8000 customers in 100 countries to create a tool that is both robust and affordable."
About LogicBoost Labs
LogicBoost Labs is a startup accelerator designed to advance the growth for pre-revenue and early-stage B2B SaaS startups. As such, LogicBoost Labs offers a full-service line-up of resources and capabilities to further increase the likelihood of a young company's success. Each portfolio company has full access to LBL's talented pool of experienced executives whose sole job is to guide and mentor the start-ups on such matters as staffing, sales, marketing, technical support, and customer success. The ultimate goal: take the start-up from early revenue or pre-revenue to 1 million ARR.
About Information Shield
Information Shield provides customers with time-saving products and services to help build, update, and maintain a defensible information security and data privacy program. Based in Houston, Texas, Information Shield has over 10,000 satisfied customers in 100 countries, covering a variety of markets including financial services, healthcare, non-profits, government, and retail.
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