Security industry to pay more attention to cyber-espionage: InfoWatch CEO

• Targeted attacks finding ‘way in’ via mobile, more solutions in 2015
• In Malaysia, secures 3 new customers and has 15 on-going pilots

WHILE targeted attacks and cyber-espionage were among the top security threats detected and discussed in 2014, data leakage was and continues to be a pain point for both the public and private sector globally, according to InfoWatch.
 
More in the healthcare, social security, telecommunications, retail and banking sectors, with threats from both external and internal sources attempting to breach and siphon away valuable information, the data leakage prevention (DLP) company said in a statement.
 
According to the chief executive officer of the InfoWatch Group, Natalya Kaspersky (pic above), the problem of spying over electronic devices and unauthorised gathering of user information in favour of specific states will remain an unresolved issue, with more attacks on mobile devices.
 
“While this problem has been widely discussed, a workable preventive solution to cyber-espionage is not immediately apparent as more devices now offer ‘a way in’ – especially mobile devices that are notoriously under-protected, creating more opportunities to breach security and steal information.
 
“We expect some partial solutions to some cyber-espionage attacks in 2015 or 2016. InfoWatch is now developing technologies for data protection on mobile devices, and we hope to be able to have this solution to market in 2015.
 
“We are also very excited with the testing on our new solution, the InfoWatch Targeted Attack Detector which is also in development specifically to provide early warning and detection of possible targeted attacks,” she added.
 
In Malaysia
 
InfoWatch said it closed 2014 “on a high note” in Malaysia, securing three new customers including a large Malaysian telecommunications company, while 15 more on-going pilot projects have received positive responses from prospects.
 
The company, which entered the Malaysian market in 2013, said it has seen a surge in interest for its DLP solutions following the implementation of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) on the local front, and from renewed concerns to secure data privacy rights following high-profile data breaches globally including those at Target and Sony.
 
It did not provide figures, however.
 
“For InfoWatch, 2014 has been a year of growth and successes as we have made inroads into new international markets such as Latin America, and parts of Africa and Turkey,” said Kaspersky.
 
“The growth and acceptance of our solution in Malaysia has been above expectations, and we have secured customers in key industries that handle high volumes of personal data namely telecommunications, finance and information technology service providers,” she added.
 
InfoWatch Asia Pacific regional head Renganathan (pic) said that InfoWatch has moved aggressively and quickly in the telecommunications and finance sectors.
 
“We are working closely with the public sector and are confident of securing government customers in 2015.
 
“The PDPA is of great benefit to all Malaysians as it puts the onus on organisations to better secure privacy rights and personal data, and we are seeing many organisations proactively seeking solutions such as our to secure their customers’ personal data,” he added.
 
InfoWatch is a spinoff from security specialist Kaspersky Lab.

The group consists of five companies within the enterprise information security industry: InfoWatch (DLP), Kribrum (social media monitoring and analysis aimed at online reputation management), EgoSecure (end-point security software), Cezurity (targeted attacks detection), and Appercut (business application source code analysis).
 
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