CoSoSys Enters US Market

CoSoSys, the Romanian based developer of endpoint security and data loss prevention (DLP) solutions, has recently opened a new office in the US. According to DarkReding, the company already has strong presence in Europe and Asia and is now working on expanding its diffusion on the North American market.

“This is an exciting time in the evolution of CoSoSys. We look forward to delivering high-end Security and Policy Management solutions to our enterprise customers, thus helping them secure data and prevent data loss on USB devices, ” said Roman Foeckl, Managing Director of CoSoSys. “Also we are committed to developing and delivering world-class enterprise business applications with potential Resellers and Distribution partners who are leaders in their field and who are willing to invest in a successful collaboration targeting mutual future growth.”

More details on the Silicon Valley office in the official press release.

Data Breaches Change Customer Behavior

According to a Gartner report interpreted on InformationWeek’s Security Weblog, consumers affected by the large number of data breaches occurring lately are more apt to alter their online payment behavior.

In fact, according to this report, shoppers — who are already online at the merchant’s Web site — are more likely to pick up the phone to provide payment information. So much for convenience always trumping security.

This only goes to show that security matters. And that it’s time for merchants to stop treating security as a necessary burden, and as the responsible cost of business it is, and as the competitive differentiator that it can be.

The date in the report called U.S. Consumer Secure Payment Preferences Create Opportunities for Nonbanks was published after analyzing the results of a survey of 4,500 online U.S. adults conducted last year in August. It shows that customers switching to payment methods that they find safer will eventually lead to less profits for banks handling online payments.

The same Gartner report showed that over 33% of all adult Internet users have decided to completely ignore the Internet retail channel as a result of ongoing data breaches.

This not only shows that good security pays, but that online shoppers will reward merchants that go the extra mile to provide a safer shopping environment, communicate those efforts to them, and also make available payment options that shoppers feel to be more secure.

Harsher Laws to Deal with Data Breaches

The state of California has recently passed a bill imposing strict measures to be taken by companies experiencing data breaches. The main purpose of the document is to make sure those affected by their private details being compromised are informed and fully aware of what’s at stake. InformationWeek provided more information on the bill:

California has already enacted a law that requires consumer notification when data breaches occur. The new bill requires companies, public agencies, and other organizations to provide toll-free numbers for credit reporting agencies so consumers can put holds on their cards, the name and contact information of the business affected, and what information may have been exposed or stolen. It also requires notices to explain when the breach occurred and the number of people affected by it.

It is only a matter of time until such measures are taken by other stated and other countries. Given the significant amounts of time and money invested in reacting to such information breaches, implementing a data leakage prevention solution seems a much wiser and cheaper way out.

USB with NATO Sensitive Data Found in Swedish Library

A USB stick containing classified NATO information was found in a library in Sweden. According to the Registrar, the stick contained sensitive details on NATO’s ISAF peace-keeping force in Afghanistan and an intelligence report on the attempted assassination targeting Lebanon’s defense minister and the murder of Sri Lanka’s foreign minister.

Given the reaction of Colonel Bengt Sandström of the Swedish Military Intelligence described by the Registrar, it is most likely that the USB stick in question was in no way encrypted or protected by any endpoint security solution.

This is not the first time such critical information is misplaced. The Dutch army, as shown in the same article, lost classified data in similar circumstances not once, but twice in the same year, 2006. Also, the US military lost several flash drives containing secret information. The devices were later discovered as they were being sold carelessly in an Afghani market.

I’d like to point out that precedents don’t seem to impose harsher measures when it comes to classified military data. After several such incidents having occured, one would expect army decision makers to upgrade their security policies and have the latest endpoint security software implemented.