By Minu Sirsalewala, Editorial Consultant, CISO MAG

Where we see these billion-dollar deals being announced, is the market conducive for their sustenance and growth? Or will they bleed?

In an exclusive interaction with CISO MAG, Allie Mellen, Analyst, Security and Risk, Forrester, discussed the cybersecurity market landscape and how “the NortonLifeLock and Avast merger is surprising, yet unsurprising.”

At Forrester, Mellen supports security and risk professionals, covering security infrastructure and operations to assist clients in building and maturing their threat detection and response strategies. Her coverage includes the people, processes, and tools of the security operations center (SOC); security analysts; security information and event management (SIEM); security user behavior analytics (SUBA); security analytics (SA); security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR); endpoint detection and response (EDR); extended detection and response (XDR); and SOC metrics. Her research focuses on the current state and evolution of analytics, detection, automation, and response in security.

Consolidations and M&A Drivers

Concerns over cybersecurity are at an all-time high given the recent breaches of Colonial Pipeline, Kaseya, and T-Mobile. These events are shaping public perception over the security preparedness – or lack thereof – of companies’ consumers share their data with. As these concerns get larger, so too does the market for consumer security solutions.

“However, consumers want something simple – generally speaking, they don’t want to have to buy ten different security products from ten different vendors. These consolidations and M&As signal the importance of providing a holistic security solution for consumers,” says Mellen.

NortonLifeLock and Avast Partnership Value

According to Mellen, the deal seems to be betting on the importance of offering a consolidated consumer security portfolio that incorporates identity theft protection, antivirus, and other security tools like VPNs. They seem to be attempting to address the consumer security market more comprehensively, while also expanding their customer base and geographical regions.

Unfavorable Winds of Change

Security and privacy are becoming a larger consumer priority, but this runs in parallel to an increased focus by large consumer brands on improving their built-in security controls, which are direct competitors to companies like NortonLifeLock and Avast. To stay ahead of built-in security controls, companies like NortonLifeLock need to innovate or build out their portfolio.

The consumer antivirus solutions are under deep strain as users turn to built-in operating system security capabilities in lieu of third-party solutions.

“As Microsoft and Apple prioritize native security built into their products, traditional antivirus providers have no choice but to look for new features and popular offerings that may differentiate them. However, this merger is unlikely to stop the bleeding when it comes to loss of customers for traditional antivirus players due to the convenience and credibility of larger brands,” articulated Mellen.

Standalone Consumer Security Players – Challenging Times

Public perception, especially that of the built-in security of large operating systems and computer hardware manufacturers, has changed dramatically in the past 5 to 10 years. When it comes to standalone antimalware, we are past the point where individual consumers must pay a subscription for basic antimalware.

“There are capabilities built natively into the operating system, as my colleague has written about, that can provide beyond basic antimalware protection. A good example of this is Windows Defender, which is built-in to Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10,” said Mellen.

There is a small number that still pays subscriptions for basic antimalware protection, but as large brands like Apple and Microsoft prioritize security and privacy, this trend will likely drop off. For other kinds of consumer security, this remains to be seen. However, it is clear that big brands like Apple and Microsoft are heavily prioritizing built-in and free consumer security.

Exploring Avenues

Inevitably, even larger brands must ensure consumers have choices outside of their portfolio when using their products. Mellen opines that partnership possibilities will always exist between these standalone security providers and prominent brands, especially in areas with no competitive overlap.

She adds, “The question is, will it be enough of the consumer market to keep the standalone security product market growing? This question also speaks to the importance for companies like NortonLifeLock to diversify their portfolio. Better to have a variety of offerings, rather than one that may be direct competitors with a partner.”

Avast – Controversial Past

Data breaches and privacy controversies can have a significant impact on consumer trust. Any organization that struggles with a controversy like the Avast data harvesting row, must show transparency in the wake of an incident. Specifically, this means outlining what happened when a breach or privacy event occurs, clearly defining why it happened, and presenting and executing on next steps to ensure it doesn’t happen in the future. The worst thing an organization can do is sweep privacy matters or breaches under the rug, as it will inevitably destroy trust with consumers.

Outlook

This is an instance where things are more complicated than simply consolidating a customer base and receiving double-digit revenue growth. This merger will give the brand a substantial presence in the market and access to a new set of customers interested in standalone consumer security products.

“However, the winds of change are against standalone consumer security brands as consumers look for simple, effective ways to secure their data: using already built-in security from a brand that knows the operating system inside and out.”

On the other hand, if these larger brands fail to build trust and live up to consumer expectations, there may be an opportunity for standalone consumer security products to maintain and expand their foothold.

About the Author

Minu Sirsalewala is an Editorial Consultant at CISO MAG. She writes news features and interviews.

More from Minu.

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The Collaboration

As per the announcement, HCL’s Cybersecurity Fusion Centers will now be designed in a manner that it can smoothly integrate and take advantage of IBM’s Cloud Pak for Security. This collaboration adds to HCL and IBM’s recent alliance for helping organizations with digital transformation.

HCL’s Cybersecurity Fusion Centers

HCL’s Cybersecurity Fusion Centers (CSFC) provides threat management services to clients around the world through six global security operations and response facilities based across Europe, Asia, and North America. The CSFC integrates multi-domain security teams, processes, and cutting-edge analytics enabling organizations to detect threats faster and resolve incidents efficiently. Apart from monitoring, alerting, resolving and remediation of security incidents, HCL’s CSFC also helps organizations to comply with local data sovereignty regulations like GDPR.

What the Collaborators Said

Maninder Singh, Corporate Vice President, Cyber Security Services at HCL Technologies said,

Enterprises operating in today’s fast-moving digital world need a cybersecurity strategy capable of tackling increasingly sophisticated threats. Collaboration is key in the cybersecurity industry to build and implement the solutions to stay one step ahead. This collaboration enables us to combine the threat detection and response technologies with the development of technological processes and the experience of our professionals across all areas of cybersecurity.

Adding to this, Justin Youngblood, Vice President, IBM Security said, “Many companies today are struggling with the complexity of security operations amidst cloud adoption and fragmented IT infrastructure, which can hamper their ability to discover and respond to threats. Modern security demands an open platform that leverages AI and automation to help security operations teams connect disparate tools, provide insights and orchestrate response across hybrid cloud environments.”

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Rushing to the Cloud to Support Remote Workers Poses New Security Risks: IBM Study

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Why you need a fingerprint biometric payment card

Through this collaborated research, the companies aim to provide faster and more secure payment experiences to their users. Biometric authentication allows safer interactions with reduced physical contact points. It eliminates the need to enter a PIN on a keypad, which is a necessary feature in the current pandemic scenario. Additionally, it provides an extra jacket of security and satisfies the third factor of authentication – “Something you are” – to the currently available credit cards by verifying the cardholder’s identity via a unique fingerprint.

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Samsung’s New Chipset

The biometric cards are set to be integrated with a new security chipset from Samsung’s System LSI Business. This chipset will integrate the work of several key discrete chips, streamlining the overall component design and enabling more efficient development. These cards will be authenticated at in-store payment counters with the help of a point of sale (POS) terminal where Mastercard will come into the picture. Mastercard chip terminal or point of sale (POS) terminal will be ready with the changes for payments through the fingerprint biometric payment card.

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Is Samsung’s New Data Security Chip a Game Changer?

Karthik Ramanathan, Senior Vice President, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, said, “As consumers embrace the safety and convenience of contactless payments, Mastercard will leverage its cybersecurity and intelligence expertise and global payments network in this three-way partnership to enhance cardholder security with a biometric solution supporting fast, frictionless payment experiences that are protected at every point”.

Hanjoo Yoon, Vice President, Planning & Communication, Samsung Card, added, “We have big data expertise and have set the standard in the domestic market for digital transformation and fraud detection system (FDS). Leveraging these experiences, we will deliver a powerful solution to enhance payment experiences in close partnership with Samsung Electronics and Mastercard.”

Samsung Card will soon lead the rollout in South Korea, with plans to introduce the biometric card later this year. The adoption of the solution will be a gradual process, starting from corporate credit cards which are frequented for international transactions.

Related News:

Samsung Admits Galaxy S10 Fingerprint Reader Vulnerability, says “Will Fix it Soon”

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EC-Council is an ANSI 17024 accredited organization and has earned recognition by the DoD under Directive 8140/8570, in the U.K. by the GCHQ, and a variety of other authoritative bodies that influence the entire profession. EC-Council provides internationally recognized cybersecurity programs and services to the largest global businesses.

First Online Course

The first online course published on the Alison platform by CODERED is “Hands-On Android Security,” which emphasizes on Android penetration and how to analyze existing Android apps.

The course focuses on the practical aspects of penetration testing, starting with the core concepts of the Android operating system, hardware security components, and native applications. Besides, users can learn about vulnerabilities and test their work to fully secure their Android environment. The course takes approximately 4-5 hours to complete.

EC-Council will certify users on successful completion of the Hands-On Android Security course.  The course will help users to:

• Analyze Android Application
• Define Android Device
• Explain Android architecture and data structure
• Distinguish between mobile security threats and risks
• Evaluate attacks on Android devices
• Outline new hacking tools and techniques

Since Alison is one of the free learning platforms for education and skills training, the partnership will help individuals study anywhere, at any time, and at any subject level. The other online courses from Alison and CODERED partnership include:

• Black Hat Python
• Python for Pentesters
• Identity and Access Management
• Secure Full Stack MEAN Stack Developer

“With almost three-quarters of smartphones being Android devices, compared to 26% on IOS devices, this course will be a welcome learning resource for the Android developer community. It covers the tools and software needed to test and protect apps from hackers,” Alison said. 

To know more about CODERED, click here.

Take the course here.

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The solution leverages the CPU-based threat detection to find and prevent ransomware attacks. It also integrates Intel Threat Detection Technology (TDT) capabilities with the Cybereason Defense Platform to deliver ransomware intelligence for threat detection and helps enterprises enhance their security capabilities.

Key Features of the Intel and Cybereason Joint Solution

• Enables enterprise customers to go beyond signature and file-based techniques by leveraging CPU-based behavioral prevention of ransomware.
• Eliminates blind spots to expose ransomware as it avoids detection in memory or hides in virtual machines while differentiating legitimate data encryption processes for business purposes.
• Enterprises can accelerate performance-intensive machine learning security algorithms by offloading to the Intel integrated graphics controller to boost capacity to analyze more data and do more security scans.
• Enterprises can bolster the performance of their security agent processing for better user experiences.

“This collaboration with Intel to add CPU based threat detection bolsters our long history and industry-leading capabilities in detecting and eradicating ransomware. The combination of best-of-class hardware, software, and security know-how provides defenders with full-stack visibility critical to ending the era of double extortion that is currently costing organizations hundreds of millions each year,” said Lior Div, CEO and Co-Founder, Cybereason.

“Ransomware was a top security threat in 2020, software alone is not enough to protect against ongoing threats. Our new 11th Gen Core vPro mobile platform provides the industry’s first silicon enabled threat detection capability, delivering the much-needed hardware-based protection against these types of attacks. Together with Cybereason’s multi-layered protection, businesses will have full-stack visibility from CPU telemetry to help prevent ransomware from evading traditional signature-based defenses,” said Stephanie Hallford, Client Computing Group Vice President and General Manager of Business Client Platforms at Intel.

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As per the acquisition deal, the Respond Software XDR engine will be integrated into FireEye’s Mandiant Advantage, bringing cloud-native AI together with Mandiant intelligence and expertise to automate the investigation of alerts. The acquisition also offers a combination of Respond Software’s XDR capabilities with deep, real-time knowledge of attacker tools and techniques to enable customers to more quickly identify the weak signals of an attack, understand their adversary, and respond quickly to stop an attack.

“Customers rely on our XDR engine to investigate more alerts, at a deeper level, for far less cost than existing processes and tools. Respond’s product dramatically reduces time spent investigating false positives as it connects the dots among siloed, multi-vendor security controls in an easy-to-deploy cloud-based package. This results in more coverage, faster resolution of incidents, and ultimately, less risk at lower cost.” said Mike Armistead, Chief Executive Officer, Respond Software.

FireEye’s Strategic Investment

FireEye also announced that it has raised $400 million strategic investment in a funding round led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities. The company stated that the new proceeds will be used to support the company’s vision to create the industry’s leading intelligence-led cybersecurity platform and services company.

Earlier, FireEye made its private bug bounty program public, with a focus on business applications and corporate infrastructure security. The company stated the bug hunting event is open to all security researchers and ethical hackers who are willing to find vulnerabilities in FireEye’s services and domains including fireeye.com, fireeye.market.com, verodin.com, isightpartners.com, cloudvisory.com, fireeyecloud.com, and mandiant.com. Click to read more…

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As per the acquisition deal, Barracuda acquired intellectual properties and other digital assets from Fyde. It integrates Barracuda’s Global Threat Intelligence Infrastructure with Fyde’s technology.

The latest acquisition also offers unique features designed for increasingly complex modern computing environments and to respond to a multitude of situations like:

• The implementation of secure single authentication on SaaS applications
• Securing access to applications from BYOD devices
• The implementation of simultaneous access to multi-cloud and on-site applications
• Monitoring the security level of mobile devices and protecting them from malicious websites
• The simplified definition of privileged access and much more

“Teleworking is democratizing, migrations to the cloud are becoming commonplace and traditional professional perimeters are a thing of the past. Fyde offers a powerful ZTNA solution that works with any type of infrastructure, device, and application on a corporate network. This acquisition allows us to offer distributed enterprises a whole new way to modernize remote access, but also to enforce comprehensive security and access policies and to provide seamless connectivity without compromising productivity,” said BJ Jenkins, President and CEO of Barracuda.

Related story: Barracuda Acquires Indian Bot Technology Startup InfiSecure

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The Need for New Web Application Firewall

Attacks on web applications are becoming common these days. As more businesses shift their services online, web applications will increasingly become an easier target for threat actors. Additionally, web attacks are a huge threat to data security and compliance standards. They can lead to a wide range of devastating consequences from service disruptions and shutdowns to information theft and data manipulation.

Thus, to save the business from a cyber failure, an advanced web application firewall is needed. The collaboration of the two giants is offering a new WAF that will help protect the critical workload of businesses with a unique defense-in-depth approach. It provides real-time protection against both bots-based (DDoS) and application, API, user, or infrastructure threats.

The WAF from BOTS/CSG is a comprehensive, layered protection stack that proactively prevents bot-based volumetric attacks, as well as threats that target the application layer, such as SQL, XSS, CSRF, session hijacking, data exfiltration and zero-day vulnerabilities.”

What the BOT Says…

Paul Rosenberg, CEO of BOTS Inc., stated, “Even though DDoS attacks are still the most known threat, application-level threats have become just as destructive, as they are the hardest to detect and almost impossible to prevent before they damage any mission-critical applications. We analyzed these trends and in collaboration with the CSG have developed a new WAF. It will combine the availability and load monitoring with the detection and prevention of web application attacks using signatures and heuristics analysis. This ensures continuous protection of applications, users, infrastructures, and security compliance.”

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Tanium and Google Cloud Partnership Marks the Beginning of a New “Chronicle”

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Symphonic helps organizations in enforcing complex policy decisions across multiple channels for their workforce, customers, third party providers, and business partners. Ping Identity enables enterprises to achieve Zero Trust identity-defined security and more personalized user experiences. Its security platform provides customers, workforce, and partners with access to cloud, mobile, SaaS and on-premises applications across hybrid networks.

The joint solutions would offer enterprise-grade features like delegated administration, deployment workflows, integrated testing, and analysis of policies. The companies will offer a rich set of policy enforcement methods for API and web-based applications without requiring custom integration code. Customers can also avoid costly custom integrations by leveraging native services that are core to identity platforms like users, groups, entitlements, consents, and risk.

Commenting on the new acquisition, Andre Durand, CEO and Founder of Ping Identity, said, “With increasing data privacy regulations, users are demanding that enterprises give them better digital experiences with more transparency and control. The acquisition of Symphonic accelerates our vision for enterprises to not only maintain security and compliance with confidence, but to easily deliver personalized, trustworthy experiences.”

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As per the MoU, MicroWorld will facilitate cooperation for detecting latest cyberthreats like malware/botnet attacks. CERT-In will also provide a platform on its “Cyber Swachhta Kendra” (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) website for users to access MicroWorld’s eScan antivirus bot removal toolkit, which enables users to scan their Windows-based systems and prevent viruses like adware, spyware, and other forms of malware. The Cyber Swachhta Kendra is a part of the Government of India’s Digital India initiative operated by CERT-In.

Sanjay Bahl, Director General, CERT-In said, “As the complexity, frequency, and sophistication of malware continues to increase impacting the end user digital devices, there is a need for appropriate tools in the hands of citizens to safeguard themselves. The eScan tool from MicroWorld will help towards the vision of making India cyber swachh and build technical capacities within the country while safeguarding citizens from malware threats.”

Govind Rammurthy, Managing Director and CEO of MicroWorld Technologies, said, “IT security is a matter of grave concern in these trying times. eScan Antivirus Toolkit – will be available through CERT-In’s Cyber Swachhta Kendra platform for users across the country to utilize for free and stay secure. We aim to secure the country’s cyberspace with our futuristic and proactive technology with the aim of defending against any malignant advances that would arise from the digital universe.”

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