A new ‘cyber alarm’ system which sounds a warning when a website or IT network comes under attack allows businesses to detect security breaches as soon as they occur.
Foregenix is the first cyber security firm in the UK to offer Canary, which sits on a company’s website and ‘chirps’ loudly when there is an attempted ‘break in’. The company says that tough new data protection rules coming into force next year will make it all the more important for companies to have an alarm on their website, just as they do on their premises.
Currently hacks and other security breaches typically go undetected for six months. However under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as from May 2018, firms will be obliged to report data breaches within 72 hours or face fines of up to 20m Euros or 4% of global turnover – equivalent to £40,000 for a £1m turnover company.
Foregenix believes Canary, developed by South African Thinkst Applied Research, is the most advanced cyber alarm of its type in the world. It has integrated Canary with its own Serengeti solution to provide a double layer of threat detection.
Serengeti monitors end points, applications, active processes and alerts for potential threats using signatures based on behavioural analytics. The comprehensive reporting system enables threats to be detected quickly by Foregenix’s cyber security team, which currently operates in 20 countries.
Andrew Henwood, Foregenix’s CEO, said businesses need to act now or face potentially crippling fines: “With one year to go before the new GDPR regulations are introduced, it is all the more important that small firms – especially those who store customer details or take online payments – have an early warning system that will alert them to data breaches in minutes, rather than months.
“Our solution uses two leading technologies to ensure security breaches can be identified as soon as they occur. Just as you wouldn’t leave your premises unattended without putting the alarm on, it makes sense to do the same with your website.”
A recent survey of 60,000 SME e-commerce sites by Foregenix revealed that 78% were vulnerable to cyber criminals and 5% had already been breached. *
Notes
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into effect on 25 May 2018, is a new regime concerning the use and protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) relating to EU citizens. No matter where in the world a business is located, it will be responsible for complying with the regulation, and will need to notify the relevant authorities of a PII-related data breach within 72 hours. Firms that breach the rules can face fines of up to 20m Euros.
www.foregenix.com
http://thinkst.com
* Recent survey link to research:
https://www.foregenix.com/blog/78-of-ecommerce-websites-at-risk
