Johannesburg, 31 Mar 2017
Internet security and security certificates are in the news, and not for good reasons. There has been quite a lot of noise about some of them not being as reliable as their providers claim.
It's a serious issue. If a security certificate is permeable it is dangerous. Personal identities can be lost, and with those, so can millions of rands and, importantly, clients can also be lost.
A failure of this type can be enormously damaging to a business's reputation.
"LAWtrust is here to help. Not only are we 100% South African but we are also globally accredited to safeguard data, and these days it's the data - not the device - that needs protection," says Christi Maherry, CEO and founder of LAWtrust.
In South Africa, the average cost of a data breach is R28.6-million, according to the Ponemon Institute's 2016 Cost of Data Breach Study: South Africa, released last year.
Although firewalls and virus protection are still important, another layer is needed, because so much data is stored in the cloud now.
Security certificates are the basis for transport layer security (TLS), the encrypted connection between a Web site and a visiting computer.
You know it by the green padlock in the address bar. TLS and the SSL system it will replace - make it possible for users to send credit-card details, identity numbers and other sensitive information safely and privately across the Internet.
The certificates that underlie the encrypted exchange are issued by certification authorities (CAs).
Since 2013, LAWtrust has been certified by WebTrust as a global CA and included in the Microsoft and Adobe Trusted CA lists.
The WebTrust Seal of Assurance for Certification Authorities asserts to potential relying parties that a qualified practitioner has evaluated the CA's business practices and controls to determine whether they conform.
LAWtrust has recently gone through the audit process which allows them to continue offering certificates with the WebTrust Seal of Assurance.
"We have just completed our audit and are pleased to say that we passed with flying colours and can assure all LAWtrust customer old and new that we are fully compliant," says Maherry.
These principles and criteria reflect fundamental standards for the establishment and ongoing operation of a CA organisation or function.
LAWtrust also represents Entrust Datacard in Southern Africa and provides the SSL offering into the market with local billing, verification and support. Entrust Datacard is recognized as the global pioneer of high assurance certificate issuance systems.
The Adobe Approved Trust List is a program that allows millions of users around the world to create digital signatures that are trusted whenever the signed document is opened in Adobe Acrobat or Reader software, says Adobe on its Web site.
In addition to this, LAWtrust recently partnered with Thales e-Security, a world leader in hard- and software encryption solutions, with an established track record in payments and government security. This adds additional encryption tools to the arsenal LAWtrust can offer businesses interested in safeguarding data.
And, according to LAWtrust professional services consultant Aleksandar Valjarevic, that's a company's best bet - sophisticated encryption that ensures that any data that is hacked is itself so well protected that it is meaningless to the thieves.
LAWtrust provides a variety of commercial and in-house encryption solutions that enable the collection, storage and communication of sensitive information.
This is becoming increasingly important as South Africa comes closer to making effective the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI), which will put the onus for the protection of personal information on those who store it.
"Being able to show your business has strong, reliable encryption security fosters customer trust and loyalty and protects your information from digital attacks," says Maherry. "We have a variety of experts on hand to assist with this."
Attacks happen, often. Sometimes the fall out makes the news because the breach was large, such as the Yahoo! data breaches reported in 2016, affecting up to 500-million accounts.
"Sometimes it's just one individual business, but if that person or company is you, the effect is devastating. LAWtrust can help make sure that doesn't happen to you, or your business."
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