Cape Town, 07 Mar 2018
Leading global cyber security firm Panda Security Africa and audit, advisory and tax firm, BDO South Africa, have formed a strategic cyber alliance to enable BDO to offer a managed security service to their clients, using Panda's next generation EDR solution.
Predictions for 2018 indicate that cyber criminal activity shows no signs of slowing down and organisations need to constantly review their cybersecurity strategies to reflect the advanced threats of today. Traditional protection models are no match for sophisticated threats such as ransomware, exploits, script-based and other malware-less attacks - adopting next generation EDR (endpoint detection and response) technology into a holistic cyber security strategy is where the solution lies.
BDO Advisory's Director of IT Audit and Cyber Laboratory, Graham Croock, says BDO chose to partner with Panda Security Africa as BDO is committed to the provision of world class services to clients using best-of-breed technology. This strategy is supported by the BDO Global Cyber Leadership Group headed up by Greg Garret in the US.
Croock confirms that as cyber security is a global concern, it is imperative that global security service and product offerings are utilised. Given that BDO and Panda are both global players, the fit is perfect. The solution will also facilitate the ingesting of data by the BDO Security Operation Centre operations in Israel and Norway which will contribute additional value to the services provided through collaboration.
Traditional endpoint protection is only effective in protecting against known malware. It is not capable of dealing with attacks where exploits, file-less malware and other advanced technologies are used. A solution such as Panda's Adaptive Defence closes the detection gap and hardens protection to effectively stop ransomware, APTs and other sophisticated attack types. Adaptive Defence is an EDR-class technology with a differentiated approach involving the monitoring and classification of all running processes to deliver a 100% attestation service that ensures only trusted applications can execute.
"We are very proud that the industry considers Panda Security as a visionary in advanced protection technologies for the endpoint. This affirms the cyber security model introduced by Panda. We became the only manufacturer to offer advanced protection based on the complete visibility of endpoint activity, together with classification services for all running processes and threat hunting. This is a significant innovation and an added value for our technology, our customers and our partners such as BDO, with whom we share the common goal of offering our customers the best services ", says Juan Santamar'ia, CEO of Panda Security.
Adaptive Defence gathers up to 10 000 data points for each executable. Using big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, the service classifies goodware, malware or unknown processes - in real time. Action is automatically taken against malware and unknown processes, blocking them and preventing potential attacks from executing. Manual classification by PandaLabs analysts is done for the 0.015% of programmes that cannot be handled automatically - thus ensuring a complete attestation service. In addition to proactive protection, Adaptive Defence provides unparalleled visibility of endpoint processes for various use cases including audit, forensics and IT operations.
"This partnership between Panda Security and BDO will be important in protecting digital infrastructures and corporate networks in key industries in Southern Africa" says Jeremy Matthews, Regional Manager of Panda Security Africa. "We are pleased to be a part of this initiative - adding value to BDO's risk consulting and management service with Panda's intelligent endpoint security technology and servicesn," he continues.
About the BDO Cyber Lab
The BDO Cyber and Forensic Lab provides a host of services, each applicable at different stages of a company's cyber maturity. A team of cyber consultants - forensic investigators, data scientists, analysts, ethical hackers, business intelligence experts, IT auditors, and change management experts - offer cutting-edge forensic analytics technology.
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