Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[Genz2]

Cybersecurity spending for critical infrastructure to reach $105.99 billion in 2021

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2021/02/16/cybersecurity-spending-critical-infrastructure/

Cybersecurity spending in critical infrastructure has been little impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, save for some reshuffling on where that spend is most needed. The effect has been mostly in increased demand for secure remote connectivity.

Most of the cybersecurity spending announced by governments has not changed significantly however, with most maintaining similar funding planned in previous years, with an average Year-on-Year growth rate between 5% and 10%.

According to a report by ABI Research, cybersecurity spending for critical infrastructure (CI) will increase by $9 billion over the next year to reach $105.99 billion in 2021.

Secure connectivity has become a key focus

The primary challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic has been for CI operators to ensure that systems and services keep running smoothly, despite an increasingly remote workforce. As such, greater emphasis has been placed on ensuring that infrastructure operations can be securely monitored and managed remotely by authorized personnel.

“There is no denying that secure connectivity has become a key focus, not least with the revelations late last year of the SolarWinds Orion hack, which has brought into sharp focus the need for better vetting of services offered by third party contractors and remote update processes.

“The scale of the intrusion clearly illustrates how vulnerable systems can be when they have weak links, and how easily threat actors can infiltrate and escalate privileges once access has been gained.

“The implications for national security are significant, and critical infrastructure operators and governments worldwide are now re-evaluating and re-assessing the risks as they relate to remote management,” says Michela Menting, Digital Security Research Director at ABI Research.

The brunt of security spending is still first and foremost focused on IT networks, systems, and data security from a defensive perspective. “This is where the primary threats are focused, and operators are keenly aware of the potential ramifications of a breach there.

“However, increasing efforts are being placed on offensive security investments to better prepare response mechanisms, as well as securing operational technologies as operators in many sectors go through digital transformation and start evolving toward smart and connected IoT infrastructures,” Menting explains.

Many sectors bound by regulations

Progress is nonetheless slow, as many sectors are bound by regulations which can make it difficult to change quickly. In addition, new security processes require time for testing and validation before being greenlit for use, ensuring they don’t compromise the integrity or proper functioning of existing processes.

While security spending is significant in defense, financial services, and in information and communication technologies (ICTs), it still lags in the more industrial sectors such as energy, water and waste management, as the risks related to physical threats is significant.

Some initial traction is nonetheless driving transport, public security and healthcare, all in line with digital transformation efforts in those industries and notably from smart city developments.

“By and large, security spending in critical infrastructures is wide and varied, and diverges significantly among regions due to policy and regulation but is overall embracing cybersecurity much more holistically as connectivity and digitization continue to play increasing roles in everyday operations,” Menting concludes.
=================================================================
http://www.wavesys.com/compliance

What is compliance?

Organizations must meet industry-wide government requirements for data management, including storage, archiving, encryption, and retrieval. These requirements are intended to prevent data theft and preserve consumer privacy. They often mandate specific controls, corporate compliance programs, audits, public disclosures (“notice of breach”), and stiff penalties—from fines to prison time—for noncompliance.

If your organization falls victim to a security breach and you can’t prove that you were in compliance when it happened, you will be considered negligent. In addition to fines or criminal prosecution, you could face lawsuits, negative publicity, and loss of business.

Here are some of the primary areas of regulation:

Corporate accounting: SOX

Health care: HIPAA and HITECH

Credit and debit transactions: PCI

Government: FISMA and VPAT

Europe: DPA

The regulations are overwhelming and costly

Compliance is a major concern because of the increasing number and complexity of the regulations, as well as the expense they can entail—in the form of investment in new technologies and management. In the United States alone, there are more than 8,500 state and federal regulations concerning records management and notice of breach, plus voluntary standards. A 2011 study of multinational companies found the average cost of compliance to be more than $3.5 million.

Wave’s solution: start with the device

The Wave approach to the compliance challenge is twofold:

First, we offer serious security that’s confirmed, not assumed. Regulators won’t take your word for it. We use your existing hardware to more or less equip each and every device with its own data protection system. That can mean both strong two-factor authentication and automatic encryption.

This gives you unprecedented yet straightforward monitoring of and control over exactly who has access to your data, with what devices, over what networks. Detailed logs record it all—and show that you were in compliance at any given time. Proving compliance to an auditor can be as easy as clicking “print.”

Second, we keep it simple to keep costs down. Again, we start with the devices you already have. We can do that because our products are based on an open standard that’s already been implemented on 600 million–plus laptops and is now working its way onto mobile devices. Our software may be all you need to tame the compliance monster.

Our products are also designed to make managing your security—and your compliance—refreshingly straightforward. Usually, you can do all your management, monitoring, and reporting through a single console. Preconfigured security policies mean you can be in compliance as soon as our software is installed. It all adds up to less time, less staff.

For these reasons, total cost of ownership for Wave can be almost half that of a traditional software-based system that may not even prove you are in compliance—never mind protect your data.
==================================================================
If security was properly secure (by Wave solutions), organizations wouldn't have to worry about offensive operations!!!
==================================================================
http://www.wavesys.com/

Better security at less than half the cost!!!



http://www.wavesys.com/contact-information

Contact Wave

Wave Systems
401 Congress Avenue
Suite 2650
Austin, TX 78701
[e-mail]

Gold Customer Support:

[e-mail]

1-800-928-3638

Support:

[e-mail]

1-844-250-7077

Sales:

1-877-228-WAVE