Intelligent CISO Issue 11 | Page 7

news Orange acquires SecureData to increase international cybersecurity reach and expertise range has announced the acquisition of SecureData Group for an undisclosed amount. The UK-based company SecureData is one of the largest independent cybersecurity service providers in the UK, the first market in Europe. The company has a 25-year track record of providing integrated cybersolutions designed to assess risks, detect threats, protect customer’s IT assets and respond to security incidents. O The company’s elite consulting arm, SensePost, enjoys a worldwide reputation for its expertise in cybercriminality, security research and penetration testing. The company recorded annual revenues of circa €50 million in 2018 and has enjoyed consistent growth rates of approximately 20% since 2016. With over 200 employees in the UK and South Africa and a well-respected management-team, the company is well- positioned on the strategically-key British and Anglophone cybersecurity market. By offering improved access to this crucial market, SecureData constitutes an opportunity to expand Orange’s capabilities, particularly in Europe. Through additional technical cooperation, SecureData will help reinforce Orange’s strategic position in cyberdefence by bringing a new source of expertise and innovative technology. SecureData also boasts an advanced cyber-SOC (Security Operations Centre) in the UK that will reinforce Orange Cyberdefense’s international reach by building upon the existing network of nine cyber-SOCs dedicated to monitoring and responding to security breaches on behalf of its customers. RESEARCH SHOWS SENIOR EXECS OFTEN WEAKEST LINK IN CYBERSECURITY CHAIN new report from The Bunker, a UK-based secure cloud, managed services and data centre provider, has highlighted that senior executives are still often the weakest link in the corporate cybersecurity chain and that cybercriminals target this vulnerability to commit serious data breaches. their personal accounts extremely valuable to exploit and heightens the need for extra care. According to the white paper, Are You the Weakest Link? How Senior Executives Can Avoid Breaking the Cybersecurity Chain, many senior executives ignore the threat from hackers and cybercriminals and often feel that security policies in their respective organisations do not apply to their unique position. Phil Bindley, Managing Director, The Bunker, said: “In tackling and mitigating the security threat, a critical issue is a failure to securely back up email data. Many businesses assume that a cloud- hosted service, such as Office 365, comes with automatic back-up and security provisions. Unfortunately, it does not.” However, in reality, their often privileged access to company information make He added: “We advise people to replace the word ‘cloud’ with ‘someone else’s A www.intelligentciso.com | Issue 11 computer’, to get a better perspective of the risks that need to be mitigated when deploying a cloud-based service.” In addition to highlighting the common mistakes made by senior executives, the white paper lists the top security areas that should be prioritised to ensure cybersecurity resilience. Phil Bindley, Managing Director, The Bunker 7