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A seemingly endless stream of stories concerning cybersecurity vulnerabilities has peppered the tech headlines this year. From geopolitical hacks to ransomware attacks, and data breaches of major firms – cybersecurity has become a common talking point in today’s media. This is not without merit considering the broad impact of our daily interactions with technology.
At a national scale, the stakes are high for cyber-attacks as election season looms and cyber warfare gears up between governments. For enterprises, millions of dollars and sensitive data represent honeypots for hackers, and for the consumer, vulnerabilities in IoT devices laying around homes can be wielded against them.
“IoT security is not a security issue, it is simultaneously a public safety and a national security issue,” Dark Cubed CEO Vince Crisler explained, discussing a formal report on IoT security that the firm produced. “The security community must make solving these issues a priority.” Crisler’s opinion carries weight, as the former Chief Information Security Officer for the Whitehouse, he has operated on the front lines of cybersecurity.
With years of high-profile experience under the firm’s belt, including assisting in cybersecurity at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Dark Cubed is poised to foster a new era in cybersecurity, using a powerful and cost-effective model.
Breaking Down Barriers
Two of the most overlooked but salient concepts that underscore cybersecurity are costs and deployment. Often tethered, traditionally high price points and sophisticated deployment have precluded many enterprises, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), from accessing the security tools that they need. Malicious actors have taken advantage of this trend and are increasingly targeting these very businesses.
Today most businesses are managing incredibly sensitive and valuable aspects of their operations via databases and internet communication rails. This means cybersecurity is no longer merely the purview of major corporations. Unfortunately, many small to medium size companies simply don’t have the technical expertise, awareness, or financial pockets to shell out for enterprise-grade cybersecurity tools.
Enter Dark Cubed.
Wielding a union of federal government experience, expert cybersecurity talent, and a clever business model, Dark Cubed is bringing high-caliber cybersecurity to businesses of all sizes.
At a high level, Dark Cubed has crafted an enterprise-grade suite of security tools that equips automated services like threat monitoring and responses, predictive analytics, threat intelligence, and more. Deployable in mere moments, Dark Cubed’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) is also much more affordable than tools of the same caliber.
The low price point and enterprise-grade protection, originating from experience in the highest cybersecurity roles, is significant. Combined with a user-friendly interface, SMEs can bypass two of the biggest hurdles handcuffing the broader improvement of cybersecurity in the private sector. Additionally, firms can circumvent the necessity of hiring technical experts to manage their cybersecurity efforts, and instead, rely on tested software complete with real-time monitoring.
Expanding the Horizon
It’s consistently surprising how many security incidents, whether financial or personal data related, arise out of negligence rather than some sophisticated hacking endeavor. Crisler, along with Dark Cubed, has stressed many times the importance of basic security steps that anyone can take, like the mandatory implementation of 2-factor authentication on all accounts.
When simple steps are insufficient to protect against hackers evolving prescriptive measures are required. Dark Cubed plans to extend their SaaS beyond straightforward enterprise protections as well.
With the attack vectors of IoT ever-present and under discussion at both the national and consumer level there is a huge market for someone to step in and make an impact. The implications of widespread IoT device vulnerabilities, as Crisler said, are assuredly a national security concern.
There are already more Internet-connected devices than people on earth, and that number is only expected to increase.
The intimate nature of many of those devices, like a Google Home or Amazon Alexa sitting in your living room, justifies the resounding pressure to supplement innovation in the IoT cybersecurity field.
For their part, Crisler and Dark Cubed are presciently aware of the IoT threat, and currently working on solutions to make IoT cybersecurity more powerful and flexible across devices.
“There’s no coordinated approach to consumer IoT security,” Crisler said. “We’re actively working on changing that.”
The goal? Craft IoT cybersecurity standards and tools in the same cost-effective light of Dark Cubed’s existing products.
Translating White House experience to the private sector is a compelling task, but one that Crisler, and Dark Cubed, ultimately believe will push forward a new market for cybersecurity products. The stakes have never been higher, and with the 2020 Elections on the horizon, look for Dark Cubed to protect your data.
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