Security Roundup: Baltimore Cyberattack, GDPR, Guardicore, Siemplify
… the complexity of educating the public on data regulations, as well as the difficulty that organizations still face in complying with the law, according to Snow Software.
Some 57% of global workers noticed stricter policies at work regarding the use of technology or customer data as a result of GDPR. Enforcement appears to have had the biggest impact in Europe, where 70% of respondents reported stricter policies, and at medium-size businesses with 100-1,000 employees, where 65% of workers noticed policy changes.
Alastair Pooley, Snow Software’s CIO, tells us people generally don’t seem to like GDPR because it has been perceived as more annoying than beneficial; however, the law is leading to increased transparency around data breaches, which in the long run will improve security, he said.
“And the need for GDPR is also evident when you consider that the technology industry is seen as not having done enough to protect consumer data at the company level, likely due to publicity around Cambridge Analytica and other high-profile data leaks or breaches,” he said. “Companies should promote data privacy and its merits — and it’s a topic that global consumers should care about as well. There are also opportunities to help companies develop their security controls and education programs, and both are an immediate need for most organizations.”
Meanwhile, an online study conducted on behalf of TrustArc shows 36% of adults ages 16-75 trust companies and organizations with their personal data more since GDPR came into effect one year ago. There are positive sentiments toward enforcement activity, and half of respondents have exercised some of their GDPR privacy rights.
Some 57% of respondents also are more likely to use websites that have a certification mark or seal to demonstrate GDPR compliance.
“Providing more transparent ways to demonstrate GDPR compliance and ensuring they respond to privacy rights requests in a timely manner will go a long way toward further improving consumer trust and increasing website use and online purchasing,” said Chris Babel, TrustArc’s CEO.
Guardicore, Siemplify Receiving Funding Injections
Guardicore this week announced it has raised $60 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $110 million.
Todd Bice, Guardicore’s senior director of channels, tells us his company plans to use proceeds from this funding round specifically to grow its channel organization, improve partner enablement programs, and increase its investment in partner events and other channel marketing initiatives.
“We will have a strong focus on technical enablement with the addition of a channel-dedicated technical resource, hands-on test drive training, partner demo environments, and our new certification program,” he said. “We will also leverage our capital raise to fund a highly lucrative Partner Incentive Program, which includes very aggressive SPIFFs that are paid to partner-selling teams. This additional investment, on top of already aggressive margins, was an intentional, strategic decision as we see partners as our fastest path to increased revenue and market share in 2019.”
Guardicore protects data centers of large and midsize enterprises across North America, South America and EMEA in financial, health care and retail industries, including global, blue-chip brands.
In addition, Siemplify has secured $30 million in Series C funding. The company will use these new funds to drive expansion of its global go-to-market strategy, as well as further enhance its security operations platform.
Bradd Barmettler, Siemplify’s global head of channel, tells us his company is in the process of expanding sales incentives for its partners.
“This will build more mindshare by putting more money in our partners’ pockets for achieving key goals,” he said. “Those goals increase the ability to achieve key sales activities that then build a joint pipeline for our partners and Siemplify.”
Siemplify is reaching out to partners to see where it can expand upon the current event schedule and joint marketing efforts, Barmettler said.
“We are planning to expand the channel team,” he said. “With a bigger team, we can focus more time and energy on partner-marketing efforts, training and enablement, which are all key factors to building a channel pipeline and increasing channel sales.”