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Cyber Daily: Standing Out as a Cyber Startup; Ransomware Hits Canada; Auditors Focus on Cyber
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Good day. Chief information security officers can be overwhelmed by the number of pitches they receive from cybersecurity startups. However, there are a number of ways they can sort the wheat from the chaff.
Investors say startups may have a leg up if they've received seed funding from the federal government, for instance, or have comprehensive patch-management policies in place. Given the crowded field for cybersecurity startups, it’s important to stand out, and referrals can go a long way, WSJ Pro’s Catherine Stupp reports from the Web Summit conference in Lisbon.
Also today: Ransomware cripples government IT systems in Canadian territory of Nunavut; U.S. auditors are reforming their own standards in order to seek information on cybersecurity; and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is offering $22 million to upgrade its cyber defenses.
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Attendees at this week's Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon offered ideas on how to vet cybersecurity vendors. PHOTO: PEDRO FIUZA/NURPHOTO VIA ZUMA PRESS
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LISBON—Chief information security officers are inundated by pitches from small cybersecurity companies, but they increasingly find they can't ignore them because they need the niche services that high-quality startups offer.
“A lot of CISOs at major organizations feel they have to look at earlier-stage companies more now than five years ago,” Dennis Smith, partner and founder of venture-capital firm Evolution Equity Partners, said at the Web Summit technology conference. The trend is driven by a shortage of in-house cybersecurity experts and startups' use of artificial intelligence to address specific problems, he said.
When considering pitches from startups, corporate cybersecurity professionals should ask for details about security practices, including how long it takes the company to patch security problems after receiving alerts from software and hardware providers, Mr. Smith said.
Read the entire story, including additional ways to make a startup stand out, on the WSJ Pro Cybersecurity website.
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$22 Million
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The value of the contract available to upgrade NATO’s cyber systems, according to the organization’s request-for-quotation.
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A ransomware attack has crippled services in cities such as Iqaluit, the capital city of Canada's northernmost region, Nunavut. PHOTO: STEPHANE MAHE / REUTERS
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Ransomware strikes Canadian regional government. Residents of Canada’s Nunavut region are finding it difficult to access municipal services, after a ransomware attack over the weekend forced a major shutdown of regional government systems. All government services that rely on access to resident data, including medical, financial, family and education systems are affected, ZDNet reports. Martin Joy, Nunavut’s technology director, told media outlets that all Microsoft Corp. Office documents have been encrypted, and that employees are unable to access their email accounts.
Auditors reforming standards to include cybersecurity. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is working to modernize its standards to include information on new technology trends, including cybersecurity. The group’s auditing standards board is pursuing the work, which will allow auditors to request nonfinancial information that wasn’t provided by companies, the WSJ reports. The first standard is due to go into effect in 2021.
NATO plans €20 million cyber upgrade. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will spend approximately $22 million to upgrade its cybersecurity systems, according to a contract it put out for tender. The defense organization will upgrade end-of-life systems first, Security Magazine reports. It hopes to select a contractor by the end of 2019, with work commencing in the first quarter of 2020.
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