Sophos, a British cybersecurity group, has made interesting announcements during the GISEC 2018 conference that has set its share value skyrocketing.

The company has been offering computer and internet security services for more than three decades, to mid-market enterprises in over 150 countries. In the recent Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference (aka GISEC), the company announced how, in the wake of high profile security attacks like WannaCry and NotPetya, the demand of the group’s services has increased multifold.

Chief executive Kris Hagerman has this to say about the situation, “In the past couple of years we have outperformed because of these unprecedented attacks.”

It is noteworthy that as the tools of data processing are advancing, such as machine learning, users’ concerns over the use of their private data is also growing. Furthermore, the effect of GDPR has also compelled enterprises to pay more attention to the security measures for the users’ data.

Intensifying the situation, for the first time ever, the UK and US have released a joint warning last month against Russia, saying that the country was making deliberate efforts to intrude into the ‘western internet-based infrastructure’, threatening the routers of homes and businesses.

Many similar factors have led to the unprecedented growth in the total annual revenue for Sophos, which according to its ground-breaking announcement, has increased by a whopping 21%. In the initial three months of the year, the company has also witnessed a huge increment in the number of its customer base that bloomed from 260,000 last year to 300,000 in March 2018.

Hagerman states, “Cybersecurity has never been more important for enterprises of all sizes, and the demand environment for our solutions has never been stronger. We have a massive market opportunity in front of us”

Machine Learning in Cybersecurity

In one of our previous posts, we have shown how machine learning can revolutionise the entire foundation of cybersecurity. Now Sophos has launched a relatively new product called InterceptX that is using the technology to improve the identification of malicious programs. The product uses a deep learning algorithm to protect the systems even from the unknown threats. “It uses a neural network set up like the human brain to make decisions based on stored data and predictive reasoning.” as explained by the vice president of the MEA Sophos, Harish Chib.

In the conference presentation, he also remarked on the company’s commitment towards security innovation by stating that, “We have demonstrated this with the launch of Sophos Intercept X to stop ransomware, the number one threat that’s concerning partners. Our synchronised security strategy lets our partners expand and deploy end-to-end network to endpoint security that communicates and shares intelligence.”

The company has also made an announcement in terms of its flagship and other products, and how the aftermath of all the factors mentioned above have led to an unprecedented rise in the former’s billing values. However, the company is not the only one witnessing growth as a result of the growing cybersecurity concerns. As Mr. Hagerman has said, “The cybersecurity business is a $40-50bn business worldwide and is growing at 6-7 percent — of course, you would expect that we’re not the only ones to notice that.”

Competition in the market is bound to increase as firms like Avast, McAfee, and Czech cyber security are also upping their game by providing direct solutions to their customers.

Recently, the whole world seems to have increased its concern for cybersecurity and for good reason too. While all the responsible corporations in the area are inventing new ways to ensure large-scale cybersecurity, there are a few simple steps through which you can ensure best practices at home or work, to keep your system and data safe from the perpetrators of the cyber security world. Also, you can have your website tested for additional security to protect the data of your customers. These are all small steps you can take on your end to ensure that, when it comes to the security of data and system, no stone is left unturned.

Resources

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/world/europe/us-uk-russia-cybersecurity-threat.html

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/sophos-healthy-as-it-helps-firms-put-up-the-defences-against-viruses-a3841661.html

http://www.itp.net/617176-sophos-promotes-next-generation-cyber-security-solution

https://www.ft.com/content/5d2e17aa-599c-11e8-bdb7-f6677d2e1ce8″ttps://www.ft.com/content/5d2e17aa-599c-11e8-bdb7-f6677d2e1ce8