Operation Clandestine Fox and Heartbleed are more than just catchy buzzwords for security threats

TORONTO, April 30, 2014 /CNW/ - 2014 has been a busy year for the IT security industry, with a succession of colossal breaches each impacting more than 100 million users. According to security auditors at SecurityandPrivacy.ca, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the ambitious attacks and impact damage continue to increase at a frenetic pace.

"If it looks like they're jockeying for position in captivating the attention of the media or terrifying ever larger swaths of the public, it's by design" says Claudiu Popa, a security author and CEO of Toronto-based Informatica Security. "the Target breach, NSA/CSEC surveillance, Heartbleed's impact and now Operation Clandestine Fox are an ominous sign of the times".

With large scale data collection and analytics now available to any company, the opportunities presented by cloud computing, big data and seemingly unlimited storage are commensurate with the risk of exposing that information.

Canadian businesses know full well that much of the information they manage is not theirs to keep. They are merely data custodians. Unfortunately, only an estimated 40% of business owners and executives have access to adequate information and sufficient visibility into risk to make intelligent decisions about the security of their sensitive information. Many employ non-standard techniques, underqualified professionals or internal auditing, leading to a false sense of security.

"Yes, it's important to do the security audit, but it's even more important to do it right.  Like gourmet cooking, brain surgery or tailoring, it's best done by experienced professionals, not drones with check-lists" said Don Johnston, Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP.

Canadian businesses can now register for one-time or recurring security reviews to professionally verify their best practices, privacy policies and compliance at www.SecurityAssessments.ca. 

About the company:

Established in 1989, Informatica is Canada's first security assurance provider, specializing in standards-based, data security and information privacy impact assessments.

Informatica's assessment process is recognized nationwide for auditable verification of systems, policies and applications. Savvy organizations use the Verify™ seal and Statement of Trust™ to demonstrate compliance, integrity and excellence. [http://Bit.ly/GetVerify]

Reviews/pre-audit assessments for PIPEDA, PHIPA, CASL, PCI-DSS 3.0, ISO 27000/31000,  Bill198 conducted by certified security professionals and Risk Advisors.

SOURCE: Informatica Security Corporation

Claudiu Popa, Principal Risk Advisor, [email protected], http://Popa.ca/MediaInterview, Twitter:@datarisk, 416-431-9012x1111, Yonge St. Toronto, Canada