Kaspersky set to process and store customer data from the United States and Canada in Switzerland

Kaspersky is progressing with the relocation of its data storage and processing infrastructure to Switzerland by moving data from customers from the United States and Canada. In addition, the company is announcing plans to open its first Latin American Transparency Center in São Paulo, Brazil in January 2020.

As a global cybersecurity company, Kaspersky has been committed to the strongest protection of its customers’ data. Moreover, the company has been working to improve customer security by building effective data protection based on digital trust. Therefore, as part of its Global Transparency Initiative, Kaspersky has been adapting its data storage and processing infrastructure by moving core processes from Russia to Switzerland – starting with European users.

The company is now taking the next step by announcing that data from customers of the United States and Canada will also be moved and processed in Switzerland. This data is shared voluntarily with the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) – an advanced, cloud-based system that automatically processes cyberthreat-related data. This includes suspicious or previously unknown malicious files that the company’s products send to KSN for automated malware analysis.

In addition, Kaspersky has announced plans to open a new Transparency Center in Latin America. It’s been exactly one year since the company established its first Transparency Center in Zurich – a dedicated security facility for trusted partners to review the company’s source code – and it proved to be an important and necessary tool for both existing and prospective Kaspersky customers to increase their confidence and trust in cybersecurity products and services.

Delivering on customers’ needs, earlier this year the company opened one more European Transparency Center in Madrid and announced the opening of its APAC Transparency Center in Malaysia, in addition to adding extended functionalities to the facilities. Kaspersky provides its visitors with the possibility to learn more about engineering and data-processing practices, as well as its product portfolio. 

“All of us want to protect our own data,” said Anton Shingarev, vice president for public affairs at Kaspersky. “That is an understandable demand in our digital world. But we need to know that we can trust our own choices in digital technology, like smartphones, laptops, mobile applications or cybersecurity solutions. Trust needs to be earned, and at Kaspersky we believe any company needs to constantly improve transparency and accountability in cyberspace. We are glad to proceed further with our big infrastructure project and, as promised, moving other regions in addition to European customers, whose data is processed in Swiss data centers."

At all of Kaspersky’s Transparency Centers, the company provides the opportunity to compile the company’s software from its source code and compare it with those that are publicly available. This move assures an unprecedented level of confidence in Kaspersky’s products, allowing them to run a compilation process with the assistance of the company’s experts.

“Our specifically developed ‘three-layer’ approach to security briefings has proved successful since it provides each partner with the most appropriate and needed type of support,” Shingarev added. “From sharing our transparency and data processing practices, to conducting a hardcore comprehensive source code review, we provide our partners with the information they need. No single cybersecurity vendor has gone as far in terms of transparency over its processes and technologies, and we are happy to take a lead to make the entire industry more open and reliable.”

Also, Kaspersky has been continuously working on its Bug Bounty Program. Since March 2018, the company has received and resolved 66 bugs. In total, 20 reports were rewarded with combined bounties totaling US$45,350.

Zyxel introduces ZyWALL ATP100 Firewall that uses threat intelligence and cloud-based security for small businesses

Zyxel Communications announced on Monday launch of the ZyWALL ATP100 Firewall, an advanced firewall designed for small businesses. The ATP100 draws real-time intelligence from a continually-expanding global database of cybersecurity threat data to provide businesses with an unprecedented level of protection from the risk of cyberattacks.

Designed for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees, the new ZyWALL ATP100 Firewall leverages Zyxel’s cloud-based security services to provide multi-layer protection against a variety of threats, such as attacks from botnets, malware, web attacks, exploits, and sources of spam. A continuously growing database of global threat information is analyzed by an AI-driven algorithm to identify and stop active threats before they can spread.

The ZyWALL ATP100 Firewall features self-evolving cloud intelligence that meets the requirements of unknown files and user patterns from all deployed Zyxel ATP firewalls are added to the threat database and the most top-ranked threat signatures are pushed into all ATP firewalls giving them a seamless defense shield against new unknown threats. Real-time cloud device synchronization feeds a continuously-growing, self-evolving defense ecosystem that adapts to external attacks and keeps all ATP firewalls in sync at all times.

An isolated cloud environment contains unknown files that cannot be identified by existing security services. Unknown files are emulated in isolation to determine whether they are malicious or not, providing protection against zero-day attacks of all sorts.

The firewall also guards against threats with multiple vectors through a comprehensive array of security features including botnet filtering, sandboxing, app patrol, content filtering, reputation filtering, anti-malware, and Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDP).

When an unknown file appears, Cloud Query quickly checks the file ID in Zyxel Security Cloud’s database to check if it is malicious, maximizing network traffic by providing strong malware coverage with minimal network resources.

A user-friendly dashboard gives visual traffic summary and threat statistics. The SecuReporter suite of analysis and reporting tools includes network security threats identification/analysis, security services, security events, application usage, website usage, and traffic usage. Botnet filter analytics/reports and IP Reputation analytics provide valuable insight into identified and potential threats.