Latest news with #PhosphorusCybersecurity


Business Wire
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Mitiga Strengthens Executive Leadership Team with Appointment of Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mitiga, the real-time Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) solution for enterprises, today announced that it has appointed John Vecchi as chief marketing officer and John Stockel as chief financial officer. These key hires bring decades of experience in cybersecurity and high-growth tech environments, underscoring Mitiga's commitment to scaling its operations, expanding its market reach, and solidifying its position as a critical partner for organizations navigating complex cloud security challenges. Vecchi brings significant experience driving enterprise security and technology solutions to market. He has held multiple CMO and executive leadership roles across cybersecurity companies, including Phosphorus Cybersecurity, Solera Networks, Zscaler, Anonyome Labs, Blue Coat, Check Point Software, and McAfee. His expertise spans global marketing strategy, brand development, and product innovation. Stockel joins Mitiga from Deepwatch, where he played a key role in scaling the company from an early-stage startup to a leading Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider. His extensive background spans finance, operations, and corporate development at fast-scaling cybersecurity and technology firms. He also brings investor-side expertise from his time at ABS Capital, where he focused on companies in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity, including GuidePoint Security. As CFO, Stockel will oversee Mitiga's finance, legal, and corporate development functions, helping drive the company's next phase of hyper-growth. Vecchi, as CMO, will lead global marketing and brand strategy, demand generation, and communications, helping to expand Mitiga's presence and reach across enterprise security markets. Together, they will help scale Mitiga's impact, addressing the rapidly evolving threats that span multi-cloud environments, SaaS applications, and related human and non-human identities. 'This is a pivotal time for Mitiga, and I'm excited to build on the company's momentum and deliver financial strategies to support Mitiga's strategic objectives and align our resources to continue our innovation and market expansion,' said Stockel. 'The cybersecurity space is evolving quickly, and Mitiga is at the forefront with a unique and differentiated solution.' 'I've spent my career bringing innovative cybersecurity technologies to market, and Mitiga's platform is among the most exciting I've seen,' Vecchi says. 'It's a rare chance to help shape a category-defining solution at a time of massive cloud transformation, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.' These appointments come on the heels of significant expansion for Mitiga, including the early 2025 addition of Charlie Thomas as chief executive officer and the company's recent $30 million Series B funding round led by SYN Ventures. 'Expanding our executive team with seasoned leaders like John Stockel and John Vecchi is a critical step as we scale,' said Thomas. 'Their experience in growth stage tech and cybersecurity will help Mitiga meet the moment as demand for cloud-native threat response and readiness continues to grow.' For more information about Mitiga, visit About Mitiga Mitiga is the industry's most complete solution for SaaS and Cloud Detection and Response (CDR): built by investigators, for investigators. We deliver the modern capabilities that enterprises have been missing, equipping SOC teams with panoramic visibility across clouds, identities, and SaaS, automation that speeds investigations, and rich context that informs cloud threat detection, hunting, and incident response. With Mitiga's platform, security teams can zero in on modern threats at cloud speed and scale, uncovering what other solutions miss, to minimize impact and maximize resiliency.


Gulf News
02-05-2025
- Gulf News
Is your password an open door to hackers? Why your digital lock needs an upgrade
Dubai: In our increasingly connected world, every device – from smartphones and home security cameras to complex business systems and even medical equipment – acts as a digital door to users' personal information and sensitive data. And the first, most crucial lock on that door? Passwords. As the world marks World Password Day, cybersecurity experts in the UAE are issuing a clear warning: neglecting your digital front door is an open invitation for attackers. While simply 'changing passwords regularly' has been a long-standing advice, the modern threat landscape demands a more sophisticated approach focusing on strength, uniqueness, and smart management. 'Every device that speaks to your network... instantly becomes part of your attack surface,' said Osama Alzoubi, Middle East and Africa Vice President at Phosphorus Cybersecurity. He impressed upon a simple rule: 'If it's connected, it must be protected.' Alzoubi said that many devices, especially the vast and growing fleets of IoT (Internet of Things), are still vulnerable due to default usernames, outdated software, and, perhaps most commonly, reused or weak passwords. These weak spots allow attackers to penetrate networks rapidly. In 2025, with our lives and businesses deeply integrated with digital systems, robust password practices are non-negotiable. Alzoubi uses a relatable analogy: 'Treat passwords like critical supplies: inspect them, change them, and strengthen them regularly, just like changing oil in an engine.' He sees World Password Day as a vital reminder that weak credentials are 'open doors for attackers. Shut them now.' The threat is real Irina Zinovkina, Head of Information Security Analytics Research at Positive Technologies, points to recent data showing that in late 2024 and early 2025, over half (53 per cent) of successful attacks on organisations led directly to the exposure of confidential information. Passwords, she notes, remain a critical defence but are often the 'weakest link.' Experts agree that the traditional password alone isn't enough, especially when it's weak or reused. Mohammad Ismail, Vice President for EMEA at Cequence Security, explains how weak, reused, or generic passwords are easy targets for automated attacks like 'brute force' (guessing many passwords quickly) and 'credential stuffing' (trying leaked username/password combinations from one site on another). 'AI-driven tools have drastically shortened the time needed to crack simple passwords,' Ismail states, putting data at constant risk. A single compromised password can open the door to significant breaches, ransomware, and severe damage. Attackers are no longer just trying their luck manually; they are using automation, machine learning, and AI at an industrial scale to exploit these weaknesses for account takeovers and persistent access within networks. While the concept of forced, frequent password changes without cause is debated and sometimes discouraged by security experts (as it can lead users to choose simpler, easily forgotten passwords), the core principle remains: your passwords must be strong, unique, and managed wisely. So, what are the crucial steps you, as a consumer in the UAE, should take to secure your digital life? Embrace Strength and Uniqueness: Move beyond simple, easily guessable passwords. Think of passphrases – longer, memorable combinations of unrelated words are often much stronger than short, complex ones with confusing symbols. Crucially, never reuse passwords across different accounts. Your other accounts won't be immediately vulnerable if one site is breached. Utilise a Password Manager: Juggling dozens of unique passwords is hard. Password managers are secure applications that generate strong, unique passwords for each site and remember them for you. This is one of the most effective steps you can take. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): This is the most critical layer of defence beyond your password. MFA requires a second step to log in, like a code from your phone or a fingerprint scan. Even if an attacker gets your password, they can't get in without this second factor. Enable MFA everywhere it's offered, especially for email, banking, social media, and cloud services. Be Vigilant Against Phishing: Attackers often trick you into revealing your password through fake emails or websites. Be suspicious of unsolicited requests for your login details. Update Weak or Old Passwords: While forced changes might not be ideal, if you know you have old, weak, or reused passwords, update them now to strong, unique ones, preferably using a password manager. Mohammad Ismail of Cequence Security said that while the future might move towards passwordless authentication (like passkeys and biometrics), passwords are still the reality for most accounts today. Therefore, strengthening our current password hygiene is not optional. Protecting yourself in the digital age starts with your password. By making them strong and unique and supporting them with tools like password managers and MFA, you build a stronger defence against the ever-growing wave of cyber threats.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) The Best Performing Cybersecurity Stock So Far in 2025?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) stands against other best performing cybersecurity stocks so far in 2025. While the Trump administration's shifting tariff policy, which includes the announcement of steep tariffs followed by a 90-day pause on many import taxes, has prompted some economists to predict a recession within the next year, financial analysts believe the cybersecurity sector could prove to be relatively resilient. Wedbush Securities analysts see cybersecurity as a 'defensive' investment that can help investors weather what they call an impending 'Category 5 storm.' Another tailwind for the industry comes in the form of increased cyberthreat activities following economic downturns. These add to the momentum of rising cyberattacks expected by analysts for this year. Although tariffs are projected to have a minimal direct impact on cybersecurity, as most of companies in the industry focus on services rather than physical products, Sonu Shankar, chief product officer of Phosphorus Cybersecurity, an IoT security company, points out that as other industries suffer financial strain and restrict their budgets, spending on security may also face cuts. As companies go through an increasingly complicated cyber threat landscape, keeping up with developing cybersecurity trends has become critical. According to McKinsey, global spending on cybersecurity products and services hit the $200 billion mark in 2024, a significant increase from $140 billion in 2020, as the number and sophistication of attacks increase. In addition, the cybersecurity industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 12.4% between 2024 and 2027, surpassing historical growth rates as firms ramp up efforts to combat evolving threats. Cybersecurity has undoubtedly grown in relevance as more government services and data become digitized, according to Samir Jain, vice president of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a non-profit that promotes digital rights and freedom of speech. Moreover, as cyber attacks become more complex, the demand for trained workers has increased drastically, with cybersecurity companies forecasting that over 3.5 million cybersecurity roles would remain vacant by 2025. As a result, there are calls for broadening recruiting processes to expand the candidate pool. For this list, we sifted through financial media reports and identified cybersecurity stocks that were popular among elite hedge funds and favored by analysts. We then checked their year-to-date performance and selected the 11 best performing stocks from our initial pool of 35 popular stocks. The names on this list appear in ascending order of their year-to-date performance, as of April 25. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A software engineer intently typing code into a laptop with multiple screens in an office. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is a data analytics and software company that develops platforms for government agencies, financial institutions, and large corporations to understand massive data sets. On April 25, UBS analyst Karl Keirstead reiterated Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)'s Neutral rating and maintained a price target of $105. Keirstead's approach to assessing the company's resilience in an uncertain economic climate included consulting with Palantir's commercial and government partners. The feedback indicates that, while Palantir's business is healthy, it faces potential risks owing to delays in federal negotiations. NATO stated on April 14 that it had given Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) a contract to use its Maven Smart System for AI-powered military operations. The contract, which was signed on March 25, authorizes the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) to employ a variant of the AI system—Maven Smart System NATO—to assist the transatlantic military organization's Allied Command Operations strategic command. In addition, Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) has teamed with Everfox to improve software solutions for classified network settings, with an emphasis on joint and integrated command and control operations. The partnership seeks to deliver real-time intelligence processing and a uniform data environment for complicated network requirements. Overall, PLTR ranks 1st on our list of best performing cybersecurity stocks so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential for PLTR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PLTR but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at .
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD) The Best Performing Cybersecurity Stock So Far in 2025?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) stands against other best performing cybersecurity stocks so far in 2025. While the Trump administration's shifting tariff policy, which includes the announcement of steep tariffs followed by a 90-day pause on many import taxes, has prompted some economists to predict a recession within the next year, financial analysts believe the cybersecurity sector could prove to be relatively resilient. Wedbush Securities analysts see cybersecurity as a 'defensive' investment that can help investors weather what they call an impending 'Category 5 storm.' Another tailwind for the industry comes in the form of increased cyberthreat activities following economic downturns. These add to the momentum of rising cyberattacks expected by analysts for this year. Although tariffs are projected to have a minimal direct impact on cybersecurity, as most of companies in the industry focus on services rather than physical products, Sonu Shankar, chief product officer of Phosphorus Cybersecurity, an IoT security company, points out that as other industries suffer financial strain and restrict their budgets, spending on security may also face cuts. As companies go through an increasingly complicated cyber threat landscape, keeping up with developing cybersecurity trends has become critical. According to McKinsey, global spending on cybersecurity products and services hit the $200 billion mark in 2024, a significant increase from $140 billion in 2020, as the number and sophistication of attacks increase. In addition, the cybersecurity industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 12.4% between 2024 and 2027, surpassing historical growth rates as firms ramp up efforts to combat evolving threats. Cybersecurity has undoubtedly grown in relevance as more government services and data become digitized, according to Samir Jain, vice president of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a non-profit that promotes digital rights and freedom of speech. Moreover, as cyber attacks become more complex, the demand for trained workers has increased drastically, with cybersecurity companies forecasting that over 3.5 million cybersecurity roles would remain vacant by 2025. As a result, there are calls for broadening recruiting processes to expand the candidate pool. For this list, we sifted through financial media reports and identified cybersecurity stocks that were popular among elite hedge funds and favored by analysts. We then checked their year-to-date performance and selected the 11 best performing stocks from our initial pool of 35 popular stocks. The names on this list appear in ascending order of their year-to-date performance, as of April 25. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). Security personnel at their consoles, monitoring a global network of threats in real-time. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) specializes in cybersecurity solutions, including identity management, threat intelligence, and detection. The company sets itself apart from competitors with its cloud-based Falcon extended detection and response (XDR) platform, which integrates several protection categories (endpoint, cloud workloads, threat intelligence, identity security, and more) into a single ecosystem. On April 1, Stephens began coverage of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) with an Overweight rating and a $450 price target. Analysts at the firm noted the cybersecurity company's transition from a leading supplier of modern endpoint security solutions to one of the largest cybersecurity platform providers, noting the company's scale as a competitive advantage. According to CrowdStrike's latest reports, the company's total revenues increased 25% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Notably, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is seeing hyper-growth in categories such as next-generation Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), identity security, and cloud security, with total category ARR growing by 50% from fiscal 2024. Aristotle Atlantic Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) in its Q1 2025 investor letter: 'CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) provides cybersecurity products and services that offer endpoint protection and threat intelligence solutions, enabling customers to prevent damage from targeted attacks, detect advanced malware and search all endpoints. The company's open cloud architecture enables it and third-party partners to rapidly innovate, build and deploy new cloud modules that can provide customers with enhanced functionality across a myriad of use cases. Overall, CRWD ranks 3rd on our list of best performing cybersecurity stocks so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential for CRWD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CRWD but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at .
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Okta Inc. (OKTA) The Best Performing Cybersecurity Stock So Far in 2025?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Okta Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) stands against other best performing cybersecurity stocks so far in 2025. While the Trump administration's shifting tariff policy, which includes the announcement of steep tariffs followed by a 90-day pause on many import taxes, has prompted some economists to predict a recession within the next year, financial analysts believe the cybersecurity sector could prove to be relatively resilient. Wedbush Securities analysts see cybersecurity as a 'defensive' investment that can help investors weather what they call an impending 'Category 5 storm.' Another tailwind for the industry comes in the form of increased cyberthreat activities following economic downturns. These add to the momentum of rising cyberattacks expected by analysts for this year. Although tariffs are projected to have a minimal direct impact on cybersecurity, as most of companies in the industry focus on services rather than physical products, Sonu Shankar, chief product officer of Phosphorus Cybersecurity, an IoT security company, points out that as other industries suffer financial strain and restrict their budgets, spending on security may also face cuts. As companies go through an increasingly complicated cyber threat landscape, keeping up with developing cybersecurity trends has become critical. According to McKinsey, global spending on cybersecurity products and services hit the $200 billion mark in 2024, a significant increase from $140 billion in 2020, as the number and sophistication of attacks increase. In addition, the cybersecurity industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 12.4% between 2024 and 2027, surpassing historical growth rates as firms ramp up efforts to combat evolving threats. Cybersecurity has undoubtedly grown in relevance as more government services and data become digitized, according to Samir Jain, vice president of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a non-profit that promotes digital rights and freedom of speech. Moreover, as cyber attacks become more complex, the demand for trained workers has increased drastically, with cybersecurity companies forecasting that over 3.5 million cybersecurity roles would remain vacant by 2025. As a result, there are calls for broadening recruiting processes to expand the candidate pool. For this list, we sifted through financial media reports and identified cybersecurity stocks that were popular among elite hedge funds and favored by analysts. We then checked their year-to-date performance and selected the 11 best performing stocks from our initial pool of 35 popular stocks. The names on this list appear in ascending order of their year-to-date performance, as of April 25. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A mobile application developer programming on a tablet, illustrating the power of the company's adaptive multi-factor authentication. Okta Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), a leading identity and access management (IAM) company, provides cloud software that enables organizations to manage and secure user authentication across numerous applications. Its solutions also allow developers to incorporate identity restrictions in applications, websites, online services, and devices. On March 31, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), rating the stock Overweight and setting a $130 price target. According to the firm, Okta remains a leader in the identity security field, despite recent growth challenges. After a period of solid growth, with a compound annual growth rate of 41.5% from fiscal year 2019 to 2024, Okta's revenue growth slowed to 15% in fiscal year 2025, with just 10% growth expected in fiscal year 2026. However, the firm believes that new marketing methods centered on upselling and an improved partner ecosystem could improve sales productivity and perhaps lead to better-than-expected performance. White Brook Capital Partners stated the following regarding Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter: 'Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) was basically unchanged from where we bought it in 2024, although its had a good start to 2025. Okta's products are used by customers and consumers to manage and secure identities. I believe we acquired shares at an attractive price and look forward to publishing a write up early this year.' Overall, OKTA ranks 2nd on our list of best performing cybersecurity stocks so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential for OKTA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than OKTA but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at .