Global Infosec Awards Winner 2024, Cyber Defense Magazine seal

BlackCloak Named Winner of Three Coveted Global InfoSec Awards during RSA Conference 2024

BlackCloak Wins Visionary Cybersecurity Startup, Trailblazer in Digital Executive Protection, and Hot Company Cybersecurity CEO for Chris Pierson during the 12th Annual Global InfoSec Awards at #RSAC 2024

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 6, 2024 – BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection and Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and corporate executives, proudly announces it has won the following awards from Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM), the industry’s leading electronic information security magazine:

  • Visionary Cybersecurity Startup
  • Trailblazer in Digital Executive Protection
  • Hot Company Cybersecurity CEO for Dr. Chris Pierson

“It’s an honor to be recognized by Cyber Defense Magazine with not just one, but three Global InfoSec Awards. This is a testament to the BlackCloak team’s commitment to excellence in protecting the digital lives of executives, high-net-worth individuals, and their families,” said Dr. Chris Pierson, CEO and Founder of BlackCloak. “Our mission is to provide peace of mind in an era where cyber threats are ever-evolving, and this recognition fuels our drive to innovate and enhance our protective measures. We remain dedicated to delivering the highest standard of privacy and security for those at the forefront of their industries.” 

At the heart of BlackCloak’s success is its cutting-edge Digital Executive Protection and Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform. Designed to shield corporate executives and high-profile individuals from ever-evolving cybersecurity threats, BlackCloak offers a comprehensive suite of solutions that cater to the unique security and privacy needs of its members.

BlackCloak Delivers:

  • Personalized Cybersecurity: Tailored to the individual needs of each member, ensuring their digital life is fortified against cyber threats.
  • Privacy Assurance: Vigilant protection of personal information, safeguarding members from identity theft and financial fraud.
  • Reputational Defense: Proactive measures to prevent damaging cyber attacks that could tarnish a member’s public image.
  • Family Protection: Extending security beyond the executive or high-profile individual to cover their family members, creating a secure digital environment at home.

“We scoured the globe looking for cybersecurity innovators that could make a huge difference and potentially help turn the tide against the exponential growth in cyber-crime. BlackCloak is absolutely worthy of these coveted awards and consideration for deployment in your environment,” said Yan Ross, Global Editor of Cyber Defense Magazine.

BlackCloak thrilled to be a member on this coveted group of winners:  http://www.cyberdefenseawards.com/

 

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform is a holistic solution including mobile and desktop apps as well as concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals get peace of mind knowing their family, reputation, and finances are secured. Companies rest assured that their brand, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats coming through executives without having to invade their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io, and follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter

 

BlackCloak Media Contact:

Mike Sias

[email protected] 

 

About CDM InfoSec Awards 

This is Cyber Defense Magazine’s twelfth year of honoring InfoSec innovators from around the Globe. Our submission requirements are for any startup, early stage, later stage, or public companies in the INFORMATION SECURITY (INFOSEC) space who believe they have a unique and compelling value proposition for their product or service. Learn more at www.cyberdefenseawards.com

 

About The Judging 

The judges are CISSP, FMDHS, CEH, certified security professionals who voted based on their independent review of the company submitted materials on the website of each submission including but not limited to data sheets, white papers, product literature and other market variables. CDM has a flexible philosophy to find more innovative players with new and unique technologies, than the one with the most customers or money in the bank. CDM is always asking “What’s Next?” so we are looking for best of breed, next generation InfoSec solutions.

 

About Cyber Defense Magazine

Cyber Defense Magazine is the premier source of cyber security news and information for InfoSec professions in business and government. We are managed and published by and for ethical, honest, passionate information security professionals. Our mission is to share cutting-edge knowledge, real-world stories and awards on the best ideas, products, and services in the information technology industry.  We deliver electronic magazines every month online for free, and special editions exclusively for the RSA Conferences. CDM is a proud member of the Cyber Defense Media Group. Learn more about us at https://www.cyberdefensemagazine.com and visit https://www.cyberdefensetv.com and https://www.cyberdefenseradio.com to see and hear some of the most informative interviews of many of these winning company executives.  Join a webinar at https://www.cyberdefensewebinars.com and realize that infosec knowledge is power. 

 

CDM Media Inquiries:

Contact:                Irene Noser, Marketing Executive

Email:                     [email protected] 

Toll Free (USA):     1-833-844-9468

International:        1-646-586-9545

Website:                www.cyberdefensemagazine.com

Information Week

Information Week: Thoma Bravo’s $5B Darktrace Bet Highlights Cyber’s AI Excitement

Darktrace, the United Kingdom-based cybersecurity powerhouse — with a client list that includes the city of Las Vegas and Airbus — had refused earlier an Thoma Bravo bid.

Cybersecurity giant Darktrace, a UK firm specializing in AI-enabled threat detection, accepted a $5.32 billion bid by US private equity powerhouse Thoma Brava that would take the firm private.

Darktrace Chair Gordon Hurst in a statement suggested that Thoma Bravo’s most recent bid was too sweet to pass up. “The proposed offer represents an attractive premium and an opportunity for shareholders to receive the certainty of a cash consideration at a fair value for their shares,” he said. “The proposed acquisition will provide Darktrace access to a strong financial partner in Thoma Bravo, with deep software sector expertise.”

Find out what our CEO and Founder, Dr. Chris Pierson, had to say about this topic: https://www.informationweek.com/cyber-resilience/thoma-bravo-s-5b-darktrace-bet-highlights-cyber-s-ai-excitement

BlackCloak joins collaborative cyber intelligence community RH-ISAC

BlackCloak Joins Collaborative Cyber Intelligence Community RH-ISAC

Associate Membership Expands BlackCloak’s Ability to Protect the Digital Lives of Retail and Hospitality Executives

 

ORLANDO, FL, April 16, 2024 – BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection and Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and corporate executives, today announced its new Associate Membership with the Retail and Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC). This strategic alignment underscores BlackCloak’s commitment to advancing cybersecurity resilience within the retail and hospitality industries.

As cyber threats continue to evolve and escalate, collaboration and intelligence sharing are critical. By joining RH-ISAC, BlackCloak will engage in a wealth of industry-specific threat intelligence, resources, and collaboration opportunities. This membership will enable BlackCloak to better serve its clients by staying ahead of potential cybersecurity threats and enhancing its defensive strategies.

Leigh Dow, Vice President of Marketing at BlackCloak, commented on the membership, “Joining RH-ISAC represents a pivotal step for BlackCloak in our mission to protect the personal digital lives of our members and their employers. Through this collaboration, we look forward to not only contributing to but also benefiting from the collective expertise and intelligence that RH-ISAC fosters among its members.”

RH-ISAC serves as a central hub for trusted cybersecurity information sharing and collaboration among consumer-facing sector companies in the retail and hospitality sectors. Its members include some of the most renowned brands in the industry, working together to defend their enterprises from cyber threats.

The retail industry is increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, including ransomware attacks, which are escalating in both frequency and sophistication. Cybercriminals often initiate these attacks through breaches in personal cybersecurity, exploiting individual vulnerabilities to gain access to the broader corporate networks. “Personal cybersecurity lapses are a common point of attack into corporate systems. This is particularly important in a sector where vast amounts of personal and payment information is processed daily,” said Dow. The resultant breaches can cripple operations and compromise sensitive data across supply chains, highlighting the urgent need for retailers to fortify their defenses with robust personal cybersecurity measures and protocols to protect against these pervasive threats. 

BlackCloak’s membership in RH-ISAC will enhance its capabilities to provide top-tier Digital Executive Protection solutions and support to its clients, ultimately helping to secure the broader digital landscape of the retail and hospitality sectors.

 

About RH-ISAC

The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) is the trusted community for sharing sector-specific cybersecurity information and intelligence. The RH-ISAC connects information security teams at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels to work together on issues and challenges, to share practices and insights, and to benchmark among each other – all with the goal of building better security for consumer-facing industries through collaboration. RH-ISAC serves businesses including retailers, restaurants, hotels, gaming casinos, food retailers, consumer products, and other consumer-facing companies. For more information, visit www.rhisac.org.

 

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform is a holistic solution including mobile and desktop apps as well as concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals get peace of mind knowing their family, reputation, and finances are secured. Companies rest assured that their brand, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats coming through executives without having to invade their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io, and follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter

 

BlackCloak Media Contact:

Mike Sias

[email protected] 

The Seattle Times

The Seattle Times: A congressman wanted to understand AI. So he went back to a college classroom to learn

Don Beyer’s car dealerships were among the first in the U.S. to set up a website. As a representative, the Virginia Democrat leads a bipartisan group focused on promoting fusion energy. He reads books about geometry for fun.

So when questions about regulating artificial intelligence emerged, the 73-year-old Beyer took what for him seemed like an obvious step, enrolling at George Mason University to get a master’s degree in machine learning. In an era when lawmakers and Supreme Court justices sometimes concede they don’t understand emerging technology, Beyer’s journey is an outlier, but it highlights a broader effort by members of Congress to educate themselves about artificial intelligence as they consider laws that would shape its development.

Frightening to some, thrilling to others, baffling to many: Artificial intelligence has been called a transformative technology, a threat to democracy or even an existential risk for humanity. It will fall to members of Congress to figure out how to regulate the industry in a way that encourages its potential benefits while mitigating the worst risks.

 

Read the full article here. 

ABC News

ABC News: Cybersecurity expert shares what guests, hotels should know in wake of Omni breach

In the wake of a recent cyberattack on Omni Hotels & Resorts that prompted a “shut down [of] its systems to protect and contain its data,” experts are reminding people of the actions guests can take to preserve their digital safety and weighing in on risks facing the hospitality industry at large.

“We are currently working to determine the scope of the event, including impact to any data or information maintained on Omni systems,” the company said in an statement following the cyberattack on Friday, March 29. “Our investigation into the incident remains ongoing and we are working with external specialists in this process.”

 

Read the full article here.

Schwab Network

Schwab Network: AT&T Data Leak: The Holy Grail for Cyber Criminals

AT&T confirms that the personal information of 73M users has been leaked on the dark web. Dr. Chris Pierson and Shira Rubinoff go inside AT&T’s massive data leak. Pierson notes that the type of information leaked is considered the holy grail for cyber criminals. They then go over the importance of cybersecurity.

 

https://schwabnetwork.com/video/at-t-t-data-leak-the-holy-grail-for-cyber-criminals

Introducing Incident Response as a Service (iRaaS)

BlackCloak Incident Response as a Service - Elevating Executive Personal Cybersecurity Defense

Extending Digital Executive Protection on Demand to other Key Individuals in an External Cybersecurity Incident

 

ORLANDO, FL, April 2, 2024 – Today, BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection and concierge personal cybersecurity for executives and senior leaders, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices, announced the expansion of BlackCloak’s Incident Response as a Service (IRaaS), designed to offer rapid, expert-led privacy and cyber security incident response to corporate clients who have other key employees targeted in cyber or privacy attacks on an ad hoc basis.

The IRaaS launch comes at a critical time when cyber and privacy threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and pervasive, targeting individuals in their personal lives. Attacks targeting employees’ personal phones, email accounts, and families have been on the rise. As the Pioneer of Personal Cybersecurity™, BlackCloak’s IRaaS will allow organizations to expand coverage beyond the executive suite, offering assistance in remediating cybersecurity or privacy related incidents to other senior executives and key personnel at the company.

For Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Chief Security Officers (CSOs), BlackCloak’s IRaaS marks a pivotal shift in managing cybersecurity threats, especially when an executive’s personal cybersecurity breach becomes the gateway to compromising the corporate environment, their personal reputation, or could impact the company’s brand. This scenario is increasingly common, with cybercriminals targeting high-profile or high access employees as a point of weakness in the security chain. 

“By combining cutting-edge technology with the expertise of our Security Operations Center and the Concierge Customer Experience teams, BlackCloak offers a rapid and comprehensive approach to personal incident response,” said Rob Duncan, Vice President of Global Sales at BlackCloak. “BlackCloak IRaaS ensures an organization has the ability to extend their current coverage of Digital Executive Protection on the fly to other key persons within the company who may be suffering a privacy or cybersecurity incident.”

Dr. Chris Pierson, CEO of BlackCloak, emphasizes the critical need for such services in today’s digital landscape: “In an era where cyber threats are evolving at an unprecedented pace, it’s essential for organizations to be enabled to respond quickly when their key employees have issues outside the work environment. Our Incident Response as a Service is not just a solution—it’s a strategic advantage. With IRaaS, we’re offering peace of mind to businesses, ensuring that they can immediately mitigate cyber and privacy incidents targeting their employees beyond the executive team. Our team of experts is on standby, ready to respond.”

BlackCloak IRaaS is set to redefine how companies approach personal cybersecurity and privacy events that could have material impact on their organization. The service includes immediate incident response, assistance with remediation, post-incident analysis, and tailored recommendations for strengthening security postures for those affected in their personal lives. 

 

About BlackCloak

BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform is a holistic solution including mobile and desktop apps as well as concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals get peace of mind knowing their family, reputation, and finances are secured. Companies rest assured that their brand, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats coming through executives without having to invade their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io, and follow them on LinkedIn and Twitter

 

BlackCloak Media Contact:

Mike Sias

[email protected] 

Bank Info Security

Bank Info Security: Alert: Hackers Hit High-Risk Individuals' Personal Accounts

Calling all high-risk individuals: Ensure you’re taking adequate steps to secure your personal devices and accounts against hacking, tampering and other types of interference.

Britain’s National Cyber Security Center is warning that criminals and nation-state hacking groups, confronted with well-managed corporate cybersecurity defenses, have turned their sights to individual personal devices and accounts.

 

Read the full article here. 

Dailymail.com

Daily Mail: Scammers are writing fake obituaries to make ad revenue - here's how to make sure you don't get targeted

  • ‘Obituary pirating’ is a twist on an old scam from the early noughties
  • Cybercriminals use AI to generate fake obituaries about trending names 
  • Experts explain what to do if you are targeted by cruel con

Experts are sounding the alarm over a rise in AI-generated obituaries mysteriously appearing online.

In one disturbing ‘obituary pirate’ case, an LA Times reporter read her own obituary and watched a video whereby ‘news anchors’ discussed her death.

Fraudsters are able to make money off ad revenue generated through the fake article and specifically target people with high-traffic searchable names, experts say.

 

Read the full article here.