SAFE

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, companies continuously play catch-up, while cybercriminals thrive by exploiting vulnerabilities. In 2024 alone, over a billion records were compromised by cybercrime, costing the world an estimated $9.5 trillion USD—an involuntary digital tax of approximately $4,604 per family of four. Clearly, being online is becoming increasingly expensive and riskier each year. The Innovation Race: Accelerating Risk in Data Security Solutions As we advance into 2025, the allure of artificial intelligence and quantum computing captures the world’s attention. Companies eager to stay competitive rush toward technological adoption, often prioritizing speed over robust data security solutions. This leaves sensitive data management outsourced to third-party operational platform providers who may not adequately prioritize security. Understanding Operational Platform Providers and Their Data Security Management Operational platform providers efficiently process vast amounts of sensitive data across industries such as insurance, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Unfortunately, many providers still lack comprehensive […]

The insurance industry sits at the crossroads of vast data collection and stringent privacy requirements. Every day, insurance companies process enormous volumes of sensitive customer information—from personal identifiers like Social Security numbers and birthdates to health records, financial details, and property valuations. This mountain of data forms the backbone of the industry’s core functions: underwriting policies, processing claims, detecting fraud, and delivering personalized customer service. However, this wealth of data also creates significant security challenges. As the insurance sector continues its digital transformation journey, the protection of this sensitive information has become not just a regulatory requirement but a critical business imperative. Customer trust, once broken by a data breach, can be nearly impossible to restore. Meanwhile, regulatory frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, DORA, and various state privacy laws impose increasingly stringent requirements for data protection—with substantial penalties for non-compliance.   Current Data Security Challenges Despite significant investments in cybersecurity, the […]

Transform your business with Paperclip Mojo’s digitization solutions. Discover the benefits of converting your data to a digital format.   Why Businesses Struggle with Document Digitization  Digitization is essential for businesses looking to optimize operations, yet many organizations still rely on outdated, manual processes. The challenges of digitization include slow data entry, human errors, and compliance risks. Companies handling large volumes of documents often struggle with inefficiencies, leading to high operational costs.  Mojo provides a streamlined document digitization solution, leveraging AI-powered automation to ensure accuracy, compliance, and scalability. By digitizing documents into structured digital data, businesses can enhance productivity and improve data management.  What Is Data Digitization and Why Does It Matter?  Data digitization refers to the process of converting analog data into digital formats that can be easily stored, managed, and analyzed. Businesses that rely on paper-based documents often face bottlenecks in their workflows. Digitization allows companies to simplify […]

Encryption in use is a new subject to many within the IT ecosystem. Many people confuse this concept (also called searchable encryption, queryable encryption, and data-in-use encryption) with other applications of encryption technologies and believe that their data is already encrypted while being processed or used to support critical operations. The most common response to the implementation of encryption in use question is to confuse it with encryption in transit as being one in the same, but encryption in use is in no way the same as encryption of data in transit. Encryption in use is a data security best practice. This blog post addresses the uniqueness of, and necessity for, greater adoption of this type of encryption. At the time this blog post is published, adoption of encryption of data in use technology is less than 1% globally. What is Encryption in Use? In simple terms, this refers to […]

The recent wildfires in California have had a devastating impact, both in terms of human life and property damage. While we are all aware of how damaging these natural disasters can be, the fraud implications of these disasters are often overlooked. Wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters present opportunities for bad actors to infiltrate and exploit the relaxation of security and the human condition to help. Malicious actors are employing sophisticated phishing tactics to take advantage of the situation. Cybersecurity researchers at Veriti have identified numerous newly registered domains closely linked to the fires. These domains, such as “malibu-firecom” and “fire-reliefcom,” mimic legitimate services, luring unsuspecting victims with promises of fire evacuation assistance, recovery permits, and even fire coverage. Scammers are also attempting to collect money in promise of helping wildfire victims while keeping the funds for themselves, as highlighted in this news article here. FEMA also issued a warning […]

The January 17th deadline has come and gone, and it’s estimated that 99% of impacted organizations are out of compliance with the European Union’s Digital Operational Resiliency Act (DORA). DORA aims to improve and regulate the digital resiliency of a wide range of financial entities, including credit institutions, investment firms, insurance companies, payment institutions, and others within the EU’s financial sector. These organizations must start down the path of digital resilience and show progress toward compliance with DORA standards in the months ahead—or face the repercussions. Here’s a breakdown of the steps toward digital resilience and risk management of Financial Institutions as mandated by DORA: 1. Establish Risk Management Framework Financial organizations are required to define clear policies, procedures, and governance structures for managing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) risks—and keep them updated. Organizations are required to regularly assess risks related to the ICT systems and services that are critical […]

Gartner recently released their initial guidance for 2025 related to cybersecurity via a paper titled “2024 was a future-forward year! Head into 2025 with our top 5 forward-thinking insights”. After reviewing the paper, I zeroed in on one primary topic—post-quantum cryptography. In my humble opinion, the Gartner recommendations around post-quantum cryptography lack logic and are approaching irresponsibility and abuse of influence. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Gartner’s opinions and recommendations. They have a stable of analysts and access to vast resources supporting their research and opinions. Their influence on organizational decision making has historically been well received and the trust they’ve built is why they’re a global powerhouse for technological guidance. I feel that in this particular case influencing organizations to divert their limited resources away from obtainable goals to a potential future concern is irresponsible. Not all hype is good hype. Yes, we […]

In an era where data breaches and cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, securing sensitive information has never been more crucial. The Federal Zero Trust Data Security Guide was built to assist government agencies in implementing Zero Trust framework and better protecting sensitive information. Beyond the government, it’s become a trusted strategy for ensuring data confidentiality and integrity in a decentralized, cloud-first world. For IT and security professionals, understanding and adopting Zero Trust principles is essential in adopting a comprehensive, proactive approach to data protection. What is Zero Trust?  At its core, Zero Trust (ZT) is a security framework based on the principle of “never trust, always verify.” Unlike traditional network security models that rely heavily on perimeter defenses—a “castle and moat” model as seen in the image at the right—ZT assumes that threats can come from both outside and inside the network anytime, anywhere, and by anyone. It advocates for the continuous […]

The European Union’s (EU) Digital Operational Resiliency Act, known as DORA, goes into effect January 17, 2025, and is the first major regulation to specifically mandate data encryption at rest, in transit and in use. For many, this regulation has slipped in under the radar. DORA is an EU regulation and is specifically designed to govern the financial sector, so you may be wondering if it applies to your organization. The short answer is, most likely. Much like GDPR, the “it doesn’t apply to me” debate will be a topic of discussion around DORA for the foreseeable future. There is no question that any  financial institution that does business within the EU, or has EU citizens as clients,  will be held accountable to DORA. Also, if you do business with or support an EU financial institution, you will fall within DORA regulations. And the fines related to being out of […]