[November 01, 2011]

Wisegate's Information Security Pros Join Forces to Counter Escalating Hacker Attacks

Members of Austin-based start-up Wisegate, the social knowledge network, are joining forces to tackle the growing number of data breaches affecting entire industries and threatening consumer confidence. Coined the anti-social social network, where no vendors are allowed, Wisegate is the first highly vetted community where qualified senior information technology (IT) professionals can securely and freely exchange knowledge.

2011 was a terrible year for security breaches including the well known RSA, IMF, Lockheed Martin (News - Alert), FBI, Sony Play Station Network and Citigroup breaches. Hackers are becoming more unified and in 2012 the trend may get worse. Many large-scale global companies find it difficult to keep pace with the coordinated efforts of the bad guys, making it easier for a motivated group of criminals to find a way in.

"I believe there is a strong correlation between the increase in and sophistication of security breaches and the coordination of today's hackers. They've really gotten together, shared what they know, and have done a good job of joining forces to attack the defenses that we build in cyber space," said Phil Agcaoili, Wisegate Founding Member, Chief Information Security Officer of Cox (News - Alert) Communications, Founding Member of the Cloud Security Alliance, and co-chair of the FCC CSRIC Cyber Security Working Group. "The Wisegate community makes it possible for senior security professionals to counter these attacks by better coordinating our own understanding of best practices for cyber security and sharing real-time intelligence on the current issues to defend our companies."

In a recent poll from Wisegate's community of security experts, 00% of CISOs and senior security practitioners from leading companies in financial services, healthcare, consumer products, automotive, and government agencies said that "Infosec professionals collaborating more to outsmart hackers" was the preemptive measure that would have the greatest potential to reduce the frequency and scope of hacker attacks. This response came ahead of law enforcement (14%), tougher regulation (14%) and companies investing more in security technologies and talent (28%).

The overall sentiment from member comments around the poll was that better coordination among the good guys is the only real way to address the problem since threats are migrating with more inside attacks now than ever before as even innocent employees are becoming bystanders for malware on their machines.

"I joined Wisegate because I believe there is an absolute need for a secure network of senior security professionals to learn from each other and build on each other's experiences to improve the IT systems of the world," said Tom Malta, Senior Technology Risk Executive in financial services, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and BNY Mellon. "When top security pros are able to share experiences and collaborate to outsmart cyber-criminals, entire industries like financial services stand to benefit and potentially avoid the negative impacts of security breaches."

View video to hear more from leading CISOs on this topic.

"Wisegate provides the perfect forum for uniting senior information security practitioners to tackle the key issues that will help keep companies one step ahead," said Sara Gates, CEO and Founder of Wisegate. "Wisegate is a private, invitation-only, social knowledge network where members gain real insights and experiences from fellow experts in order to make tangible progress with today's toughest problems."

If you meet Wisegate's strict membership qualifications, and would like to learn more, request an invitation at http://www.wisegateit.com/request-invite/.

About Wisegate

Wisegate (wisegateit.com) is a new social knowledge network for senior professionals. By enforcing strict membership guidelines and barring vendor ads and sales hype, Wisegate is the first and only private professional online community to foster high-value collaboration, conversation and content-sharing by a network of one's true peers. Wisegate's first community is for senior Information Technology (IT) professionals, with others rolling out according to market demand. Wisegate Inc., a privately funded company with headquarters in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2010 by Sara Gates, a respected industry veteran of several start-ups and large enterprise IT companies.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50051523&lang=en

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