A10 Networks Reports 13% Organic Growth for Q4 2021, Driving Double-Digit Annual Growth

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A10 Networks (NYSE: ATEN), a leading provider of cybersecurity and infrastructure solutions, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021. Management will discuss these results and its longer-term strategy at an investor day scheduled for February 2, 2022. To register, learn more about the event, and review attendance options, please visit the A10 Investor Day page at www.a10networks.com/analyst-day.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Summary

• Record Revenue of $70.7 million, up 12.8% year-over-year.

• Sales of security products grew 22.2% year-over-year.

• Improving commercial execution combined with favorable market conditions drove 26.3% growth in the Americas year-over-year.

• Deferred revenue of a record $121.6 million, up 11.9% year-over-year.

• GAAP gross margin of 79.9%; non-GAAP gross margin of 80.7% as the company successfully navigated short-term input cost pressures.

• GAAP net income of $10.7 million (15.2% of revenue), or $0.13 per diluted share, compared with net income of $7.8 million, or $0.10 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2020.

• Non-GAAP net income of $16.4 million (23.3% of revenue), or $0.20 per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $13.9 million, or $0.18 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2020.

• Adjusted EBITDA of $19.4 million, representing 27.5% of revenues, compared to $16.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Full-Year 2021 Financial Summary

• Record Revenue of $250.0 million, up 10.9% year-over-year.

• GAAP gross margin of 78.6%; non-GAAP gross margin of 79.6%.

• GAAP net income of $94.9 million (37.9% of revenue) inclusive of a $65.4 million non-recurring tax benefit recorded in the third quarter, or $1.19 per diluted share, compared with net income of $17.8 million, or $0.22 per diluted share last year.

• Non-GAAP net income of $50.1 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $35.4 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, last year.

• Adjusted EBITDA of $62.4 million, representing 25.0% of revenues, compared to $45.6 million last year.

• Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2021 was $185.0 million, up $26.9 million from $158.1 million at December 31, 2020.

• Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, payable on March 1, 2022, to stockholders of record on February 15, 2022.

• For the full-year, the Company repurchased 1.7 million shares at an average price of $10.64 per share.

A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP information is contained in the financial statements below.

“We are capturing market share and delivering growth that outpaces the overall market due to rapidly accelerating demand for our security-led solutions, as cyber threats continue to increase across the globe,” said Dhrupad Trivedi, President and Chief Executive Officer of A10 Networks. “As a result, we delivered record product sales and accelerating recurring revenue. Long-term deferred revenue increased 13.6% in the quarter, outpacing total revenue growth, and our security solutions grew more than 22%, demonstrating our strong position in the cybersecurity ecosystem. Increasingly, we are converting this growth into improving market position while returning capital to shareholders through a stock buyback and a cash dividend. With durable tailwinds driving industry leading growth and a proven business model, we have significant momentum and look forward to elaborating on this position in our investor day presentation tomorrow.”

First Quarter and Full-Year 2022 Outlook

Based on current visibility, management expects revenue to grow approximately 10-12% year-over-year, both in the first quarter of 2022 and for the full-year. The Company expects to maintain its current business model.

Investor Day

In lieu of a conference call, management will host an investor day at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) on Wednesday, February 2, 2022. This event will be hosted live at A10’s Executive Briefing Center in San Jose and will be available simultaneously via webcast. During this presentation, management will discuss its longer-term financial model. To register, learn more about the event (including a detailed agenda), and review the in-person and virtual attendance options, please visit the A10 Investor Day page at www.a10networks.com/analyst-day.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” including statements regarding our anticipated future financial results, capturing market share, growth accelerating demand, increasing cyber threats, return of capital to shareholders and our positioning. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ include the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the Company and its business, and on the business of its business partners and customers; unanticipated changes in the markets in which the Company operates; the effects of the current macroeconomic climate (especially in light of the ongoing adverse effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic); execution risks related to closing key deals and improving our execution, the continued market adoption of our products, our ability to successfully anticipate market needs and opportunities, our timely development of new products and features, our ability to achieve or maintain profitability, any loss or delay of expected purchases by our largest end-customers, our ability to maintain or improve our competitive position, competitive and execution risks related to cloud-based computing trends, our ability to attract and retain new end-customers and our largest end-consumers, our ability to maintain and enhance our brand and reputation, changes demanded by our customers in the deployment and payment model for our products, continued growth in markets relating to network security, the success of any future acquisitions or investments in complementary companies, products, services or technologies, the ability of our sales team to execute well, our ability to shorten our close cycles, the ability of our channel partners to sell our products, variations in product mix or geographic locations of our sales, risks associated with our presence in international markets, weaknesses or deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting, and our ability to timely file periodic reports required to be filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and other risks that are described in “Risk Factors” in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 8, 2021. We do not intend to update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to disclosing financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying tables contain certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income per basic and diluted share, non-GAAP gross profit and gross margin, non-GAAP operating income and operating margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. Non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.

A10 Networks considers these non-GAAP financial measures to be important because they provide useful measures of the operating performance of the company, exclusive of unusual events or factors that do not directly affect what we consider to be our core operating performance, and are used by the company’s management for that purpose.

Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.

We define non-GAAP net income as our GAAP net income excluding: (i) stock-based compensation and related payroll tax, (ii) amortization expense related to acquisition, (iii) non-recurring expenses associated with the litigation settlement and internal investigation expense, (iv) global distribution center transition expense, (v) non-recurring facilities expense, and (vi) release of deferred tax asset valuation allowance. We define non-GAAP net income per basic and diluted share as our non-GAAP net income divided by our basic and diluted weighted-average shares outstanding. We define non-GAAP gross profit as our GAAP gross profit excluding (i) stock-based compensation and related payroll tax, and (ii) global distribution center transition expense. We define non-GAAP gross margin as our non-GAAP gross profit divided by our GAAP revenue. We define non-GAAP operating income as our GAAP income from operations excluding (i) stock-based compensation and related payroll tax, (ii) amortization expense related to acquisition, (iii) non-recurring expenses associated with the litigation settlement and internal investigation expense, (iv) global distribution center transition expense, and (v) non-recurring facilities expense. We define non-GAAP operating margin as our non-GAAP operating income divided by our GAAP revenue. We define non-GAAP operating expenses as our GAAP operating expenses excluding (i) stock-based compensation and related payroll tax, (ii) amortization expense related to acquisition, (iii) non-recurring expenses associated with the litigation settlement and internal investigation expense, (iv) global distribution center transition expense, and (v) non-recurring facilities expense. We define Adjusted EBITDA as our GAAP net income excluding (i) interest expense (if any), (ii) interest income and other (income) expense, net, (iii) depreciation and amortization expense, (iv) benefit from (provision for) income taxes, (v) stock-based compensation and related payroll tax, (vi) litigation settlement and internal investigation expense, (vii) global distribution center transition expense, and (viii) non-recurring facilities expense. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operations less capital expenditures.

We have included certain of these non-GAAP measures in this press release. Non-GAAP financial measures are presented for supplemental informational purposes only for understanding the company’s operating results.

About A10 Networks

A10 Networks (NYSE: ATEN) provides secure application services and solutions for on-premises, multi-cloud and edge-cloud environments at hyperscale. Our mission is to enable service providers and enterprises to deliver business-critical applications that are secure, available and efficient for multi-cloud transformation and 5G readiness. We deliver better business outcomes that support investment protection, new business models and help future-proof infrastructures, empowering our customers to provide the most secure and available digital experience. Founded in 2004, A10 Networks is based in San Jose, Calif. and serves customers globally. For more information, visit https://www.a10networks.com/ and follow us @A10Networks.

The A10 logo and A10 Networks are trademarks or registered trademarks of A10 Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

A10 NETWORKS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts, on a GAAP Basis)
	Three Months Ended December 31,									Year Ended December 31,
	2021				2020					2021					2020
Revenue:
Products	$	43,680			$	37,738				$	148,398				$	129,876
Services	26,991				24,917					101,644					95,651
Total revenue	70,671				62,655					250,042					225,527
Cost of revenue:
Products	9,460				8,014					32,620					29,109
Services	4,722				5,447					20,885					21,039
Total cost of revenue	14,182				13,461					53,505					50,148
Gross profit	56,489				49,194					196,537					175,379
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing	25,456				20,079					85,651					77,732
Research and development	13,027				15,604					54,077					58,063
General and administrative	6,161				5,725					23,421					21,851
Total operating expenses	44,644				41,408					163,149					157,646
Income from operations	11,845				7,786					33,388					17,733
Non-operating income (expense):
Interest and other income (expense), net	(253		)		469					(1,746		)			1,406
Total non-operating income (expense), net	(253		)		469					(1,746		)			1,406
Income before income taxes	11,592				8,255					31,642					19,139
Benefit from (provision for) income taxes	(864		)		(414		)			63,245					(1,323		)
Net income	$	10,728			$	7,841				$	94,887				$	17,816
Net income per share:
Basic	$	0.14			$	0.10				$	1.23				$	0.23
Diluted	$	0.13			$	0.10				$	1.19				$	0.22
Weighted-average shares used in computing net income per share:
Basic	77,548				76,638					77,046					77,776
Diluted	80,316				78,775					80,037					80,019

A10 NETWORKS, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME (unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts)
	Three Months Ended December 31,							Year Ended December 31,
	2021			2020				2021					2020
GAAP net income	$	10,728		$	7,841			$	94,887				$	17,816
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation and related payroll tax		3,598			2,947				15,031					12,817
Amortization expense related to acquisition		—			252				505					1,011
Litigation and investigation expense		—			—				—					30
Non-recurring facilities expense		—			—				—					795
Global distribution center transition expense		2,117			2,884				5,063					2,884
Release of deferred tax asset valuation allowance		—			—				(65,417	)				—
Non-GAAP net income	$	16,443		$	13,924			$	50,069				$	35,353
GAAP net income per share:
Basic	$	0.14		$	0.10			$	1.23				$	0.23
Diluted	$	0.13		$	0.10			$	1.19				$	0.22
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation and related payroll tax		0.04			0.04				0.19					0.16
Amortization expense related to acquisition		—			—				0.01					0.01
Non-recurring facilities expense		—			—				—					0.01
Global distribution center transition expense		0.03			0.04				0.06					0.04
Release of deferred tax asset valuation allowance		—			—				(0.82	)				—
Non-GAAP net income per share:
Basic	$	0.21		$	0.18			$	0.65				$	0.45
Diluted	$	0.20		$	0.18			$	0.63				$	0.44
Weighted-average shares used in computing non-GAAP net income per share:
Basic		77,548			76,638				77,046					77,776
Diluted		80,316			78,775				80,037					80,019

A10 NETWORKS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited, in thousands except par value, on a GAAP Basis)
	December 31, 2021					December 31, 2020
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	78,925				$	83,281
Marketable securities	106,117					74,851
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $543 and $41, respectively	61,795					51,051
Inventory	22,462					20,730
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	14,720					12,390
Total current assets	284,019					242,303
Property and equipment, net	10,692					7,888
Goodwill	1,307					1,307
Intangible assets, net	—					862
Other non-current assets	97,067					38,451
Total assets	$	393,085				$	290,811
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	6,852				$	4,851
Accrued liabilities	36,101					36,930
Deferred revenue	73,132					65,999
Total current liabilities	116,085					107,780
Deferred revenue, non-current	48,499					42,700
Other non-current liabilities	19,613					24,357
Total liabilities	184,197					174,837
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, $0.00001 par value: 500,000 shares authorized; 77,423 and 76,346 shares issued and outstanding, respectively	1					1
Treasury stock, at cost: 7,294 and 5,578 shares, respectively	(55,677		)			(37,410		)
Additional paid-in-capital	446,035					425,534
Dividends paid	(3,880		)			—
Accumulated other comprehensive income	(229		)			98
Accumulated deficit	(177,362		)			(272,249		)
Total stockholders’ equity	208,888					115,974
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	393,085				$	290,811

A10 NETWORKS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited, in thousands, on a GAAP Basis)
	Year Ended December 31,
	2021					2020
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$	94,887				$	17,816
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	8,907					11,303
Stock-based compensation	14,422					12,310
Other non-cash items	(63,719		)			1,066
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(11,025		)			2,346
Inventory	(1,826		)			543
Prepaid expenses and other assets	(903		)			1,141
Accounts payable	1,995					(2,683		)
Accrued and other liabilities	(5,573		)			3,909
Deferred revenue	12,932					7,535
Net cash provided by operating activities	50,097					55,286
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from sales of marketable securities	6,865					9,051
Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities	88,790					57,707
Purchases of marketable securities	(128,554		)			(57,992		)
Purchases of property and equipment	(5,171		)			(3,564		)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	(38,070		)			5,202
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee equity incentive plans	5,764					9,591
Repurchase of common stock	(18,267		)			(32,540		)
Payments for dividends	(3,880		)			—
Net cash used in financing activities	(16,383		)			(22,949		)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(4,356		)			37,539
Cash and cash equivalents—beginning of period	$	83,281				$	45,742
Cash and cash equivalents—end of period	$	78,925				$	83,281

A10 NETWORKS, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP GROSS PROFIT TO NON-GAAP GROSS PROFIT (unaudited, in thousands, except percentages)
	Three Months Ended December 31,								Year Ended December 31,
	2021				2020				2021				2020
GAAP gross profit	$	56,489			$	49,194			$	196,537			$	175,379
GAAP gross margin		79.9	%			78.5	%			78.6	%			77.8	%
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation and related payroll tax		398				385				1,733				1,641
Global distribution center transition expense		117				307				655				307
Non-GAAP gross profit	$	57,004			$	49,886			$	198,925			$	177,327
Non-GAAP gross margin		80.7	%			79.6	%			79.6	%			78.6	%

A10 NETWORKS, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES TO NON-GAAP TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES (unaudited, in thousands)
	Three Months Ended December 31,										Year Ended December 31,
	2021					2020					2021					2020
GAAP total operating expenses	$	44,644				$	41,408				$	163,149				$	157,646
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation and related payroll tax		(3,200	)				(2,562	)				(13,298	)				(11,176	)
Amortization expense related to acquisition		—					(252	)				(505	)				(1,011	)
Litigation and investigation expense		—					—					—					(30	)
Non-recurring facilities expense		—					—					—					(795	)
Global distribution center transition expense		(2,000	)				(2,577	)				(4,408	)				(2,577	)
Non-GAAP total operating expenses	$	39,444				$	36,017				$	144,938				$	142,057

A10 NETWORKS, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP INCOME FROM OPERATIONS TO NON-GAAP OPERATING INCOME (unaudited, in thousands, except percentages)
	Three Months Ended December 31,								Year Ended December 31,
	2021				2020				2021				2020
GAAP income from operations	$	11,845			$	7,786			$	33,388			$	17,733
GAAP operating margin		16.8	%			12.4	%			13.4	%			7.9	%
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation and related payroll tax		3,598				2,947				15,031				12,817
Amortization expense related to acquisition		—				252				505				1,011
Litigation and investigation expense		—				—				—				30
Non-recurring facilities expense		—				—				—				795
Global distribution center transition expense		2,117				2,884				5,063				2,884
Non-GAAP operating income	$	17,560			$	13,869			$	53,987			$	35,270
Non-GAAP operating margin		24.8	%			22.1	%			21.6	%			15.6	%

A10 NETWORKS, INC. RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME TO EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDA (NON-GAAP) (unaudited, in thousands)
	Three Months Ended December 31,									Year Ended December 31,
	2021				2020					2021					2020
GAAP net income	$	10,728			$	7,841				$	94,887				$	17,816
Exclude: Interest and other (income) expense, net	253				(469		)			1,746					(1,406		)
Exclude: Depreciation and amortization expense	1,863				2,531					8,907					11,303
Exclude: Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	864				414					(63,245		)			1,323
EBITDA	13,708				10,317					42,295					29,036
Exclude: Stock-based compensation and related payroll tax	3,598				2,947					15,031					12,817
Exclude: Litigation and investigation expense	—				—					—					30
Exclude: Non-recurring facilities expense	—				—					—					795
Exclude: Global distribution center transition expense	2,117				2,884					5,063					2,884
Adjusted EBITDA	$	19,423			$	16,148				$	62,389				$	45,562

 

The post A10 Networks Reports 13% Organic Growth for Q4 2021, Driving Double-Digit Annual Growth appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

February 02, 2022 at 09:08AM

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Microsoft stops 3.7 Tbps DDoS Cyber Attack in history

Microsoft, the tech giant of America, has announced that it has blocked probably the world’s largest DDoS cyber attack observed to date. As per the details available to our Cybersecurity Insiders, the distributed denial of service attack (Ddos) was massive, hitting 3.7 terabytes per second on scale aka delivering over 340 million packets per second and was identifying targeting an Asian Azure customer.

Information is out that the attack was launched through 10k botnets operating across India, Vietnam, Iran, Thailand, Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, China n United States; and was observed for a time span of 15 minutes.

Usually, such digital attacks occur for 5-10 minutes, blocking genuine traffic diverted to the servers, causing server disruption on a wholesome note.

Althea Toh, the Product Managing head of Azure Networking, confirmed the news and added that it was truly the biggest denial of service attack till date.

In October last year, the Satya Nadella led company reported a massive denial of a service attack of 2.4 Tbps on its Azure platform and mitigated it to the core.

The Redmond based Windows operating system developer added in its alert that the year 2021 witnessed several short burst Ddos attacks. However, situation turned sore by the end of 3Q of 2021 as many low grade denial of service attacks were targeted at the Azure platform ranging between 20-30 minutes.

Computer servers operating in financial institutions, gaming servers, cloud servers were observed to be mostly targeted in 2021.

NOTE- A distributed denial of service attack is a burst of fake web traffic targeting the central servers and disrupting them in such a way that they stop serving the actual genuine web traffic, leading to downtime leading to immense losses.

The post Microsoft stops 3.7 Tbps DDoS Cyber Attack in history appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

February 01, 2022 at 10:12AM

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What’s new in IoT in ’22?

When we think of 2021, some key words come to mind: variants, COVID-19 (of course), lockdown, WFH (work from home), vaccines, and booster. The pandemic has continued to take center stage as we’ve learned to keep calm and carry on while hoping for better days to come. Soon. But, the IoT has also been a bright spot with eHealth becoming a crucial part of day-to-day life for many, plus EVs, smart energy and cybersecurity topping headlines.

This time last year, we asked for your predictions for the coming year and we’re keeping that tradition alive with the 2022 IoT prediction survey. What’s your IoT vision? What sectors do you think we’ll see the most growth in next year? Be an industry visionary and share your ideas!

What’s New in ’22?

The Internet of Things (IoT) was once considered solely applicable to the B2B world, with the promise of many consumer uses and the potential to transform industries. One day. We’ve fulfilled that promise with 12.3 billion IoT connections worldwide, surpassing non-IoT connections, and telehealth entering most people’s daily routine during the pandemic. Electric vehicles (EVs) and the importance of cybersecurity inside the cars as well as the charging station and smart energy ecosystem are impacting millions of  lives. Today’s IoT is taking the place of the smartphone as the new “transformative” technology.

It appears that COVID-19 will continue to impact our lives in the coming year, with continued supply chain issues and the worldwide chip shortage slowing down IoT growth. According to IoT Analytics, growth projections have been lowered slightly due to the pandemic and supply chain issues to 27.1 billion connections expected by 2025 down from last year’s forecast of 30.95 billion for the same period.

Will eHealth, smart energy, and connected cars continue to lead the IoT?

Last year, you predicted connected healthcare growing the most followed by smart energy, connected cars and smart city applications. Will 2022 bring more of the same or will we see more growth in new categories? With general crime and ransomware attacks increasing, how important do you think cybersecurity will be in the coming year? Global construction is expected to grow by 6.6% this year and up to 42% by 2030 driven by home demands and government programs. Will smart homes take a bigger piece of the IoT growth pie moving forward?

Smart Energy and Connected Cars

Climate change, aging infrastructure, raging wildfires, brownouts/blackouts and the increasing use of EVs are all making smart energy a crucial piece of the IoT. Remote meter reading is just part of the advantages IoT provides. Load management to prevent brownouts and blackouts, and possibly identify and manage aging power lines to prevent wildfires are important aspects of smart energy.

The integration of renewable energy sources, as well as energy consumers, at the center of the smart grid, will help meet the demands of our increasingly connected world.

Electric Vehicles and connected cars will support the way towards sustainability, with less emissions or less road congestion. Regulations and standards, such as UNECE wp29 or ISO 15118 will continue to be needed to help guide this unprecedented growth towards more connected and sustainable devices.

How important do you think this will be next year?

Cybersecurity and ransomware

With increased connections comes a higher risk of cyber-attacks. Ransomware attacks are a major concern, especially for hospitals that can see its critical care technology and machines taken offline due to a hack. OEMs can mitigate risk with a security by design approach and consulting with industry experts to ensure protection across the lifespan on an application. Gartner predicts that 40% of board of directors will have a board member overseeing a cybersecurity committee, raising its level of importance within organizations worldwide. IoT cybersecurity has always been a top concern for the industry, and it will continue to be a critical component for both growth and maintaining the current connections. Do you think it’s the most important concern for the new year?

What else with impact the IoT in 2022?

5G officially arrived in 2021 and it will continue to have an impact on the IoT, but how much will that be in 2022? The GSMA estimates that 5G connections will grow to reach 1.8 billion by 2025, bringing a powerful combination of unprecedented speed, expanded bandwidth, low latency, and increased power and cost efficiency that will help drive billions of new IoT connections and future innovations. What industry do you think will best use 5G’s power first?

What’s ahead for IoT in 2022? We want to hear from YOU. Please take our quick 2022 IoT prediction survey and share your vision for the coming year.

Wishing you health & happiness in the new year!

The post What’s new in IoT in ’22? appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

February 01, 2022 at 09:10AM

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How can home security be improved with IoT?

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been exploding in the last decade, with more and more connected objects or devices. These devices, once connected to the external world or to a private app, can transfer device data and support device owners with new monitoring features. This helps them make decisions that are more informed.  

When it comes to home security, the key advantage of connected devices is that your systems can transfer data in real-time, for you to be able to react quickly, in the case of you traveling and suspecting something is going wrong at home. IoT also enables home security systems to offer a variety of new features, such as secure biometrics and face detection at your door. 

If connected devices send key information to homeowners, they often will provide security device makers key information to help them better monitor their devices and plan for required updates. 

IoT increases security systems performance, when choosing the right connectivity technology. When choosing a new connected security system, it’s important to consider the different connectivity technologies. One can go for wired (landline), wireless, or a combination of both. We believe devices with wireless cellular connectivity – or wireless in combination with fixed line – are the best option. Why? 

Cellular connectivity brings additional security as wireless devices can be designed with robust hardware, keeping your services up and running; even in the case of power outages or physical data lines cut by home burglars or criminals. 

With the rise of 4G or 5G, new features providing more performance to home security systems, such as video streaming, real-time device monitoring or over-the-air device management are supported. 

“For EBS, iron-clad security is at the core of our business. As a manufacturer of smart security systems, we have over 3 million devices in the field. Our customers trust EBS to be at the forefront of security technology at all time – and to keep them and their property protected. This is a responsibility that we take incredibly serious, also when choosing our suppliers. With the Cinterion ELS62, we are able to rely on Thales’ extensive security expertise and have a connectivity module that is state-of-the-art, allows us to explore new technologies while never leaving any doubt about data protection”, said Piotr Blaszczyk, Member of the Management Board – Director for Research, Development and Technical Support EBS Sp. z o. o. 

IoT enables secure, remote updates, for devices installed for a long time. Home security systems are usually installed to last and run for many years. In this context, it is important that security devices are monitored carefully, to avoid connectivity breaks and ensure device uptime. 

Cellular IoT connectivity enables reliable and secure transfer of critical data, to monitor devices condition and react quickly, if needed. Software or security features updates can be run remotely, over-the-air, to save the time and the cost of sending someone to your house. 

If your security system is connected with cellular, you can also benefit from freshly new systems, such as dedicated IoT SIM cards, that ensure 24/7 connectivity to the best operator in your sector. This tremendously simplifies the installation of a security system at home (either by a technician, but also in a DIY context). In addition, it will ensure that your home security systems will remain connected, even in the case of network disruption that could cause service interruption. 

Cellular IoT connectivity can protect home security systems from cyberattacks. We should not forget that devices that are wirelessly connected can bring the question of cyberattacks and remote control on devices, by malicious people. 

Cellular technology, provided by cybersecurity experts like Thales, keep connected devices protected from cyber-attacks. Connectivity solutions that are well designed, integrate tamper-resistant environments (secure hardware such as modules or SIM cards) that keep your security devices identity and secret device information in protected environments, which no physical or remote hacker could access (for example, secure storage of credentials or of the expected result of a biometrics face scan). 

IoT cybersecurity solutions can implement very strong digital authentication systems, based on trusted identities and encryption mechanisms, to make sure that the data generated by your security device is clearly coming from YOUR device and has not been modified, on the way to your monitoring app. 

Interested in finding out more about the Internet of Things? You can read more about it here:

• What’s new in IoT in ’22? 
• How can eSIM help overcome the challenges of IoT connectivity activation? 
• Five ways smart technology is revolutionising the agriculture industry 

Or, leave a comment below and make sure to follow us on Twitter @ThalesDigiSec! 

The post How can home security be improved with IoT? appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

February 01, 2022 at 09:10AM

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Verimatrix Key Shield Wins Cybersecurity Excellence Award

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France & SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Regulatory News:

Verimatrix, (Euronext Paris: VMX), the leader in powering the modern connected world with people-centered security, today announced that Verimatrix Key Shield was recognized as a gold winner in the 2022 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards.

Key Shield deters cyberattacks by making it nearly impossible to anticipate how to analyze and hack in the first place – building secure architectures, protecting valuable data and ensuring constant control of cryptographic keys. Protecting something as critical as vehicles that are relied up by people, businesses and governments around the world, Verimatrix Key Shield makes hacking unappealing to begin with by making it no longer worth a hacker’s time and eliminating any chance of financial reward for their nefarious efforts.

“There’s an ever-increasing awareness surrounding the need to powerfully protect all of the integral third-party solutions that make today’s connected cars possible – and we’re pleased to once again be recognized as a top innovator in this important cybersecurity sector,” said Asaf Ashkenazi, Chief Operating Officer and President at Verimatrix. “We’re pleased to work closely worldwide with some of the leading organizations dedicated to providing automotive manufacturers with trusted technologies that allow access, control and analysis of vehicles.”

Cybersecurity Excellence Award winners are selected based on the strength of the nomination, including demonstrated leadership, excellence and results in cybersecurity, depending on the specific category and the supporting information provided. Click here for more information on this year’s Cybersecurity Excellence Awards program and its winners.

About Verimatrix

Verimatrix (Euronext Paris: VMX) helps power the modern connected world with security made for people. We protect digital content, applications, and devices with intuitive, people-centered and frictionless security. Leading brands turn to Verimatrix to secure everything from premium movies and live streaming sports, to sensitive financial and healthcare data, to mission-critical mobile applications. We enable the trusted connections our customers depend on to deliver compelling content and experiences to millions of consumers around the world. Verimatrix helps partners get to market faster, scale easily, protect valuable revenue streams, and win new business. Visit www.verimatrix.com.

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February 01, 2022 at 09:10AM

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Armor Unlocks the Constraints Companies Face with Traditional Cybersecurity Providers

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Armor, the global cloud-native managed detection and response (MDR) leader, announces a bold and revolutionary model for securing customer environments that eliminates the challenges inherent in traditional approaches. Armor’s new offerings leverage cloud-native cybersecurity platforms and IP sharing to unlock companies from traditional solutions while aligning to their digital transformation journey.

“Managed security service providers (MSSPs) lock companies into a proprietary model; if the business decides to change providers, they lose their data and tuning,” said Armor founder Chris Drake. “Armor is here to challenge the traditional MSSP model and the DIY approach to cybersecurity which requires hard-to-find, expensive in-house talent.”

Armor experts guide customers through the implementation and management of security and compliance with services to include:

XDR & SOC

IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, IoT/OT, workplace, and end-user MDR with AI/ML alerts and a 24/7 threat response team. Customers remain in control of their valuable logging data, tuning, playbooks, and automation – forever.

VAPT

Secures data through continuous vulnerability assessments/penetration testing based on the entire MITRE ATT&CK^® framework.

Data Protection

Delivers sensitive data protection through visibility, continuous discovery, and with intelligent classification methods to address policy violations.

Risk Management

Supports a variety of compliance standards within the HITRUST framework to manage third-party risks, measure security effectiveness, share control responsibilities with cloud providers, and third parties.

Armor Cloud Protection and Compliance

Outcome-based hybrid cloud solutions ensure the cloud is secured correctly, compliant, and remediates incidents to resolution.

“Security and compliance have grown more complex amidst cloud transition and digital transformation,” said Drake. “Our cloud-native MDR approach is ideally suited to liberate customers to focus on growth and profits rather than the rigors of security and compliance—while maintaining their data, valuable cybersecurity intelligence, and tuning.”

About Armor

Armor is a global leader in cloud-native managed detection and response. As a trusted partner to more than 1,500 firms in over 40 countries, Armor offers cybersecurity and compliance consulting, professional services, and managed services. Armor’s industry-leading experts leverage non-proprietary frameworks and a 24/7/365 SOC to help organizations tackle the complexities of cybersecurity and compliance at a cloud-scale. Gartner has recognized Armor in two “Emerging Technologies” reports for MDR. A study commissioned by Forrester found that Armor delivers a 774% ROI. To learn more, visit www.armor.com or follow @armor on Twitter.

The post Armor Unlocks the Constraints Companies Face with Traditional Cybersecurity Providers appeared first on Cybersecurity Insiders.

February 01, 2022 at 09:10AM

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Harris Williams Advises Ntiva on its Sale to PSP Partners

RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces it advised Ntiva, a portfolio company of Southfield Capital, on its sale to PSP Partners (PSP). Ntiva is a leading provider of managed IT services, strategic consulting, cybersecurity services, cloud services and telecom solutions. The transaction was led by the Harris Williams Business Services Group and Technology Group, including Derek Lewis, Anthony Basmajian, Priyanka Naithani, Jenson Dunn and Phil Ashkenaz.

“Ntiva has established itself as an industry leading provider of managed IT services offering a broad range of critical cyber, cloud and IT consulting solutions,” said Anthony Basmajian, a managing director at Harris Williams. “As the industry continues to evolve, small- and medium-sized businesses lacking the required internal resources and expertise are turning to professional outsourced managed IT providers to help navigate today’s technology complexities and increased cybersecurity threats. Ntiva, with its broad suite of IT services, is well positioned to help customers address those challenges.”

“The company thrived in partnership with Southfield Capital, and we are excited to watch Ntiva’s next chapter unfold with PSP,” said Derek Lewis, a managing director at Harris Williams. “PSP’s strategic investment will enable Ntiva to further accelerate its technology investments, expand into new verticals and further execute its robust M&A strategy.”

Ntiva is a leading IT services company that provides businesses across the U.S. with advanced technology expertise and support, including managed IT services, strategic consulting, cybersecurity services, cloud services, and telecom solutions. Ntiva’s ultimate objective is to help clients leverage their technology investments to improve business performance.

Southfield Capital is a private equity firm that invests in high-growth, lower-middle market companies in the outsourced business services sector. The firm targets companies with $4 million to $12 million in EBITDA and partners with management to scale the business through a combination of organic and acquisition growth strategies.

PSP Partners is a Chicago-based private investment firm founded by its Chairman Penny Pritzker, an entrepreneur, civic leader, philanthropist, and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The firm is comprised of a highly experienced team of investment professionals and business builders focused on partnering with entrepreneurs, business owners, and management teams to build market-leading businesses and develop valuable assets.

Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).

The Harris Williams Business Services Group has experience advising companies that provide a range of commercial, industrial and professional services. For more information on the firm’s Business Services Group and other recent transactions, visit the Business Services Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.

The Harris Williams Technology Group advises leading private and public companies, founders, and private equity, growth equity, and venture capital firms on mergers and acquisitions and capital-raising transactions worldwide. The Technology Group has deep domain expertise in software and technology-enabled services and dedicated focus areas across a variety of vertical software applications and end markets. For more information on the Technology Group and its recent transactions, visit the Technology Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.

Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: hwgermany@harriswilliams.com). Geschäftsführer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. DE321666994). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business.

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February 01, 2022 at 09:09AM

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