Better INTEL Can Make a Difference...

In case you missed this announcement from the Financial Services ISAC, the sector has finally figured out that it's really about the relevance of the INTEL that makes a difference, namely iDEFENSE.

iDEFENSE and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS/ISAC) today announced a partnership to equip financial services organizations with intelligence and proactive countermeasures to combat critical cyber threats.

The agreement represents a major initiative for FS/ISAC as the organization aims to fulfill its mission of providing members with the highest caliber and most timely analysis on information security threats. Sponsored by the Department of the Treasury, FS/ISAC has more than 900 chartered members, including banks, credit unions, insurance firms, credit card companies and securities firms. Its board members include executives from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Fannie Mae.

"The increasingly sophisticated and aggressive cyber threat landscape requires new solutions and approaches to ensure that our members and their customers are fully protected," said Byron Yancey, FS/ISAC’s executive director. "This partnership is a turning point for the security of America’s financial infrastructure: a new front line of defense against cyber attacks."

iDEFENSE’s "flash" cyber intelligence reports will fuel FS/ISAC’s national "urgent" and "crisis" alerts, the first time the industry group has leveraged proprietary threat data to protect the sector. The company is the leading provider of cyber security intelligence for Global 2000 companies, 8 of the top 10 financial services providers and the U.S. government. It engages 170 analysts to research thousands of new malicious codes, software vulnerabilities and hacker activity in 31 countries and 13 languages.

"Electronic criminals inherently have an advantage against their targets — they have the funding, knowledge, creativity and element of surprise to strike first," said John Watters, president and CEO of iDEFENSE. "The key is to mobilize and share actionable intelligence before attacks strike, combining vigilant intelligence gathering and immediate delivery."

Having first hand knowledge of the iDEFENSE operation and the Archer platform that powers the FSISAC, they are well on their way to having the best possible chance to mitigate risks in their organizations.