Cyber security firm Panda Security Africa and audit, advisory and tax firm, BDO South Africa, have formed a strategic cyber alliance to enable BDO to offer a managed security service to their clients, using Panda’s next generation EDR solution.
Predictions for 2018 indicate that cybercriminal activity shows no signs of slowing down and organisations need to constantly review their cybersecurity strategies to reflect the advanced threats of today.

Traditional protection models are no match for sophisticated threats such as ransomware, exploits, script-based and other malware-less attacks – adopting next generation EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) technology into a holistic cybersecurity strategy is where the solution lies.

BDO Advisory’s director of IT audit and cyber laboratory, Graham Croock, says they chose to partner with Panda Security Africa as BDO is committed to the provision of world class services to clients using best of breed technology. This strategy is supported by the BDO Global Cyber Leadership Group (GCLG) headed up by Greg Garret in the US.

Croock confirms that as cyber security is a global concern, it is imperative that global security service and product offerings are utilised.

The solution will also facilitate the ingesting of data by the BDO Security Operation Centre (SOC) operations in Israel and Norway which will contribute additional value to the services provided through collaboration.

Traditional endpoint protection is only effective in protecting against known malware, but is not capable of dealing with attacks where exploits, file-less malware and other advanced technologies are used.

A solution such as Panda’s Adaptive Defence closes the detection gap and hardens protection to effectively stop ransomware, APTs and other sophisticated attack types.

“We are very proud that the industry considers Panda Security as a visionary in advanced protection technologies for the endpoint,” says Juan SantamarĂ­a, CEO of Panda Security. “This affirms the cybersecurity model introduced by Panda. We became the only manufacturer to offer advanced protection based on the complete visibility of endpoint activity, together with classification services for all running processes and threat hunting.

“This is a significant innovation and an added value for our technology, our customers and our partners such as BDO, with whom we share the common goal of offering our customers the best services.”

Jeremy Matthews, regional manager of Panda Security Africa, comments: “This partnership between Panda Security and BDO will be important in protecting digital infrastructures and corporate networks in key industries in Southern Africa” says. “We are pleased to be a part of this initiative – adding value to BDO’s risk consulting and management service with Panda’s intelligent endpoint security technology and services.”