Experts have emphasised the increasing need for government and organisations to consciously secure the cyberspace by deploying innovative solutions to reduce or possibly eliminate the dangers of data compromise and loss through cyber attacks.
As a solution to the hazards of cyber attacks, Tardigrade, an Enterprise Risk Assessment (ERA) solution, introduced into Nigeria by Nollysoft, towers among other Risk assessment solutions offers robust impact assessments and strategic security solutions to organisations by helping them to put in place, processes that ensure that they understand their gaps and state of preparedness to respond to cyber breaches.
Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the Commission, at a cybersecurity forum in Lagos, noted that cyber attacks’ high level of complexity requires action at different levels (both virtual and physical) and by different actors, including governments, private sector, civil society, intergovernmental organisations, among others.
Tardigrade solution seeks to address the situation, even as it is recorded to effectively tackle the concerns of most senior management staff, who are often worried about how protected their organisation is from internal and external threats; whether the organisation is a direct target for attacks; who is accountable for assessing and managing the risks posed by changes to the business strategy or technology; how their system of internal control is being applied and how effective it is.
Industry experts say organisations need a good handle on the cyber threats and risks their organisation may face. They also need to have a grasp of whether their system of internal control is effective, or basically need to implement specific security controls from standards such NIST 800-53 or ISO 27001.
Nollysoft says its Tardigrade assessment solution helps organisations to understand their cybersecurity and internal control risks so that they can implement appropriate mitigation controls to achieve a desired state of preparedness.
‘Tardigrade Cybersecurity Assessment helps organisations identify their risks and determine their cybersecurity preparedness. The assessment solution provides businesses with repeatable and measurable processes to inform senior management of their organisations’ cybersecurity preparedness over time,’ says Sola Koleowo, Chief Executive Officer of Nollysoft Limited on behalf of the company.
Koleowo said that the ERA solution is based on best practice frameworks set by Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC), Information Technology Examination Handbook (ITEH), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Cybersecurity Framework (CF) and International Standard Organisation (ISO 27001) and regulatory guidance.
According to him, the Tardigrade Internal Control solution enables organisations to understand deficiencies in their system of internal control. This will allow for the creation of effective mitigating controls to help achieve business objectives.
‘It is based on industry standard and best practices framework – Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission (COSO),’ Koleowo said.
On the security requirement traceability matrix, Koleowo said, ‘Tardigrade Security Requirement Traceability Matrix solution allows organisations to effectively select security controls from standards and regulations for implementation either as a part of a Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC) or regulatory mandate,’ stressing that the solution currently supports 2 industry standards: NIST 800-53 R4 and ISO 27001-2013, and two regulations: Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and Monetary Association of Singapore (MAS).
‘The total cost of ownership (TCO) of Tardigrade solution is low. No CAPEX needed to acquire the solution. It is a Cloud-based solution and being offered as a service,’ he said.
With solutions like Tardigrade, will most likely save tremendously on the N127 billion lost annually by business organisations and ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government which translates to 0.08 percent loss in the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Leveraging innovative enterprise risk assessment solution such as Tardigrade by organisations from private to public sectors of the economy will not only guarantee effective protection for user organisations but also help curb losses to the national economy. This is just as industry analysts say the arrival of Tardigrade will raise the bar of organisations’ protection against potential cyber threats and associated losses.
Jumoke Akiyode Lawanson
