SearchInform is one of the leading risk management product developers. The business has been a technology innovator for more than ten years, focusing on modern cybersecurity risks and shielding corporate and governmental institutions from data theft, negative human behavior, compliance violations, and incomplete audits.
At the moment, SearchInform creates software geared at reducing risks associated with humans, protecting data, and preventing corporate fraud. More than 3,000 clients in 22 nations make up the business.
Below are highlights of the interview:
Give us some background on SearchInform and why it was founded.
In 1995, a group of enthusiasts gathered in order to create the brand-new technology of unstructured data search. Ten programmers rented a flat and started to work; these people have lately become the backbone of the SearchInform company. They made the decision to enter the DLP software market but did not follow the crowd. Instead, the team has developed a tailor-made engine for searching among large arrays of data, which could be later modified according to the requirements. At the time, experts had their hands full with tasks because specific data leakage protection software was just emerging and there were no advanced tools for investigating insider incidents on the market. For company experts, it was clear that it was not enough to control data transfer channels. It was strongly required to analyze the intercepted data and make this process automated. That is why they chose this development approach.
Currently, SearchInform develops software aimed at data protection, corporate fraud prevention, human-related risk minimization, and regularly extending tool functionality. The company has 3000+ customers in 22 countries.
What makes SearchInform such a strong vendor of information security tools/services?
The main goal, the philosophy of our company, has always been and will continue to be the development of a product that aids in the fight against internal risks and corporate fraud while not interfering with business processes and adapting to the needs of our clients.SearchInform provides customers with a complex solution that ensures protection at different levels.
The first level is file system protection. It’s crucial to put data in order, classify content, and distinguish access rights. The protection at this stage is implemented with the help of FileAuditor (the DCAP tool).
At the next stage, it’s required to work with the analyzed data. The DLP system protects data channels and human-related risks at this level of workstations.
At the final stage, complex risk and data management approaches are required. Risk Monitor helps deal with the issues. The tool provides extended functionality for digital forensics and retrospective investigations.
SearchInform software is deployed very quickly within an organization’s infrastructure. After the deployment is initialized, customers can obtain the first results in just one or two days. There is a widespread practice of modifying products to fit clients’ specific business processes, be they rare or self-written software.
Tell us about featured person, the company’s Founder and CEO.
Sergey Ozhegov, SearchInform’s CEO, graduated from the faculty of mechanics and mathematics. Following graduation, I worked at SearchInform as a sales manager, was promoted to the position of commercial manager, and finally became the company’s CEO.
Sergey is a regular speaker at information security conferences, including global ones, such as GITEX. SearchInform’s CEO is the co-founder of the annual SearchInform Road Show, a series of training conferences for specialists in the information security field. His overall experience working in the IT and information security fields is 11 years.
Sergey enjoys going to the gym and traveling. His favorite ones are freeriding, kite surfing, and badminton.
What steps does the team take to determine the clients’ requirement before providing them services?
Before providing our customers with a service, we share useful advice and give them practical recommendations.
- The first step is presentation of SearchInform solutions. At this stage, customers can get to know the company better, learn more about its tools, and discuss their questions with SearchInform representatives.
- Our customers also complete the questionnaire prior to the system’s implementation. They share important data that identifies the requirements and characteristics of the IT infrastructure.
- The next stage is demonstration of useful materials, such as White Papers and How-to(s). They contain practical data on how exactly the specific tool is used in some business sector. For instance, in case we work with a client, whose company operates in the gas&oil industry, we will share a white paper, containing data on prevented or successfully investigated incidents in this specific business sector.
- SearchInform has a special implementation department that supports clients at all stages and helps set the required configuration and security policies, which ensures that clients benefit from SearchInform tool’s usage as much as possible.
- SearchInform analysts conduct global market surveys and monitor the situation in the sphere. Our experts also tailor software according to specific clients’ needs.
What is the management’s view on information security solutions sector?
The key issue is our approach to ensuring security. We strongly believe that in order to be efficient, information security solutions should be complex. As a result, our tools are capable of controlling data both at rest and in motion. The DLP tool deals with controlling data in motion. However, we regularly expand its functionality (i.e. recently, we have added such features as phishing email detection, assessment of employees’ password reliability), so the DLP by SearchInform has yet to become an advanced multifunctional tool.
Nevertheless, it’s required to put everything in order in the file system first of all. That is why we created the FileAuditor, a DCAP class tool.It automatically performs classification of vulnerable data according to the content (e.g., groups: passports; personal data; commercial documents; documents accessible to every employee). The tool also saves copies of critical files, which protects an organization from dangerous data losses (for instance, it is crucial to have backups of accountant documents to preserve access to them even if an employee deletes them or a ransomware virus strikes the company). FileAuditor distinguishes access to data based on the content, which helps prevent third-party access to confidential data.
SearchInform Risk Monitor is a multifunctional tool that includes incident management, password protection, inventory (hardware, software, users, data on loudness level), efficiency control, e-discovery, forensics, and dealing with DLP-system tasks.
What are the company’s key duties to the industry as a leading service provider?
We annually organize a cycle of conferences, named Road Show SearchInform, devoted to the topics of risk management and information security. During the sessions, we share our experience on the development and promotion of products, examine trends, and hear real-life cases from our clients. We already have an established scheme for these events: when we enter a new market, we do not only organize a press conference; instead, we immediately involve the local community with the help of Road Show SearchInform. In addition, we have opened a training center for our clients. Company experts regularly update the corporate blog by publishing various thematic materials that are useful for both experts and the general public. What’s more, monitoring of incidents, taking place worldwide is conducted on a regular basis, and notes or comments on some high-profile cases are published.
What kind of work culture does SearchInform have?
SearchInform’s corporate culture basically relies on a respectful attitude toward each employee and a customer-centric approach. SearchInform is a multinational team of like-minded enthusiasts operating worldwide. SearchInform has a flexible structure and adapts its work processes to circumstances. For instance, the company implements a mixed way of working, which is a combination of office and remote types of work.
We’ve been in this business for a quarter of a century, and all this time we’ve been precisely analyzing the situation in the sector. Thus, we have established a concept that is of the utmost importance in our opinion. It is about helping a global society understand potential risks. To deal with this task, our management has set the policy of increasing public awareness of information security issues. SearchInform experts publish useful articles in our blog, special materials such as White Papers and How-to(s), as well as they give interviews. We have divided our educational track into two categories. For professionals, we have established the Training Center, which main aim is to increase competencies, required in the information security sphere. For employees, who are not information security specialists, we organize webinars and share useful advice, such as recommendations on how to strengthen a password, detect a phishing letter, recognize social engineering techniques, etc.
What is the company’s long-term vision?
Information security and risk management have become trends in everyday life. The demand goes up, nowadays even small businesses are interested in information security services. Cybersecurity outsourcing, data protection compliance, and cloud data protection are the passes that we have already taken; our products are adopted for these needs, and we are going to strengthen this position. We will also continue developing all our tools by expanding their functionality and adapting them to the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity threats. We currently have clients in 22 countries, and we are going to continue expanding our market presence.
Website: www.searchinform.com
