Prior to 2017, industries ranging from film production to healthcare witnessed a record-breaking surge in cyber-attacks.  State-sponsored attacks used brute force tactics that resulted in embarrassing data breaches. Organized cybercrime groups deployed devastatingly effective ransomware. Viruses and malware conducted fraud, stole money, and left chaos in their wake. In one particularly dramatic case from 2018, one of the world’s largest databases was hacked: India’s national ID database. The Aadhaar database included the names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other personal details of more than one billion people, and despite the fact that numerous sophisticated security tools and solutions existed to protect it, hackers were able to find a way through.

The impact of a data breach is catastrophic—it can cost an organization easily $3 million. Even in the aftermath, many of the organization’s data-related assets and resources remain compromised and will be categorized as highly vulnerable. However, since cybersecurity is a dynamic and constantly changing domain, simply splurging on security solutions is not the answer. Instead, it is crucial to have skilled professionals on the case, applying the best practices that predict and take action on a system’s weak points while recognizing, alerting, and combatting potential threats at the earliest opportunity. This is what separates BAI Security from other cybersecurity vendors in the market. BAI Security professionals are qualified, versatile, and confident, assuring their clients that the right steps are being taken to strengthen their security systems.  With a top-down approach that starts with a complete evaluation of the client’s systems, applications, tools, technologies, and controls, BAI Security identifies weaknesses and vulnerabilities that are key in preventing data breaches and ransomware attacks.

Founded in 2007, BAI Security has an impeccable track record when it comes to helping organizations identify their security risks, meet compliance requirements, and secure organizational data and intellectual assets. Under the able leadership of Michael Bruck; founder, CTO, and president; the firm has grown to become one of the premier players in the field of IT Security and Compliance worldwide. “The combination of our superior methodologies, industry-leading technologies, and seasoned in-house security specialists yields a level of exceptional depth and accuracy in our services that competitors can rarely match,” Bruck says.

One such area in which competition is fierce is the current banking sector—a popular supplier of BAI Security clients. The banking sector is constantly bombarded with new regulations and, for that reason, is continually focused on meeting compliance requirements and standards. But as Bruck points out, compliance doesn’t equal secure: there are countless organizations who are compliant with current standards but riddled with security vulnerabilities. For some, eliminating these vulnerabilities is as simple as performing an in-depth analysis and assessment—the results they yield will aid in identifying and remedying the weak points that exist. In doing this, organizations will not only secure their own data, but they can ensure integrity when it comes to protecting customer information. For BAI Security, integrity is essential. Not only do they work directly with their client’s board members, but they engage with security officers, industry regulators, and other security experts to understand how they can improve and ultimately achieve a positive result. “We want to ensure that organizations of all sizes,” Bruck says, “that are keenly serious about their security posture, have access to truly top-shelf solutions, assessments, and compliance services in the most cost-effective manner possible.”

Through a number of different Risk Assessments, BAI Security helps organizations identify critical challenges when it comes to their policy and procedure. They also take a look at threats that could lead to a potential system compromise, which can result in a data breach or a denial-of-service attack. In order to avoid these perilous scenarios, BAI Security conducts various tests that involve vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, determining administrative best practices, and technology evaluations, among other things. The firm also conducts email, phone-based, and in-person social engineering exercises, as well as attempts at physical access and facility security inspections.

Although their scope is wide, BAI Security evaluations remain concise and comprehensive. Their Red Team Assessment combines all threat vectors to compromise front-line systems, then uses those systems as pivot points to compromise more sensitive data, providing the client with a clear understanding of how efficiently their security systems operate and how vulnerable they are during a targeted attack. As it turns out, these assessments are often invaluable—a recent internal study revealed that a whopping 73% of BAI clients had serious security risks that had gone undetected in audits by previous vendors. The reason for these disturbing numbers? BAI Security provides one of the most comprehensive vulnerability and penetration-testing services in the market.

To prevent hackers from gaining access to company information and sensitive data, the firm offers security awareness training along with a multitude of phone-based, in-person, and email evaluation scenarios to educate staff and validate areas of risk. BAI Security takes the level of social engineering sophistication  to the next level by staging real-world attacks to compromise user endpoints, then “pivoting” to backend systems in order to simulate an attempted data breach. As for resisting and avoiding breaches that occur through social engineering, BAI Security starts by collecting all the real-world scenarios used historically in actual data breaches. They also create their own set of probable scenarios, wherein the aim is to compromise an employee’s system or the network itself. Ultimately, the goal of these assessments is to help the client consider potential situations and formulate realistic solutions. Such an approach has not only earned BAI Security its reputation for vigilance, but has earned the confidence of countless clients over the years.

On the question of what separates BAI Security from its competitors, Michael says the difference lies in their approach and capacity to conduct thorough assessments. He points out that with the added benefit of succinct and comprehensive reports, an in-house audit team, and having security experts on site rather than relying on outsourced agents, it isn’t difficult to see why BAI Security stands apart. With clients in a multitude of highly regulated sectors such as healthcare, banking and finance, education, as well as state and local government. BAI Security applies proven expertise to real-world situations to give their clients what they’re looking for: a win-win scenario.