2022 SC Awards Finalists: Best Pandemic Pivot

Cisco created an integrated solution of existing products (Cisco Secure Access by Duo, Secure Endpoint, Secure Email, Umbrella, and Secure Client) using an integrated platform to best fit remote work needs. The suite unified security and protection at scale, making it easy to verify users and devices, enabling secure access, and defending remote workers at anytime from anywhere.

Living Security was founded in 2017 to revolutionize security awareness training through engaging, comprehensive and memorable cybersecurity training that was done in-person, with physical escape rooms. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Living Security transitioned its product to a fully digital platform in just six weeks, creating the industry’s first team-based, virtual solution that allows users to compete in a digital escape room experience, solving puzzles and learning about better cyber hygiene while still using the immersive collaborative approach.

In January 2020, Proofpoint recognized and began actively sharing intelligence related to COVID-19 lures, with Threat Protection actively beginning to block and detect these COVID-themed attacks, and in March 2020, the company began offering Enterprise customers complimentary zero-trust network access for free. Soon after Proofpoint released free COVID-19 Related IDS Rules, work-from-home security awareness content and content capture for Zoom.

The seismic shift towards the digital movement of money driven by the pandemic uncovered vulnerabilities within the digital economy. With that in mind, in 2021, Visa introduced its Cloud Token Framework (CTF), to enhance security and increase approval rates for CNP transactions across multiple contactless payment experiences and devices. As such sensitive account information is replaced with a unique digital identifier – a token – that allows payments to be processed without exposing account details that could potentially be compromised.

In March 2020, with populations forced home, Zoom experienced a huge influx of all types of new users. And many of these new users didn’t have an existing IT department to assist them with their account and security settings.  On April 1, 2020, the company announced a 90-day security and privacy plan that brought 100 new features. Highlights include 256-bit AES-GCM encryption for all meetings, customized data routing by geography for data in transit, and such features as host disabling multiple device login and cloud recording expiration. Zoom also acquired Keybase in May 2020 and began working on end-to-end encryption for all global users, which launched less than 6 months later.