Introducing Brenda Robb, a trailblazing leader in the cybersecurity sector, currently ascending new heights at BlackFog!

Brenda shares her remarkable journey from her roots in PR and marketing to her current role as the Chief Marketing Officer at BlackFog. Uncover insights into her dynamic career, spanning roles such as Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Vice President, Global Marketing at BlackFog, where she played a pivotal role in shaping the company's trajectory in the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity.

Can you share your journey in the cybersecurity industry and how you arrived at your current role as the Chief Marketing Officer at BlackFog?

"I’ve always been interested in technology, and I started my career working in PR in Toronto where I gained experience working in consumer technology, launching products for companies such as Motorola. I moved to Northern Ireland in 2000 and spent some time in local advertising and PR agencies before deciding to leave agency life to pursue a marketing career in-house. After working for a local software start-up, I was fortunate to secure a position at Absolute Software, a Canadian company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. As one of the first hires in the EMEA region, I was able to help build the business across Europe, and I enjoyed doing that for about 9 years. I then spent a couple of years working remotely for a medical device company in Arizona as a VP of marketing before joining BlackFog in 2018. During my time at Absolute, I met and worked with BlackFog’s Founder and CEO, who came into the organization during the acquisition of his second company. We stayed in touch after our time at Absolute, and I became involved with BlackFog in the very early stages of the company."

Can you briefly explain how BlackFog's technology works to ensure data privacy and prevent cyber threats without delving into technical details?

"While most cybersecurity solutions are predominantly focused on watching the perimeter to keep attackers out, BlackFog takes a new approach. In today’s attacks, the goal is to steal information for competitive, disruptive, or monetary gain, and an attacker infiltrating a network or device does not make a successful cyberattack. In reality, an attack is only successful if unauthorised data is stolen or removed from a device or network, and without data, there is no win for the attacker.

90% of ransomware attacks are now exfiltrating data, and BlackFog’s ADX technology has been designed to solve exactly this issue. BlackFog focuses on stopping attacks as they happen by preventing data exfiltration from the device, eliminating data extortion directly."

What standout features does BlackFog offer in terms of protecting against ransomware, spyware, malware, and other threats across different devices?

"The sophistication of today’s attacks has rendered existing security solutions obsolete. First-generation technologies such as Anti-Virus, which use traditional fingerprint technologies, no longer work. Similarly, second-generation technologies such as EDR and XDR focus on defensive approaches, which, while better, still fail to prevent attacks and rely heavily on IT to identify and respond. BlackFog pioneered ADX, a new category for on-device anti-data exfiltration technology to prevent threats such as ransomware, spyware, malware, phishing, unauthorized data collection, and profiling. BlackFog’s preventative approach recognizes the limitations of perimeter defense techniques and neutralizes attacks before they happen at multiple points in their lifecycle. BlackFog blocks 99% of ransomware, and 100% of our customers have never had a successful ransomware attack. With data being the ultimate prize for cybercriminals, and 90% of all ransomware attacks now exfiltrating data, preventing data exfiltration with ADX technology has become a critical component of any cybersecurity strategy."

In the face of constantly evolving cyber threats, how does BlackFog stay ahead and incorporate new technologies or strategies to protect against them?

"BlackFog’s Enterprise Console provides a centralized view of all threats and events generated at the endpoint. The console provides insights into the origin of threats within the organization and centralized management of device settings, groups, users, devices, and events. Unlike other solutions on the market, BlackFog does not require user action in response to a threat. BlackFog automatically blocks threats 24/7, critical for today’s cyberthreat landscape where we see most significant attacks occurring in the evening and on weekends. BlackFog also offers a unique Threat Hunting module which provides threat intelligence for all organizations, where previously only organizations with large technology budgets and teams of experts were able to benefit from this type of threat intelligence. BlackFog’s Threat Hunting solution takes threat intelligence to a new level by providing detailed insights into each identified threat, enabling organizations to stay ahead of cybercriminals as the threat landscape evolves."

From yours or BlackFog's perspective, what emerging trends or technologies do you foresee as shaping the future of cybersecurity?

"From my perspective, and perhaps unsurprisingly, I’d have to say anti data exfiltration is changing the threat landscape, and the way organizations think about cybersecurity. Creating a new category in this highly competitive and noisy space is both a blessing and curse; however, when we demonstrate this innovative technology to IT professionals who ‘have seen this all before’ and their first response is, ‘wow, why hasn’t anyone else thought of this,’ we know we are making an impact. The value is always in the data, and the bad actors will always find a way in if they are intent on stealing it for extortion and financial gain; therefore, next-generation technologies that focus on securing that data 24/7 are the future of cybersecurity."

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