Safe Security’s Saket Modi on how firms can predict cyberattacks

Cybersecurity leaders are constantly challenged to keep up with the myriad changes in this ever-evolving security threat landscape. Yet, despite sophisticated tools and security solutions, breaches occur. Currently, it’s not a matter of if, but when?

In an exclusive conversation, Saket Modi, co-founder and chief executive officer at Safe Security, claims that the company can predict breaches to help the cybersecurity teams stay a step ahead of the malicious attackers.

How has the cybersecurity industry evolved over the years?
The cybersecurity industry has evolved substantially over the last decade. Businesses that traditionally invested in security technologies such as antivirus, firewalls, and other tools have started realising the importance of new technologies and solutions that predict data breaches.

Tell us about Safe Security.
We started our journey in 2012 as a cybersecurity service provider. At that time, we offered various cybersecurity services, including vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, boardroom training, and more to Fortune 500 companies worldwide. However, we realised that our customers required a more dynamic and real-time cyber risk management solution. As a result, we transitioned from services to a product firm three years ago and introduced our cybersecurity risk quantification platform to meet this demand.

What does your customer base look like?
We have been working with leading organisations that include Google, Yahoo, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, McKinsey, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, British Telecom, among others.

How can you help organisations predict breaches?
Although it may sound cliché, we think the current cybersecurity paradigm is broken. In our opinion, it is siloed, highly reactive, and does not talk the language of business. In my opinion, the biggest threat to enterprise cybersecurity is the disconnect between security products and business units. In today’s digitised world, organisations need to ensure data security regardless of where and how it is accessed. Cybersecurity teams need to know the real-time risk postures across their business. They need to adopt a platform that can provide an aggregated view of cyber risks across five vectors –  people, policy, technology, cybersecurity products and third party, on a single dashboard, and their potential financial value at risk if a data breach occurs.

Can you explain your cybersecurity risk quantification platform in brief?
Safe, our cybersecurity risk quantification platform, uses a Supervised Machine Learning engine to generate a breach likelihood score (between 0-5) and the financial risk an organisation faces. It also delivers prioritised actionable insights based on technical cybersecurity signals, external threat data, and the business context of what and where the weakest connections are within the organisation. The ratings are generated at both a macro and micro level, allowing businesses and individuals to understand their real-time risk posture and help their cybersecurity decisions. We are also working extensively with MIT and IIT Bombay to develop our breach prediction algorithm. Moreover, we are backed by our global partner British Telecom who led an investment round of $33m in the company last year.

What attracted you to venture out in the Middle East market?
We saw similar demands in the Middle East market after successfully launching our firm in the US, the UK, and India. Given our resources and network, we identified UAE as a much simpler environment to approach. As we work only through partners, we signed an agreement with StarLink, one of the largest cybersecurity distributors in the region.

What are your plans for the year ahead?
For our first year in any new geography, we focus on brand awareness. We want to create awareness about our brand and solutions. Meanwhile, we are also looking at collaborating with new partners in the region.