CyberGuard 360 pioneers SAFE Certification Process evaluate and certify MSPs and 3rd Party Providers

WILTON, Conn. - Dec. 16, 2019 - PRLog -- CyberGuard 360 (http://cyberguard360.com), a leading cybersecurity firm which develops and markets a solution set of products to detect and mitigate threats from cyber attacks, today announced the debut of the SAFE (Secured Assured Fortified Educated) Certification Program for industry Managed Service Providers(MSPs) and Third Party Vendors.

CyberGuard 360, a leader in research and development of products used by MSPs and Enterprise providers, is believed to be first to market to develop and implement a comprehensive Certification process.


Al Alper, CyberGuard 360 CEO, characterizes SAFE as the equivalent of UL Certification or the Better Business Bureau stamp of approval for a business. "While SAFE certification has value for virtually every business, we see it first being requested by organizations with access to or which host and store vast amounts of data from multiple companies. This would include, but not be limited to, Managed Service Providers and Third Party Providers, such as those who host applications that store or have access to sensitive or personally identifiable information institutions such as financial institutions or hospitals, dental practices and other healthcare facilities."

Alper, who is viewed as an industry thought leader and who has addressed executives at NASDAQ on the subject of cyber threats, believes that the IT industry needs to take greater steps to assure all end users that their MSPs and third party providers adhere to best-practices and maintain infrastructures that are as invulnerable to penetration and attack as possible.

He said that the SAFE Certification Program will assure end users that the provider they chose has passed a rigorous evaluation process and that any deficiencies found within their system have been addressed. "When a business seeks a Managed Service Provider, having a certification which we believe will become the industry standard will be that client's assurance that their provider takes data protection and security extremely seriously."

The SAFE Certification itself will be issued by CyberGuard 360, and certification will be based on the framework provided by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Using the NIST guidelines, SAFE Certification applicants will go through a rigorous evaluation from one of a half dozen vetted independent auditors, selected by CyberGuard 360 but who are not employed by or connected to the company.

The certifying auditors will evaluate the applicant's security and provide a comprehensive report of its findings to CyberGuard 360. If the applicant successfully passes the evaluation, he/she will receive SAFE Certification. Should the auditor determine deficiencies, the applicant will be informed of what they are and can re-apply for certification when the deficiencies have been remediated.