Ava Group announces the launch of the Global Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (CCoE).

This new programme demonstrates Ava Group?s strong commitment to the data security of our customers, by providing expert guidance and assurance that the products deployed on their data network infrastructure exceed stringent globally-recognised cybersecurity standards.

Ava Group customers operate some of the most at-risk infrastructure around the world, across sectors that include extractives and energy, utilities, government and military sites.

The CCoE?s mission is to ensure a high standard of cybersecurity and that all Ava Group products are subjected to rigorous and continuous testing during development and their entire lifespan to ensure there are no weaknesses in the product that could compromise an organisation?s security credentials.

The CCoE takes full advantage of the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, combined with 2900 cybersecurity standards from globally-recognised independent testing organisation Underwriter Laboratories (UL).

In addition, the CCoE offers customers market-leading access to security configuration information, product-specific hardening guides and validated testing reports, as well as offering greater value with expert advice regarding enhancements for the protection of the entire data network infrastructure.

The Ava Group has a long-standing and proven pedigree in data network infrastructure protection through its Future Fibre Technologies (FFT) Data Network Infrastructure Physical Security (DNIPS) application.

Head of Information Security at Ava Group, Kevin Berry states: ?Any time an organisation selects a product to place on their data network it represents the possibility for increased risk. The CCoE mitigates this risk, providing security and IT teams with the peace-of-mind that the deployment and running of the application will not expose them.?

Berry stresses that: ?Today, it is not enough to implement robust cybersecurity hardening as a one-time test or event – it needs to be part of rigorous ongoing lifecycle program that responds and adapts to the changing threat landscape.?

The scale of the cybersecurity threat remains high with predictions that by 2019 a business somewhere in the world will succumb to an attack every 14 seconds. The financial burden of which is estimated to be an average of US$ 800,000 (Source: PwC Global State of Information Security Survey).

The total annual cost to the global economy is estimated at over US$ 6 trillion (Source: Herjavec Group 2017 Cyber Crime Report).

Ava Group CEO, Chris Fergus, concludes: ?In launching the CCoE, Ava Group has once again taken a market leading position both in respect of the cybersecurity of all its products and in their application to protect our client?s data network infrastructures.?

The Ava Group is a market leader of risk management services and technologies, trusted by some of the most security-conscious commercial, industrial, military and government clients in the world.