SYDNEY, October 15, 2024  — Proofpoint, Inc., a leading cybersecurity and compliance company, announced it has successfully completed the Information Security Registered Assessors Program (IRAP) for its industry-leading email protection solutions. This achievement demonstrates Proofpoint’s commitment to providing Australian government agencies with the highest standard of cybersecurity solutions, meeting the stringent security requirements administered by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) at PROTECTED classification level.

The Infosec Registered Assessors Program (IRAP) is a comprehensive, independent assessment program designed to ensure technology providers meet the highest security and integrity protocols in line with the Australian government’s information security standards. This certification helps Australian government agencies navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape and evolving regulatory guidance. This milestone allows Proofpoint to further support public sector customers in Australia with its award-winning email security solutions, defending against phishing, malware, and social engineering attacks via email.

Email fraud is seen as the biggest threat to the public sector

According to Proofpoint’s 2024 Voice of the CISO report, 74% of the CISOs from the public sector agree that their organisation is at risk of a material cyber attack in the next 12 months, and email fraud (business email compromise) is seen as the biggest threat (61%). Australian public sector agencies are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the data they manage.

Proofpoint Email Protection provides government entities with the ability to roll out accurate, effective inbound email policy and threat detection. This protection extends to business email compromise (BEC) attacks that attempt to steal data and money from organisations. This capability is further extended with cloud-based compliance and archive functionalities.

“As government agencies continue to modernise their cyber security posture in line with the Australian Cyber Security Strategy 2023-2030, we remain committed to contributing to the ecosystem by continuously investing in Australia. Following the launch of Australian data centres last year, achieving IRAP PROTECTED assessment is another important milestone for Proofpoint. We are excited to extend our expertise and solutions to more public sector customers, ensuring their most critical security vector—email—is protected with our leading solutions,” said Crispin Kerr, Area Vice President, Australia and New Zealand, Proofpoint.

Human-centric security in the age of AI for Australian governments

A significant 78% of CISOs in the public sector believe human error is their organisation’s greatest cyber vulnerability. To mitigate this, 87% of public sector CISOs are considering deploying AI-powered capabilities to protect their organisations against human error and advanced human-centred cyber threats.

Proofpoint recently announced expanded capabilities to help organisations address human risk more effectively, and it currently provides email security to a significant proportion of State Government customers, including many associated with emergency services and healthcare.

The IRAP PROTECTED assessment status for email protection will allow Proofpoint to extend this core capability to Government agencies with the most stringent data requirements.

"By completing the IRAP PROTECTED assessment, we are demonstrating our strong commitment to collaborating with all levels of public sector agencies and partners with a human-centric security approach," said Adrian Covich, Senior Director, Systems Engineering, Asia Pacific and Japan at Proofpoint. "We're eager to explore the opportunities this opens up as we continue supporting the Australian Government in creating a safer, more secure digital space."

The regular reassessments required by IRAP drive continuous security enhancement, ensuring that Proofpoint stays ahead of evolving cybersecurity challenges.

For more information on Proofpoint email protection solutions, please visit: https://www.proofpoint.com/au/products/threat-defense.

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About Proofpoint, Inc.  

Proofpoint, Inc. is a leading cybersecurity and compliance company that protects organisations’ greatest assets and biggest risks: their people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber attacks. Leading organisations of all sizes, including 85 percent of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint for people-centric security and compliance solutions that mitigate their most critical risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web. More information is available at www.proofpoint.com. 
 
 

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