Cognigo
Automating Data Security and Compliance through Cognitive Computing

“Data is the new currency—we manage and protect it.” These words define Cognigo. Founded in 2016, Cognigo is led by a team that comprises machine learning experts and cybersecurity veterans. Guy Leibovitz, the Founder & CEO of the company says their aim has been to ensure that critical data does not fall into wrong hands. In an era where data explosion and the concomitant demand for greater data compliance—GDPR for instance— are transforming the data security arena, Cognigo is perfectly aligned with these modern requirements. The idea is to take an effective data management strategy encompassing comprehensive data compliance needs including adherence to GDPR. Team Cognigo initiated the process of not only helping organizations meet the GDPR but also to protect data effectively while economizing on time and cost.

At the core of Cognigo’s strategical data security approach is DataSense, a solution that helps to handle structured and unstructured data silos. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and cognitive computing, DataSense aids organizations in compliance and data protection. Cognitive computing makes it possible to bring AI at par with human intelligence and enables automated data protection by understanding and classifying it.

DataSense comprises three primary components of data security and compliance—identification, search, and orchestration. On the identification front, it is crucial to classify the data to understand if they are dealing with structured or unstructured data and their respective vulnerability to threats. Context-aware deep-learning algorithms recognize, categorize and extract PII (Personally Identifiable Information) data from the databases and file archives in the organization. Using a centralized index and leveraging a “Siri-like” search and control engine, DataSense allows users to ask questions pertaining to business and critical data security. The third element offered by DataSense is orchestration where the Cognigo team works with encryption vendors and archiving companies to enforce data retention policies. The primary objective is to provide an understanding to the client about the need to move from a reactive to a proactive approach in data protection using cognitive computing-driven identification, native search engine, and orchestration.

When a client reports a data security incidence, Cognigo’s solution makes it possible to subdue the threat and brings the affected system back to function within an hour, against the industry norm of several weeks. “With our team’s expertise and experience in handling crisis, Cognigo effortlessly gains clients’ trust in handling sensitive data,” attests Leibovitz. In addition, the partnership with Microsoft for data classification and labeling in the development platform helps to achieve compliance and to have a robust data protection framework.

Leibovitz highlights the value proposition of Cognigo’s service offerings through the solution provided to a global financial company. The client had footprints globally in four locations and struggled with dark data-related problems since they were unable to determine where their most sensitive data was located on the cloud. Additionally, the client wanted to implement controls that would safeguard sensitive data without human interference. In five days, the Cognigo team was able to set up DataSense to cover 20 projects and over a million documents from a number of databases belonging to the client. In 20 days, over 11 data security-related compliance vulnerabilities were found after which it took less than 30 days to address that same.

With a strong clientele in Israel, Italy, Germany, and the U.S., Leibovitz indicates that a new base has been established in the UK as well. Leibovitz aims to implement a unique strategy to increase the scalability offered by DataSense, making it possible to provide comprehensive solutions, covering newer data protection acts, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act.