Ricardo Valdes is the founder and CEO of AI cybersecurity company, UTMStack. For them, cybersecurity is no luxury and should be a necessity for all business types and industries. Their mission is simple: to democratize cybersecurity solutions and services by making them available at competitive prices. More than 60% of entities go out of business in their first six months, and many of them suffer data breaches during that time. By providing businesses with access to essential services, cybersecurity standards can be improved.
Fortunately, Ricardo was able to answer some questions about his career, the industry and UTMStack. Check out some of his answers below:
What is your background before entering cybersecurity?
Before entering cybersecurity and entrepreneurship, I worked for several fortune five hundred companies as a Database Administrator and Technology Architect. Interacting with such technology-rich environments provided me with the experience required to get into cybersecurity.
What inspired the foundation of UTMStack?
Fifty-eight per cent of cyber-attacks target small to medium businesses, and 60% of those businesses will close their doors within 6 months. Cybersecurity is essential, as we all know! However, the acquisition of all the tools required to protect an organization fully might be a costly process, not to mention the learning curve that comes with mastering different applications. This is something that many small and medium businesses cannot afford.
UTMStack was created to democratize cybersecurity and make it affordable and more straightforward for everyone. It is so simple and inexpensive that it can manage all aspects of cybersecurity from a central place in a single User Interface, and so affordable that it can be free of charge.
What are the most significant cybersecurity threats currently?
Cybersecurity threats evolve all the time. Even by the time we finish this interview, there may be a new top threat. Trying to predict it is almost impossible as well. However, most of them can be detected in real-time with Machine Learning Algorithms and artificial intelligence. Instead of using only hardcoded correlation rules and signatures, UTMStack analyzes the environment and defines custom rules. This type of learning mechanism allows the system to be as efficient as 40 years of experience mechanic who know what is wrong with a car just by listening to the sounds it makes.
What do you offer to businesses to protect their assets, for example, how they can protect their websites? {please describe your services, what you offer, their benefits etc}
UTMStack stands for Unified Threat Management Stack. As the name suggests, it is an All-in-One cybersecurity platform that addresses all cybersecurity and compliance needs. It is currently formed by 9 modules: SIEM, Dark Web Monitoring, Vulnerability Management, Identity Management, Incident Response, NIDS/HIDS, Endpoint Protection, Compliance manager and File Classification. New features are added every month.
How do you keep prices low to ensure that your products and services remain affordable for any company?
I am glad you asked because this is a common question from our clients. UTMStack threat detection algorithms are fed by hundreds of thousand databases and APIs maintained by the community. This allows us to focus on innovation and new features while keeping costs low.
How do you ensure efficient collaboration with the existing IT teams of your clients?
We understand that cybersecurity services requirements might be different in every organization. The UTMStack SOC services division always works as if they were an extension of the client’s IT team. They work shoulder by shoulder with the client. Their service slogan is: “If you see an issue, you own it” which means never let a client walk away with an unresolved problem, even if it is not related to your job function.
What makes your products and services unique compared to other cybersecurity firms?
Three pillars define the shape of our products and services. First; simplicity. There is always a better and simpler way to do it. Overcomplicated solutions that require a lot of training are usually a waste of client’s time and money. Second; affordability. We want to make cybersecurity accessible to everyone; therefore, prices should always be low, and there should be a free offering. Finally; innovation. This is the hearth of our business model. This pushes us to deliver new functionalities every month and to implement the latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Quantum Computing into our cybersecurity stack.
Do you plan to expand or improve your products/services soon?
For sure – we are currently working on several features and functionalities. Our goal is to release minor features every month and at least 1 major feature every 6 months.
What do you do in your spare time outside of cybersecurity?
Outside cybersecurity, I enjoy playing Airsoft, Golf and computer games. I am a massive fan of World of Warcraft and League of Legends.
Thank you Ricardo for your time!
You can follow up with Ricardo Valdes at https://utmstack.com
