Two new cyber-alliance programs, one by ISA and the other by Mimecast, launched within days of each other.

Mimecast’s new Cyber Alliance Program is designed to support channel partners. It creates a data sharing community so participating security providers can leverage the knowledge of the collective on threats, malicious code and new attack vectors. The end goal is to continuously create additional protections for all.

Mimecast’s Jules Martin

“By embracing those technology vendors within our new Cyber Alliance Program, channel partners are able to strengthen their product offerings that offer customers a way to maximize their current security investments and better protect their business,” said Jules Martin, vice president of business development at Mimecast

The new Cyber Alliance Program addresses several cybersecurity categories including SIEM, SOAR, firewall, threat intelligence and endpoint-security vendors. Partner program benefits include:

“As organizations look to increase their cyber resiliency without overspending on resources, this program gives them the opportunity to connect with industry vendors that hold a shared vision. The program allows technology vendors to easily integrate their technology into Mimecast’s platform through open APIs, helping to advance initiatives quick and efficiently,” said Martin.

The open API ecosystem is already integrated with the Salesforce, IBM Security, Splunk, and LogRhythm platforms. Channel partners who are interested can join the Cyber Alliance Program by first filling out an online form.

Mimecast has itself joined an alliance recently. The company became one of the newest National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) board members in March.

The building of alliances atop of or alongside other alliances is a smart business move for security providers, as it’s one of the best ways to stay abreast of emerging threats and leverage limited resources.

On the professional associations front, the International Society of Automation (ISA) just announced its new Global Cybersecurity Alliance (GCA). Founding members include Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Claroty and Nozomi Networks.

ISA is the developer of the ANSI/ISA 62443 series of automation and control systems cybersecurity standards. Those standards have been adopted by the International Electrotechnical Commission as IEC 62443 and endorsed by the United Nations.

ISA’s Mary Ramsey

“Participating in the ISA Alliance truly shows the commitment our founding members have to the safety and security of the industrial ecosystem, as well as the criticality of collectively moving forward together to ensure the standards, best practices and methods are applied,” said Mary Ramsey, ISA executive director.

The ISA Alliance actively seeks additional members – end-user companies, asset owners, automation and control systems providers, IT infrastructure providers, services providers, system integrators and other cybersecurity stakeholder organizations – to support its initiatives. Those interested in joining the ISA Alliance should contact ISA’s Rick Zabel.

There is, however, a required annual contribution for members. The amount is based on company revenue, is tax-deductible, and is used to fund the ISA Alliance’s future initiatives.

“Among several key initiatives, the GCA will work together to accelerate expansion and adoption of the ISA/IEC 62443 cybersecurity standards by creating procedural security guidelines for industry segments and stakeholder groups that help people implement the standards in their facilities,” said Jennifer Halsey, ISA director of marketing and communications. “We plan to publish a baseline of common cybersecurity requirements for suppliers within the supply chain to follow, along with training modules and certification options for developing our workforce. The intellectual property and financial contributions of our members will be critical to getting this important work done.”