ACL Provides GE Capital Australia and New Zealand with Improved Data Leakage Detection

VANCOUVER, Canada, Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ACL, the technology company that is transforming audit and risk management, announced today that GE Capital Australia and New Zealand has implemented ACL technology to improve its data leakage detection capabilities. As a result, GE Capital has been able to identify potential unauthorized activity, such as data copying by non-authorized users or exiting employees.

Data leakage risk is a significant issue for consumers, companies and governments alike. According to the 2011 Global Cost of Data Breach Study[1], costs of data breaches vary depending upon the type of data breach and the country's regulatory landscape, ranging from a high of $5.5 million in the U.S. to a low of $1.1 million in India, reaching $2,270,862 in Australia in 2011. Rapid technological changes and growing data volumes further complicate both internal and external exposure threats.

GE Capital is one of the largest lenders in Australia and New Zealand. It is part of the global GE business, a diversified technology and financial services company. The Information Security Team at GE Capital Australia and New Zealand receives a number of large weekly log files from the security software program implemented by GE Capital headquarters. The team, however, could only perform a limited review of the data with manual analysis techniques and spreadsheet software.

The Internal Audit department sought a more efficient way to analyze the log files using data analysis. They applied ACL data analytics software to automate security log analysis. The analytics generate daily and weekly exception reports to identify potential unauthorized and unusual data copying activity for deeper investigation.

"GE Capital Australia and New Zealand achieved improved data leakage detection and protection capabilities through the use of ACL technology," said Arnold Mendoza, IT Internal Audit Manager at GE Capital and winner of a 2011 ACL Impact Award for Most Innovative Use. "The IT and Senior Management team was impressed with the additional level of control and analysis that the ACL solution provided; as well as the ability to directly and efficiently access the data." ACL technology has significantly reduced the time and effort required to analyze the large security logs.

"With an international customer base that includes 89 percent of the Fortune 500 companies and more than two-thirds of the Global 500, ACL is a trusted source for businesses that face important financial audit issues on an international scale," said Laurie Schultz, President and CEO of ACL. "Many of the world's best-known companies recognize data leakage protection as an integral part of business processes and regulatory compliance initiatives."

Schultz will be presenting at a series of events for Chief Audit Executives this week in Melbourne and Sydney hosted by ACL's Australia and New Zealand partner, The Satori Group.

To read the full GE Capital Australia and New Zealand case study, visit www.acl.com/ge

Supporting resources:

• To learn more about ACL Desktop, visit www.acl.com/analytics
• To read the latest on business assurance, compliance, risk, fraud detection, and internal audit, visit the ACL Blog: www.acl.com/blog
• Follow @ACLServices on Twitter
• Like ACL Services on Facebook www.facebook.com/ACLServices

About ACL
ACL delivers technology solutions that are transforming audit and risk management. Through a combination of software and expert content, ACL enables powerful internal controls that identify and mitigate risk, protect profits, and accelerate performance.

Driven by a desire to expand the horizons of audit and risk management so they can deliver greater strategic business value, we develop and advocate technology that strengthens results, simplifies adoption, and improves usability. ACL's integrated family of products—including our cloud‐based audit and compliance management solution and flagship data analytics products—combine all vital components of audit and risk, and are used seamlessly at all levels of the organization, from the C‐suite to front line audit and risk professionals and the business managers they interface with. Enhanced reporting and dashboards provide transparency and business context that allows organizations to focus on what matters.

And, thanks to 25 years of experience and our consultative approach, we ensure fast, effective implementation, so customers realize concrete business results fast at low risk. Our actively engaged community of more than 14,000 customers around the globe—including 89% of the Fortune 500—tells our story best. Here are just a few. Visit us online at www.acl.com.

[1] 2011 Global Cost of Data Breach Study, issued in March 2012 by Ponemon Institute and Symantec Data

SOURCE ACL