Cyber Defence Operations – High End IT Security Operations for SMEs

Cyber Defence Operations is an expert IT security solutions outfit that prepares your company to respond to cyber security breaches. The Watford based company provides a suite of services including digital forensics, malware analysis, cyber threat intelligence, threat & risk assessment amongst others. The company’s founder, Umar Javed recently spoke with Herts Review where he detailed some of the interesting services they provide.
 
Cyber Defence Operations, also known as Cydefops has been trading for over a year. Umar has worked in the IT industry for over 14 years undertaking various projects before moving into the Cyber Security space 5 years ago. “I decided to try out something different. There was a lot around cyber security and major breaches experienced by leading banks, airlines, newspapers, and hospitals etc. I therefore took more interest and have become a specialist in that area”.
 
Umar has worked for well know organisations including the City of London Police, Ethics & Anti-corruption Commission, National Crime Agency (NCA), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), City of London Corporation, London Councils amongst others. Indeed, Cydefops is still consulting for some of these companies. The company has a network of 150 suppliers across the world although 75% of them are UK based. “We take on a variety of projects and we draw on the expertise of our suppliers around the globe. This means that work can be delivered promptly by a specialist in the respective area”
 
In addition to consulting for these well know national and international organizations, Cydefops is extending its services to SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises). “We noticed an opportunity in the SME space as most IT security outfits focus on the larger companies or organizations. There is less focus on the smaller outfits like a training company, your local dental practice that may suffer from cyber-attacks. Since the covid-19 pandemic, there has been malware attacks initiated mainly abroad designed to cause problems for local businesses or organizations”.
 
Umar has seen an opportunity in this space and has been on a drive to educate more people on cyber threats. “We take a lot of urgent reactive calls; this means the incident has happened and we work with the businesses or organizations to limit the damage and advise on actions to be taken. We want to work with more businesses or organizations to adopt preventive measures. Therefore, we have a suite of services to cover all aspects of cyber threat to smaller businesses and organizations and if a service is not required, we take it out. Our threat and risk assessment is key as we audit your organization and identify areas that need improvement”.
 
Since Cydefops launch over a year ago, it has really taken off and business has been better than had been anticipated. “We have been busy since our launch working on various projects. One thing we do well is to introduce our services to real people who need it. It is also important we engage with our customers, understand their operations and let them know how we can help. This has been well received by our clients because they see the value we offer”.
 
Cydefops is also reasonably priced. “Our competition focuses on one or two services and offer their clients a specialist service for a high fee. Rather than offer a single specialist service, we offer multiple services at a discount (usually 75% of the cost if priced separately). This means we will not propose just one service that covers intellectual property theft or phishing. Rather, we offer a package that will include malware attacks, forensics, darkweb data breach and protection from cyber-attacks at a fixed price. That way the business or organization’s digital framework is secured”.
 
The unique exposure and experience of protecting mission-critical, defence, law enforcement and government networks from cyber-threats gives Cydefops an edge compared to its peers. “Our work is based on trust, transparency, flexibility and value. We are accessible and prefer landing long term contracts with clients as overtime we really understand the organization, operations and processes and can serve them better.
 
Training is a key area of development for the company. The company is launching a suite of E-learning courses on Cyber Security for people looking to train or upskill. By the end of this month, Cydefops is launching its e-commerce site focused on e-learning. The course will target secondary schools, colleges, and universities. It will also target other IT employees that want to understand more on cyber security. It is a unique offering that is priced accordingly.
 
Better to take measures to protect your organization than be reactive. It is difficult to know when a security breach will take place. Contact Cydefops here if you have any concerns.
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