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WATCHING THE WEB [Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)](Winnipeg Free Press (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Business is booming for local Internet cyber-security firm From its operations room built to defence-industry specifications in a nondescript West Exchange building, the cyber-security experts at Seccuris can monitor almost the entire Canadian Internet. For mere mortals that is a mind-boggling statement. What's easier to understand is the mayhem that can ensue when one of our trusted online sources -- say Target or more recently Home Depot -- has its systems breached. For 15 years, Michael Legary, the 34 year-old founder of the company and its chief strategic officer, has been building up Seccuris's reputation across Western Canada as the go-to Internet security experts. From its Winnipeg headquarters, Seccuris provides ongoing managed security services for increasingly sophisticated clients including the governments of all four western provinces. Last week, it opened an office in Minneapolis -- its fourth U.S. office -- and the company has offices in Regina, Calgary and Toronto with 110 employees, including about 60 in Winnipeg. It's now starting to field calls from some of the largest enterprises from around the world, including a recent engagement with one of the five largest companies on the Fortune 500 list. (This is about cyber-security, so there's only so much Seccuris can disclose about who its customers are.) "It's not about preventing something from being broken, it's about managing change and managing the business around it," Legary said. "It is inevitable that your large enterprise is going to be breached. It is about building resiliency so you can survive as a business and keep customers happy." As a company that is exclusively about cyber-security -- as opposed to the hundreds of consulting and software companies that pitch some kind of Internet audit or security widget -- Seccuris has come of age at exactly the right time as the totality of global commerce and data now exist online, a forum that did not even exist 25 years ago. There are all sorts of scenarios that need to be addressed, such as the traditional old-school manufacturer that's been in business for 65 years whose management suddenly realizes all of its intellectual property exists on one digital file. "They have to ask how can they protect that and manage a supply chain around that," said Legary. "The owner and board of directors never had to 'get it' in past." That's not exactly the scenario that Andy Adams, the chief information office of a multibillion-dollar, privately owned company in Irving, Texas, had to deal with, but he said the Seccuris solution was exactly what he needed. The company (Adams spoke on condition the name of the company not be disclosed) distributes equipment from more than 650 locations in the U.S. It did not have a proper digital security plan in place not so long ago. While it doesn't have the same brand recognition, the company is no different than Macy's or Taco Bell, with credit-card transactions, lots of customer data and proprietary financial data on its system. "I was tired of what Symantec and McAfee and everyone was trying to sell me," Adams said referencing two of the largest vendors of security software. "I needed a partner that grabs my hand and does not let go and does what I need it to do." His company now has a multi-year relationship with Seccuris. "It is not us saying 'Don't worry. Buy this and your problems are going to go away,' " said Legary. "You don't solve those things in a day or through a Power Point presentation." Legary, who is about to take on the role of chairman of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and is also the chief growth officer at Invenia Technical Computing, said Seccuris generates more than 85 per cent of its revenue from ongoing relationships. Now that it's getting cold calls from some of the largest corporations in the world -- the company recently was engaged by an African financial-services organization and is working with a Middle East-based multinational -- Legary is more convinced than ever Seccuris has a unique position in the market. While some of the large service-providers may offer some kind of ongoing monitoring, as Adams said, "It comes at an immense price." "We've spent 15 years in the Canadian and general North American space and we thought we were cutting-edge," Legary said. "As we moved into the North American and the Middle Eastern markets, we realize we are extremely unique in what we do, and there really are no direct competitors for us as this time." [email protected] (c) 2014 F.P. Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership |