Pan-African telecommunications Group Liquid Telecom has unveiled its cyber security unit which offers end-to-end managed services for digital security solutions.

During a webinar hosted by the company, CEO Nic Rudnick said the approach to network security had changed radically since the days of confined networks.

With the advent of remote working and lockdown, the protection of data – especially customer data – has become critical.

“We are operating in a new environment in which we have to create security and keep customer data safe.”

He said in South Africa, the average time it takes to identify and contain a data breach is 228 days, and the global figure is 280 days.

Additionally, 39% is the average share of data breach costs incurred more than a year after an incident.

Rudnick said that 50% of corporate data is in the cloud and only 10% of enterprise cloud applications are sanctioned by the IT department.

Employees are a lot more tech-savvy and, often unbeknownst to company or business, bring their own devices and applications into the workplace.

Cyber security is a real and imminent threat to businesses and their end-users as highlighted by the survey commissioned in August 2020 by Liquid Telecom.

IT decision makers across Africa were asked for their insights on cyber security trends, with 57% of those surveyed stating that they have seen an increase in threats over the COVID-19 pandemic period.

According to Liquid Telecom, while many employees across the continent are returning to work, organisations are embracing a hybrid model of digital and onsite working. As such there are increasing concerns over the security of data, shadow IT and the financial implications of a security breach.

And breaches can have a devastating impact on business, with the consequences effectively unlimited according to Rudnick.

David Behr, Group Chief Digital Officer, Liquid Telecom, said: “Although we’re unveiling the cyber security unit today, Liquid Telecom is not new to this space. We have successfully secured our own network for the past 15 years, and now through our strategic partnerships with Netskope, Logicalis, Microsoft and Cyber Risk Aware we have curated the best solutions in the industry to address the changing demands of a digitally transformed business world. Allowing customers to focus on their core business offering while we manage their complete IT environment."

The company intends to build a data-informed cyber security toolset, designed for Africa, delivered directly and through cloud and datacentre partners.

The objective is to help businesses by providing the visibility necessary in the cloud (considering the challenge presented by various cloud services being joined together using APIs and over 70% of users are outside of the business parameter with multiple users, using any device from any location looking to access SaaS, IaaS and web services).

The offering is designed to protect customers at every intersection of their digitally transformed business including network, people, and systems, revolutionising how cyber security is approached.