Kevin Wotshela, MD, Magix.

The biggest misconception about cybersecurity any company can have is; “We’ll never come under attack”. The world's rapid digitisation means businesses of all sizes use and have access to more data than ever before. This means open season for hackers and malicious digital actors when it comes to company servers.

A recent report by cybersecurity company, Surfshark indicates that South Africa had the fifth highest cybercrime victim density in the world in 2022.

The cybersecurity industry in South Africa is still in its infancy. Nonetheless, there are a few players with strong decades-long histories in the field who have been helping businesses and SOEs fend off cyber-attacks for as long as the country has been connected to the global online community.

Too little, too late

Cybersecurity has historically been a grudge purchase for businesses – until there’s a breach. By then, it can be too late – a company can be locked out of its own systems and the details of everyone they do business with, and accept payments from, can be stolen.

It’s important to proactively secure a business against cyber-attacks because any action performed in the digital space exposes the business to would-be hackers.

Cyber risks have evolved - and so have the services and products offered by cybersecurity and compliance companies. A decade ago, an occasional penetration test was considered enough mitigation against attacks. Now, a company’s digital security needs to be constantly assessed, monitored, and protected.

This also applies to companies of all sizes – from global entities to small enterprises. On the trajectory, the threat level from viruses to malware to ransomware has been exponential.

Up-skilling, up-teching

This rapid evolution has challenged cybersecurity companies to boost their own levels of expertise and incident management techniques – and the ones who have been most successful are those who have worked as partners, rather than just service providers.

Cybersecurity is still built on trust, but businesses are now looking for partners who can work alongside them rather than for them. Forming these kinds of partnerships empowers both sides – businesses know that their cybersecurity partner has a vested interest in their digital security and the partner is there to enable the business: educating staff about evolving threats, alerting IT teams to potential security weak spots and helping them proactively manage their digital security.

Over the last two decades, Magix has built its reputation on a foundation of trust and partnership, offering its services to leading financial services companies and SOEs.

Innovation has been the key to our success. Building those decades of trust with partners has allowed Magix to become a better business and a better partner. This has given us the confidence and space to innovate to the point where we deliver our services based on our client’s needs and the maturity of their current cybersecurity practices.

Forewarned is Forearmed

Magix’s Pretect is one such innovation: a customisable cybersecurity partnership that helps businesses of any size proactively manage their digital security.

After assessing the business’s digital footprint, the Pretect solution is tailored to the client’s needs. It provides the business with a live online dashboard that monitors threats and gives suggestions for remediation – all at a cost that suits the needs and size of the business.

Once Pretect is deployed, it monitors the organisation’s vulnerabilities. Via regular monthly and ad-hoc feedback sessions, Magix alerts digital security stakeholders to threats and discusses strategies for effective remediation. Your data is your most important asset - and a cybersecurity partner’s only job is to work with you to protect it.

Security threats have become one of life’s great certainties. So, in a world where life is lived digitally, trusted cybersecurity partnerships have never been more important.