Local information security firm Telspace Africa has promoted Ayaz Saiyed to the role of chief technology officer (CTO).
Saiyed, who reports to chief operations officer Tim Quintal, started the new role on 1 January.
Before his promotion, he was senior security analyst and security analyst team leader working with the analysts, management and sales team.
“As CTO, my aim is to drive the strategic technical vision of the company, as well as maintain our culture of learning to continuously improve our skillset, and in turn, meet the evolving needs of our customers and overall community,” Saiyed tells ITWeb in an e-mail.
Calling itself “hackers for hire”, Telspace, which was established in 2002, provides IT security solutions for various sectors locally and internationally, including advisory and penetration testing.
Last year, the company also announced leadership changes, which saw Dr Manuel Corregedor, previously chief operating officer, taking up the role of chief executive officer.
Corregedor replaced Dino Covotsos, founder of the company, as CEO, with the latter taking up the role of chairman of the board of Telspace Africa, which at the time had rebranded from Telspace Systems.
Describing the biggest cyber threats facing South African organisations, Saiyed points to the increasing number of cyber attacks, such as spearphishing, business e-mail compromise and ransomware.
He cites the ever-growing shortage of cyber security skills, as well as a lack of standardisation in cyber security practices, as further challenges.
According to Saiyed, the threats can be addressed by investing in relevant training for employees and staying up to date on the latest trends and threats in cyber security.
“Businesses must also work with reputable cyber security consulting firms to ensure their security practices are up to industry standards, and that security controls are hardened and configured correctly,” he says.
“With the constant growing threat of attacks, as well as legislative requirements, such as POPIA [Protection of Personal Information Act], requiring organisations to secure the integrity and confidentiality of personal information, cyber security is a critical concern.
“It is, therefore, important to take proactive measures to protect data from security threats and to have tested plans in place to respond to security incidents, should they occur,” he concludes.
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