Distribution group MB Technologies has established a security firm to take advantage of a market it predicts will be worth R2 billion in five years.
NetDefense will initially have six employees, says CEO Guy Whitcroft, but will leverage its parent company's channel relationships and back-office skills for growth.
MB Technologies' reseller base covers much of southern Africa, with 3 500 resellers, and the company aims to grow its product range.
NetDefense will target SA's small and medium companies, as these are a "fertile ground for resellers". It will also provide a security consultancy service and intends growing north of the border after establishing itself locally.
Whitcroft says the importance of security has previously been underestimated. However, with the reliance on Internet, e-mail and always-on connectivity, he believes this will change, and become "serious business" from this year.
Based on global figures, the local market could be worth around R2 billion, counting software, hardware and services, in the next five years, as security becomes a major concern, says Whitcroft. In addition to cyber crime threats, local companies have to contend with a growing need to secure information for compliance and legislative reasons, as poor record-keeping could lead to prosecution and a dwindling customer base.
Frightening figures
Last year saw 3.5 billion terabytes in e-mail move around the world, of which over 80% was most likely spam. The increased need for security becomes more apparent, says Whitcroft, when considering the amount of money lost each year as a result of cyber crime.
He points out US companies lost at least $250 billion in intellectual property theft in 2005, while cyber crime cost the country about $80 billion. Some 100 million Americans are at risk of identify theft because their private information has been compromised, he says.
In addition, Whitcroft says research shows two-thirds of US firms will have been infected with viruses by the end of this year. "We are actually growing the environment faster than we're putting controls in place," he says of the software in the market, which is reactive, rather than proactive.
The company's security executive Roberta Carello says half of international organisations do not have a firewall, while 33% do not apply patches. Alarmingly, 2% of users use the word "password" as their password, Carello notes.
While SA is a few years behind international trends, Whitcroft believes the country will be on criminals' radars. "The crime rate is very low here for cyber crime, but it is something I believe is right over the horizon."
Related stories:
Aladdin enters SA market
Bafokeng expands tech reach
Share