Watsec Cyber Risk Management for SMEs

Doug Blakey is the founder of Watsec, a cybersecurity company based in Waterloo, Ontario. “Our focus is cyber risk management for small/medium enterprises. We enable organizations identify, prioritize and manage cyber exposures to the degree appropriate for the company”, he explains. Watsec does work for all sectors such as health care, education, insurance, legal, basically every type of organization including defense supply chain.

What is the little story of Watsec?

Mr. Blakey, who studied mathematics at the University of Waterloo, has worked for Environment Canada, Prudential Assurance, and IBM. He worked in the field of cybersecurity on mainframes before cyber risk was well-known. “I left IBM 15 years ago and started Watsec. Small/medium enterprises don’t have the same internal cybersecurity expertise that large enterprises do. Yet, they have more similarities than differences, noting that they share the same public Internet. However, the large organizations have greater economies of scale. They have people working in corporate governance and cybersecurity. The small ones tend to outsource”, he adds.

In addition to their Intelligent Cyber Resilience™ (ICR) program, Watsec has met the requirements to be an Accredited Certification Body. This means that they are authorized to evaluate businesses in order to obtain certification for CyberSecure Canada, a way to help build trust in today’s digital world.

What are your plans for the future?

 “We aim to expand our certification services and our education program. We will support supply chains to ensure weak links are minimized”, says Mr. Blakey. The company currently has clients in the USA and in Canada and wants to expand internationally. As the pandemic impacted a lot of businesses, the increase in demand for cybersecurity expertise is evident to Watsec.

How does In-Sec-M support you?

For Mr. Blakey, “the power of a cybersecurity ecosystem should not be underestimated. It is very powerful!” Being part of In-Sec-M provides access to interesting business opportunities and relationships with partners.

There is no doubt, Doug Blakey is a true enthusiast. When asked if there was a book his colleagues should read, he was quick to answer The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage (1989), by Clifford Stoll. A must-have with a historical flavor, for any cybersecurity professional. “Years after its publication, it is still relevant! ” he concludes.

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