Telus Corp. is beefing up its ability to offer security solutions for customers by buying a digital forensics company.
The carrier said Friday it has bought Digital Wyzdom Inc. of Toronto for an undisclosed price.
Digital Wyzdom is an independent security consulting firm with about 25 investigators that provide digital forensics, network security, E-discovery, intellectual property, and fraud advisory services to organizations across the country.
According to its Web site, customers have included the federal Justice department, the RCMP, Hewlett-Packard’s EDS division, the Toronto police, accounting firms, and an insurance company.
Digital Wyzdom president Daniel Tobok, who will become general manager of Telus Security Solutions, said in an interview his company has had a three-year partnership with the communications company.
Now, he said, his staff can extend their Toronto-based operators across the country as part of Telus’ 250-person security division.
“A big part of this is to be able to offer Telus clients a service that is not offered in the market today apart from specialized companies like us. Now we will have national reach,” with computer forensics staff in every major Canadian city.
Hardly a week goes by without a story of a major computer-related security problem at some corporation or government office. Among Digital Wyzdom’s most intriguing cases, Tobok said, has been investigating the attempted breach of the systems of law firms involved in a corporate merger by someone outside the country.
Events like this have led some to say organizations are losing the digital security war.
“I don’t believe we’ve lost the war,” Tobok replied. “It really comes down to a numbers game. What we have seen is small, medium and enterprise companies that get breached. But not necessarily because their security is not good, but sometimes it is not up to par with the dynamic environment that is out there.
“It’s a matter of keeping up with technology … it’s a cat and mouse game, in a way. A lot of organizations put in big firewalls or [put in] a new policy, and nobody touches it for a year. Well, a year is a long time in IT security.”
There has to be an ongoing investment in technology and training, he said. “The companies that are doing that are getting hurt a lot less.”
Tobok will report to Yogen Appalraju, vice-president of Telus Security Solutions, which in addition to offering consulting service does network analytics and builds secutiy solutions for customers.
“Security breaches in the marketplace are on the rise and the demand for forensics services is expected to grow for the foreseeable future,” he said in a statement.
“By committing to the forensics market with a best-in-class solution, combined with the power of Telus’ networking, collaboration and mobility solutions for businesses, Telus is well positioned to support customers in identifying risks and proactively responding to potential threats.”