Smart People Solve Smart Security Challenges

If a company’s digital security is only as strong as its weakest point, then the same can be said of its cybersecurity partners. Hackers and other malicious digital actors are constantly exploring software, patches, systems and testing social engineering schemes like phishing to try to prise open digital doors. 

A cybersecurity partner needs to be as informed, involved, motivated and educated as the people they’re working to keep out.

Magix is an established South African cybersecurity and digital compliance company with over two decades of experience in managing digital security for businesses, from starter e-commerce platforms to SOEs. The business employs best-in-class specialists from the top down to ensure that their hard-won reputation as world-class cybersecurity partners remains intact and that their partners’ most important asset – their data – stays secure.

Magix Managing Director Kevin Wotshela moved into the cybersecurity space from the investment and healthcare sector. The company Wotshela stepped into had a solid client base in the private sector, particularly with financial services clients. His arrival coincided with a conscious effort to innovate the business to see what else – and how else – it could better serve its customers as cybersecurity threats started to escalate. 

“We made the call to stop focusing on selling clients products and offer them services, as partners,” he says. “It was an amazing shift of perspective that saw us actively seek to be more integrally involved in our client’s lives – and the value of the approach was soon recognised, taking us straight to the next level”.

“As a business, we are like a parent making sure the children are operating in a safe environment. We offer them advice and solutions that will take the ‘child’ from infancy to adulthood. The best way to do that is as a parent – partnering from day one into the best possible future – that’s the magic in Magix,” he says. 

Magix Cybersecurity Architect, Tim Butler is fascinated by the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity. He inadvertently found himself in the industry after realising he could fill a skills gap at a previous employer. 

“Seeing how a system was breached is fascinating – but seeing how someone spotted the potential for a breach and mitigated the weak spot is equally fascinating,” he says. “Sometimes you can learn a new way of doing things by understanding how the attack and defence played out – other times there’s an opportunity to figure it out for yourself, but the key is that you’re always learning”.

The rise of AI has delivered new levels of cyber threats, with people now able to generate malicious code with minimal coding knowledge by using tools like ChatGPT. “Threats can now occur faster and with more complexity. It’s the next step in the race between offensive and defensive cybersecurity – a constant evolution,” he says.

Deon Beck is Chief Technical Officer at Magix – and a 23-year IT veteran. He progressed from a computer science diploma and a job building PCs and laying network cables to gaining a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer qualification. He soon found himself at the forefront when ransomware attacks started gaining traction. “There was almost no local knowledge about these attacks, so I spent weeks and months researching and stumbled across cybersecurity – and decided I wanted to learn to be a hacker,” he says. 

“Doing that, while wearing my systems engineer hat, gave me an advantage because I already understood the systems I was trying to breach, rather than trying a hundred different ways to protect a system I didn’t understand”.

When it comes to innovation, Beck believes that South Africa can lead in the cybersecurity space – offering cybersecurity as a managed service and partnership, rather than a product. 

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 those specific needs. It provides the business with a live online dashboard that monitors threats and suggests solutions at a cost that suits the needs and size of the business. 

“We can innovate because businesses in the rest of the world rely on purchasing cybersecurity technology and employing experts to operate it,” he says. “That can be too costly for South African companies, so the opportunity to offer them a managed cybersecurity partnership that is scaled to suit their needs and their budget is a big one – and one that few cybersecurity companies are able to offer”.

-- ENDS -- 

ABOUT Magix

Magix is a South African company which delivers comprehensive and trusted Cybercrime Defense and Detection services to address, manage, and contain the risks and potential damage posed through the misuse of applications, or other IT information assets, by employees and/or third parties. With over 20 years of experience in cyber security and compliance, Magix is led by industry experts who continue to innovate whilst demystifying cyber security.

www.magix.co.za
www.pretect24x7.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Sanine Baird | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.