Credit: Deloitte
Big four consulting firm Deloitte Australia has added to its cyber security armour, purchasing Sydney-based cyber consultancy Hacktive.
Founded by CEO Chris Gatford and Keith Hazelwood in 2018, Hacktive specialises in the full range of cyber risk services including vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, managed security services provider (MSSP) services, testing and incident readiness and response.
The team of ten operates from Sydney, and primarily works with clients across the financial services, health, utilities, retail and public sectors.
As a result of the acquisition, Gatford will become a Deloitte Risk Advisory partner, and Hazelwood a Risk Advisory principal, becoming part of Deloitte's professional services arm on 11 October. The financial terms of the deal have not been revealed.
“Cyber risks are global and evolving faster than organisations can react. Hacktive focuses on helping clients understand the security vulnerabilities of their networks, applications, premises and people and delivering the right solutions,” Gatford said.
“Keith and I have built our business over a relatively short period of time on understanding the market and employing a team of highly experienced cyber professionals. We’re aligned with Deloitte, its strong client service focus and its workplace culture, and looking forward to taking our offerings to another level.”
Deloitte risk advisory managing partner, Steve Jansz said the incoming team from Hacktive will elevate its current cyber practice, bolster its ability to provide managed cyber security services and expand capacity within its Cyber Intelligence Centre.
“We are seeing strong demand from our clients across the spectrum of end-to-end cyber capabilities, helping to implement robust cyber strategies and solutions to achieve organisational outcomes, build resilience, and reduce potential vulnerabilities,” Jansz said.
Deloitte cyber leader, Ian Blatchford added there was a strong market demand for managed cyber security services, including in the private business segment, focused on managing information, privacy and risk via the right security technology architectures.
“Hacktive’s cyber specialist team is experienced in the delivery of penetration testing and managed cyber security services,” Blatchford said. Their arrival will complement our existing capabilities, including our global network of Cyber Intelligence Centres that have been helping clients understand and address their cyber threats for some years now.”
The acquisition news follows Deloitte's launch of its managed security services provider (MSSP) practice as it attempts to provide Asia Pacific (APAC) customers 24-hour threat detection.
The Australian branch of global systems integrator has launched its managed extended detection and response (MXDR) service, which combines a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform with MSSP offerings.
Optus has also called on Deloitte to conduct an independent security review following its recent data breach, looking into the telco's security systems, controls and processes.
