On a secure course

2023 has been a challenging year. Internationally, major structural changes are taking place, and instability has become the norm. Difficult economic times and increased tensions between states are driving an increasingly challenging security landscape. Sicra is therefore investing in increased capacity to address security challenges and is entering 2024 with cautious acceleration.

Catching threats early

In mid-July, a vulnerability with a severity of 9 out of 10 was announced. Many of us were on vacation, and I myself was on a sailboat about an hour off the coast of Albania. A colleague contacted me and alerted me to a potentially serious situation. A warning was drafted and sent via the boat's satellite connection to around 120 companies that we believed could be affected. About 25 requested our immediate assistance to fix the problem, and a handful of Sicra consultants from Spain in the south to Norway in the north worked and succeeded over the next 48 hours to get the situation under control. It was the same vulnerability that was exploited to take down one of China's largest banks with a crypto virus in the fall. I feel a sense of pride and purpose in being part of a flexible and responsive defense for societal values in Norway. The cyber threat does not take a break.

Some highlights from '23

In March, we were recognized by Cloud Software Group as one of four companies in Norway with Platinum Partner status. It is our strong competence in NetScaler that ensures us this attention.

Palo Alto Networks is recognized in high-end cybersecurity and is an important part of our toolbox. We have systematically worked to increase our capacity in their solution portfolio. Our start as an early member of the Professional Services Partner Development Program was recognized in May when we won the FY22 Awards for Customer Excellence in competition with 100 international companies. Since then, we have trained and recruited additional resources, and Palo Alto Networks Norway wants to elevate us to Platinum partner status. As part of this, we will allocate more resources to their recognized and leading security solution for native cloud; Prisma Cloud.

We established a partnership with Arctic Wolf SOC-as-a-Service and are working with several companies to establish this service. For many companies, such shared services are the only economically feasible way to establish a sufficient security organization. At the same time, this should not be a service provided by your operations provider. The conflict of interest is obvious.

We have also established a partnership with River Security. Their Active Focus services can be thought of as a continuous pen-test or Attack Surface Management. With frequent changes, it is no longer sufficient for many to take an external check now and then. Active and continuous monitoring of exposed vulnerability surfaces complements, in our view, a SOC. Where SOC looks at the environment from the inside out, Active Focus looks from the outside in and can also help verify the quality the SOC delivers. We therefore perceive these as complementary services.

Our focus on the Microsoft world is primarily security and identity. We have delivered several CIS audits in the areas of Microsoft 365, Intune, and Azure. The CIS audits are configuration baselines and best practices for secure configuration of different areas. During the next year, we will also launch the service "Secure Microsoft 365 Delivery."

In December, we were admitted to the business cluster Norwegian Cybersecurity Cluster.

Throughout the year, several of our consultants have been security cleared, and a majority of the consultants are cleared.

Soon we are ten years old

In September, we turned seven years old. For those of us who established Sicra, the goal is clear. We are a good workplace for skilled people and a partner our customers appreciate. Sicra therefore continues on the same course, and the company will be further developed based on the same principles that have worked well so far.

We are soon closing a good year with exciting development and a good result. Revenue has been at about the same level as last year but has been distributed differently. We have increased service revenue by about 20 percent and also have a nice increase in subscription services, but have less product revenue than the previous year. Perhaps not unnatural given the overall market situation? Thanks to our employees, partners, and customers for the opportunities we have had throughout the year.

We have grown a bit. We have also signed four new employees who will start in the first quarter of 2024. We will then be 23 consultants and four administrative resources. We have room for even more skilled people, but the bar is high. You need to be a top professional, a good team player, and someone who cares about creating positive customer experiences through engagement and expertise. Contact us if you recognize yourself in this description.

Sicra's Christmas gift this year went to Blå Kors – Give children a Christmas to look forward to. This is an organization and a cause that was proposed and voted for by our employees. There are more families than usual struggling to make ends meet. Blå Kors does good work to alleviate this, with a special focus on the children. It is a pleasure for us to contribute to this.

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and a secure New Year.