In the lead up to National Cyber Week, we are working with Austcyber Canberra Cyber Security Innovation Node and UNSW Canberra on Launch in featuring some of Canberra’s leading cyber companies.

We spoke to Paul St Ledger, director of CBR Cyber. Learn about what they do, what they are proud of and why Canberra is the best place to do business.

Tell us about your company, when and why was it founded?

After each having working in the IT industry for over 14 years, myself and Mike Donaldson established CBR Cyber with a vision for a company where our customers and employees are considered valued partners of our business. We focus on our mission: to secure the applications and data of Canberra businesses and Government to help build a prosperous and safe future for Australia.

What products and services do you provide?

Our vision at CBR Cyber is to contribute to the protection of Australia’s digital economy through best of class solutions and customer partnerships.  We are a services focused business and are building further managed capabilities for the future.  Our business has two primary practices: Cybersecurity and Networking.

Our Cybersecurity practice focuses on:

• Security Architecture and Design
• Cloud Security and Compliance
• Vulnerability Management
• Application Whitelisting
• Endpoint Detection and Response
• Privileged Access Management
• Email Security
• Multifactor Authentication
• SIEM & UBA
• SOAR
• Backup and Disaster Recovery

Connectivity is the foundation upon which all modern technology is built. The demands placed on modern networks are changing rapidly as workloads shift to the cloud and users work with increasing mobility. We design, implement, and operate reliable and scalable network solutions from SME businesses to large Government departments. Our solutions and services encompass all aspects of network connectivity including:

• Cloud Networking
• F5 Networks Solutions
• Network Security
• WiFi – Public, Corporate and Secure Government wireless
• Software Defined Networks
• Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
• Network Access Control
• Network Automation
• Security Policy Automation
• Micro segmentation Solutions

Tell us about the skillset and dynamic of the team?

With a combine experience of over 25 years working in the IT industry co-founders, fellow systems engineers and cybersecurity professionals, Paul St Ledger and Mike Donaldson, established CBR Cyber Pty Ltd.  Paul heading up sales and Mike the technology strategy, CBR Cyber’s mission is to secure the applications and data of Canberra businesses and Government to help build a prosperous and safe future for Australia.

Before CBR Cyber, Mike was leading a cybersecurity practice and a team of security engineers engaged in the design and implementation of cloud solutions, essential 8 security technologies, secure networks and vulnerability management programs. Mike has experience with Tenable Nessus, Palo Alto Networks, Application Whitelisting, Splunk, F5, Cisco, and VMware SDDC technologies. Over 14 years of industry experience, Mike has worked in Government and Private sector roles in Australia and the UK leading technical teams, Network Operations Centres (NOC), cyber security projects, firewall implementations, data centre migration projects as well as extensive LAN, WAN and Wireless projects.

Paul is a network and systems engineer who moved into sales and business management.  Prior to CBR Cyber, Paul was an Account Executive responsible for a suite of whitespace and incumbent accounts across Local & Federal Government, Education and Energy.  Paul’s focus is to assist organizations to simplify their IT environments so they can focus on their business.  He led sales teams through solution consulting, requirements gathering and then architecting well rounded robust network, cloud, storage, collaboration and cyber security solutions. Backed by over a decade of practical experience in deploying wired and wireless access layer technologies, WAN, data centre, security gateways and firewalls. Paul’s experience covers multiple vendors and a length and breadth of architectural, project and operational focused roles.

Tell us about the current cyber landscape in Australia?

There is so much change happening in the world at present, it can sometimes seem like planning more than a week ahead is an impossible task. A once in a 100-year global pandemic and accompanying recession have created hurdles many of us have never faced in our lifetime. At the same time digital change has increased in speed and disruption to traditional industries and our daily lives is hard to ignore. The rapid move to online and connected workplaces has enabled the new way of working. Working from home has become an essential way of keeping our economy ticking and it may prove to be a long-term operating model for many organisations. At the same time cloud adoption is now mainstream and the traditional IT network will likely never look the same. While much of this change is resulting in better outcomes and productivity, for some it is an opportunity for harm. Increasingly sophisticated and well-resourced bad actors are continuously probing Government, Critical Infrastructure and Business networks for any opportunity to gain access or information. Their motivations are wide and differing but these bad actors only need to find one weak link to succeed in their mission. Our mission, is to reduce their opportunity and enable business through our networking and cybersecurity services.

What advice do you have for startups and business around cyber security?

As Mike would say: every coffee is a good coffee! Leverage your connections, create new ones and stay persistent without being pushy.  But most importantly: foster a brilliant company culture.

What are you most proud of so far?

The response from our peers in the industry, client base, vendors and broader Canberra Cybersecurity industry getting behind us and supporting us.

What quote or philosophy do you stand by?

Not sure where it came from, but it’s a saying that goes something like “ Keep putting one foot in front of the other, because one day you’ll look back and realised you’ve climbed a mountain”.  This philosophy is about growth in determination, taking small steps and building success.  Something that CBR Cyber lives by as we work on our mission to secure Australia’s data. Sounds cheesy, and to be honest, we’re not that kind of company. I’ve had enough all staff meetings in my time with those quotes plastered on death-by-PowerPoints.  But the saying is very true!

Why do you think Canberra is a great place to do business?

It’s a brilliant place to live.  We have blessed with easy commutes, great access to public services, brilliant education system, health system and I have to say: the best coffee in the world!  We are able to live in a city with some of the most progressive policies in the country, a highly educated population and a solid and stable economy.  We believe Canberra should be the Cybersecurity Capital, and we are actively invested in playing our part, especially though programs like UNSW Launch. We are incredibly proud of our City- so much so our airport code is in our name!