Dionach, a leading independent information security company, launched its services in Dubai today by simulating a cyber-attack and offering advice on preventative measures to help companies in the Middle East.

Dionach invited around 40 companies located in and around Dubai to join them for breakfast at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Media City. Raymond Rizk, Senior Consultant and Lead Auditor at Dionach presented a phishing attack demonstrating how it can be used to compromise a network and gain access to sensitive resources. He also talked through the vulnerabilities of web applications, internal and external networks and mobile applications.

Speaking after the event Raymond Rizk said;

Cyber-crime is one of the fastest growing criminal activities across the globe. Cyber-attacks now stretch far beyond national boundaries. Helping organisations understand the threat and how to protect themselves is a major part of Dionach’s service offering.

‘Social Engineering is one of the main ways in which attackers now infiltrate organisations. Relying on human nature to bypass traditional external defences and exploiting employees by tricking them into divulging sensitive information such as user credentials, or executing malicious applications on their workstations, provides an attacker with a foothold in the network.’

Protecting company IT systems costs far less than dealing with the aftermath of a successful cyber-attack. Not only can an attack cause financial disruption to a business; stakeholders and customers lose confidence and the reputation, which has been carefully built up over the years, can be ruined.

Developing a robust information security management system, putting controls in place and performing regular independent penetration testing will help defend against successful attacks. Dionach’s team of ethical hackers test systems in a number of ways to help companies evaluate their security, identify weaknesses, before an attacker does, and recommends corrective actions to improve the overall security posture of the company.

For organisations in financial services or trading over the web, Dionach is a PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) providing reliable, practical advice on how to achieve PCI DSS compliance and maintain compliance.

Dionach has a team of experienced consultants and auditors who assist with ISO 27001 certification through a range of ISO 27001 consultancy and auditing services.

For companies new to SANS’ CIS Critical Security Controls, Dionach helps with the initial implementation of the SANS’ quick wins to achieve an in depth approach to security through implementing all of the controls.