Cover Story
Just about every business is digital today. Maintaining cybersecurity in a constantly evolving threat landscape has become the real challenge for businesses and ransomware and data thefts are rampant.
For larger companies, cyber attacks can lead to a financial loss but for small and medium organizations (SMOs) it threatens their survival. The damages suffered may be insourmountable. CyberCatch provides an AI-enabled continuous cyber risk mitigation solution that first helps implement all of the necessary cybersecurity controls, then continuously tests the controls to detect failures and helps promptly fix through the cloud-native SaaS platform.
CEO Views is pleased to recognize CyberCatch on the cover of this issue, leading the list of “Top 50 Most Innovative Companies to Watch in 2023.” We sat down with Sai Huda, Founder, Chairman and CEO, CyberCatch for an interview. Sai is a globally recognized cybersecurity expert and author of the best-seller, Next Level Cybersecurity. He is a frequent keynote speaker at industry conferences and recently helped author the world’s first cybersecurity standard for small and medium organizations (SMOs), Canada’s national standard CAN/CIOSC 104, Baseline Cybersecurity Controls for SMOs.
CEO Views: CyberCatch provides an innovative AI-enabled cybersecurity Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. The firm enables an organization to implement cybersecurity controls quickly and cost-effectively and then to maintain cyber risk mitigation. How did you develop this idea? What was your mission at the outset?
Sai Huda: I had started a compliance risk management SaaS company, Compliance Coach, a few years ago, and sold it to FIS, a Fortune 500 company and one of our customers was a large U.S. government agency that required me to obtain a top-level security clearance, which I did. However, after my security clearance information, including a copy of my fingerprints was accessed in a data breach at the government agency, I was shocked as to how this could have happened. So, I left FIS to research all the significant data breaches in the world and write the book, Next Level Cybersecurity. The book became a best-seller, and one of the dignitaries that read my book was Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He became a mentor to me and inspired me to start CyberCatch to solve the root cause of data breaches and ransomware attacks, and to focus on the most vulnerable, such as small and medium organizations (SMOs), who are the majority of the supply chain.
CEO Views: What type of unique solutions and services does your firm provide? Can you brief us about them?
Sai Huda: The root cause of data breaches and ransomware attacks are security holes that an attacker finds and exploits before the organization can self-detect and fix. The security holes happen from missing or ineffective cybersecurity controls. CyberCatch solves the root cause to prevent data breaches and ransomware attacks. The AI-enabled cloud-native platform SaaS solution first ensures all necessary cybersecurity controls are implemented and compliance is attained with a mandate, requirement or standard. Then the solution automatically and continuously tests the controls to detect security holes and helps eliminate so an attacker cannot exploit and be successful. The solution is unique, innovative and patented, and like no other. It is most affordable and highly effective.
CEO Views: Your customers business, help them operate safely, and avoid data theft or ransomware attack?
Sai Huda: Every single organization is digital today, because they use email and have a website or web servers or web applications. Since they are digital, they are a target for threat actors. CyberCatch utilizes AI to enable the necessary defence to prevent a data breach or ransomware attack, so the organization can operate safely and be successful, and not become a victim of a cyber-attack and suffer a loss financially and reputationally.
CEO Views: What does it take to be continually at the forefront with cutting-edge thought leadership and cybersecurity expertise?
Sai Huda: People, process and technology are the keys. One has to first put a world-class team together starting from the board of directors, advisory board, executive management and rest of the team and one has to create a culture of innovation and excellence in everything one does in the company. Everything has to be of the highest quality. Then comes building solutions that are superb and most effective to delight customers and truly solve a massive problem. We have a CyberCatch Lab in the company where we identify possible solutions to solve massive problems. This is where ideation happens. Then we marshal the team to bring it from concept to a solution and success. This is how one attains excellence and success. But it is a journey not a destination, one has to continually excel.
CEO Views: How do you come up with the most exclusive business ideas? Can you disclose to us some basic things that according to you, help in the process of growth of a cybersecurity company?
Sai Huda: The key to success is to put together a great team to solve a massive problem with the optimal solution that is unique and innovative. Then to continue to stay one step ahead by staying focused on the mission and never being complacent but always humble and striving for excellence. Always making sure we are serving our customers with a value proposition that truly solves the problem, is superb and delights the customer and truly makes a difference.
CEO Views: How does your firm track the effectiveness of technology at work?
Sai Huda: Fortunately, I had had the privilege of creating and leading two other businesses and growing them to be market leaders. For example, prior to starting CyberCatch, I was able to create and lead the Risk, Information Security and Compliance Solutions business at FIS to attain number one ranking in RiskTech100. Previously, I created and led Compliance Coach to be the premier compliance risk management SaaS solution provider in financial services serving thousands of customers but also all of the regulatory agencies. These were invaluable experiences. Also, I have had the good fortune of having several mentors in my life from whom I have learned about innovation, leadership and how to create value for investors and customers.
CEO Views: What type of working culture do you maintain in your firm? What does it take to build a great team?
Sai Huda: It starts with me as the Founder, Chairman and CEO. I believe in leading by example, and leading to serve. Serve customers, team and investors. Every day I get up and think how can I serve so we are successful as a team and make a difference each and every day. We also have a set of guiding principles in the company that we all strive to apply each day. For example, one of the guiding principles is attitude, others are excellence and results. Our team strives hard to execute each of the guiding principles and we recognize, learn from and celebrate each success.
CEO Views: How does your firm manage to stay updated on your industry trends? What is the differentiating factor that makes it stand out?
Sai Huda: What we have built is truly unique and innovative as validated with our patents and by our customers and partners in the marketplace. From building a solution that solves not only a massive problem, but the root cause of the problem, is what separates us from the rest of the marketplace. But we need to continue to be a step ahead and innovate and make sure we continue to deliver maximum value and results for our customers and transform cyber risk mitigation forever.
CEO Views: What challenges did you overcome while meeting your clients’ demands to date?
Sai Huda: The main challenge was to build a unique, innovative, AI-enabled SaaS solution that was effective and would solve the root cause of data breaches and ransomware attacks. We have accomplished this and have obtained several patents from the USPTO for our invention. Now we need to continue to innovate by continuing to enhance the SaaS solution so it remains the best in the marketplace.
CEO Views: What future plans do you have for expanding your firm’s growth more efficiently?
Sai Huda: We have signed up many customers in North America, but now we need to scale and sign-up more customers around the world, with a focus on the most vulnerable, such as the small and medium organizations (SMOs), and others. In the next few years, we envision to be known world-wide, as the standard to be compared to, as the most effective continuous cyber risk mitigation solution.
