The cyber security services firm Bridewell has opened its 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Wales. The company describes it as largest investment in property to date. The SOC will identify and respond to threats, via 24/7/365 threat intelligence, incident response, and managed detection and response (MDR), as run by 50 industry-certified consultants. Bridewell says it provides a fivefold increase in capacity, allowing the company to scale in line with client needs. Both CREST and SOC 2 accredited, the SOC is available as a fully outsourced or hybrid model.
The SOC also forms a part of the company’s links with Welsh cyber partners, including Cyber Colleges Cymru, a government initiative that creates pathways into a career in cyber for sixth form college students, and the University of South Wales. Bridewell partners with the university for internships and apprenticeships, with students embarking on a development plan to build the skills needed to run a SOC, under the guidance of Bridewell analysts.
The firm adds that the new SOC caters for all styles of working and is powered entirely by renewable energy.
Anthony Young, Co-CEO at Bridewell says: “The new SOC provides significant scale and capability to ensure we can continue to provide our clients a leading managed detection and response service. It will also support Bridewell’s growth in developing much-needed skills across offensive, defensive, and threat intelligence domains. What’s more, our commitment to developing skills across wider cyber communities will see our experienced professionals helping to shape the next generation of young cyber talent. Our SOC will bring people and communities together in a collaborative and sustainable space where cyber skills can flourish.”
The firm says that demand for managed security services is surging across the UK as organisations continue to grapple with a cyber skills shortage. Recent Bridewell research suggests that nearly a third (31pc) of cyber decision-makers in critical national infrastructure organisations don’t have the skills to run a modern SOC and over two-thirds say it has become harder to recruit the right resources to secure and monitor their systems over the past 12 months.
The company’s co-CEO Scott Nicholson was interviewed in the September print edition of Professional Security as part of the magazine’s coverage of the Infosecurity Europe show in London, where Bridewell was an exhibitor. The company reports a 100pc increase in SOC analysts in the last year alone. The company recently announced an expansion to the US with a new office in Houston, Texas, and is hiring ten to 12 in cyber a month, with headcount set to double in the next 12 months.
Bridewell is also set to open a forensic lab within the SOC next year. Visit www.bridewell.com.
