Military-level expertise will usher in a new era of cybersecurity services for local and international companies in Bermuda through a partnership that includes a Bermudian start-up and a Portuguese international technology company.

It also means new opportunities for Bermudians to be trained in specialised cybersecurity services that promise new employment in a growing field.

It comes with strategic partnerships for Ingine, the Bermudian-owned IT security and managed IT services company.

Ingine’s collaborations involve, among others, the Portuguese company Redshift and Bermuda company QuoVadis, the provider of managed data centre, colocation and cloud-hosting services to local and international companies.

Just this summer, Ingine and Quo Vadis engaged to begin providing a comprehensive and enhanced suite of cloud solutions, managed services that enable businesses to fully digitalise their workplace while integrating existing applications, software and IT management systems.

The companies partnered to provide the Ingine Private Cloud to offer a one-stop solution for businesses to protect data and comply with the cyber code of conduct.

Ingine is focused on a security operations centre as a service, involving Lisbon and Bermuda offices, and a redundancy in case a storm closes the Bermuda office.

Security operations centre as a service provides robust protection, proactive detection, rapid response and actionable insights.

CEO Fernando de Deus said the result of their corporate collaborations will appeal to the largest international companies in Bermuda, even though Ingine is also designing packages for smaller local companies.

He said: “There is an increasing need for cybersecurity services and particularly the specialised services that we can provide.

“Obviously, that means different tiers, as different types of companies will have different needs and resources. Some of that will be provided by our partners early on, but the idea is to establish the local talent here.

“And as we build out, our local operations can also support new contracts in Bahamas, Jamaica and other places where these same services are required.”

Meanwhile, Redshift is a group specialised in cyber security solutions and services, IT infrastructure, cloud, compliance, information management, low code and they have expertise in building and operating security operations centres.

The company has a multidisciplinary team of consultants specialised in different areas of communication and IT, information security and management.

CEO of Redshift is ex-military João Manso, who worked for the Portuguese air force and Nato for 22 years. He introduced the air force to networking, data centres and micro computing.

During a Zoom meeting, he told us: “Early on, it was my job to introduce them to the internet, e-mails and websites. And when internet security became an issue, I moved on to cybersecurity, my main interest for the last 20 years.”

Since founded in 2010, Redshift has been cybersecurity-focused for large Portuguese companies and international companies that work from, or in, Portugal. Their cybersecurity work also extends to Europe and Africa. They help develop local talent, creating on-the-ground skill centres.

Mr Manso said: “We have worked with the Portuguese Government’s cyber centres since they were created, in particular with the cyber defence centre, helping the military define their strategy.

“Our company doesn’t just sell a service, but we provide a different way of understanding cybersecurity and cyber-resilience. That is the most important part.”

“We promote cybersecurity activity to the benefit of governments and private industry. But we work a lot with universities and technical schools to help them pass on the message of cybersecurity.

“So when we decided to work with Ingine, we not only wanted to bring our capabilities, but also help young people in Bermuda get the skills necessary to work with us.”

Redshift has 132 staff in different areas of activity, 56 in cybersecurity.

However, Mr Manso was quick to point out: “That is not enough. We are always searching for more brainpower in cybersecurity, new people in new geographies to work with us. This is our first move into your geography.

“We have four physical offices in Portugal, also an office in Madrid and virtual positions in Switzerland and Angola.

“We are always concerned about sovereignty of information. There is natural concern when managed security services are operated remotely, from one country to another.

“Our discussion with Ingine from the beginning has always been to ensure that customers do not lose control of their information.

“We are designing a service where that information from Bermuda customers will stay in Bermuda. Our analysts will work remotely on top of local systems. We need not store any information outside of Bermuda.”

Local training will be done through Ingine’s connection to Connectech, the technology school.

Ingine wants to build a security operations centre in Bermuda by training and enlarging the local talent pool.

Mr De Deus said: “Coral Wells and Connectech are well known on the island for the tech training they provide.

“Cybersecurity is such a broad-based spectrum of expertise and there is no reason why these jobs can’t be done by Bermudians.”

Mr De Deus worked for the Portuguese Interior Ministry in a security role and in a field office for the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.

Mr Manso has also had his share of work with the United Nations through his military role with the air force.

They will need staffing of the security operations centre needed to support and service companies under contract by Ingine.

Mr Manso said: “If you are ever in trouble, people have to communicate quickly and you need people who understand your language and context.

“So Ingine and Redshift are very focused on training locals. We want to grow their knowledge quickly so that we may also be able to use them beyond Bermuda’s borders. We will on-board them as soon as we have service. That is our mindset.”