The Blog

The top 5 ways to get the most out of your next security audit

By Lisa, on

Over the past few years, I’ve led and been involved in many security audits on both sides of the table, which has helped me develop some insights worth sharing. Sometimes these auditing engagements are seen as something to just get through, however, there were a few organisations which really made the most of the exercise and applied the impartial information learned to gain a more accurate understanding of their real risk exposure. After all, that is the primary reason for performing these assurance activities, isn’t it? To ensure the implementation of the most relevant controls, for managing the highest rated risks, occurs within resourcing and budgetary constraints.

So, how can you ensure your organisation gets the most out of its next security audit? Here are my top 5 recommendations: Read More

Rogue Azure Apps

By Doug Newdick, on

We’ve been seeing a bit of a buzz in the technical security press about a new method of phishing that bypasses many key security controls. Using a rogue Azure app, the attacker tricks the user into granting the app permissions to access their Office 365 email account and all of the information associated with it. Patrick Gray at Risky Business has been writing and talking up a storm on this one, and we believe that he is right to do so. In fact, we thought this was interesting and scary enough to let you know so you can understand what’s going on and maybe do something to prevent it. Read More

Axenic has moved – and we share some key learnings…

By Michael, on

It is official! The Axenic team has moved offices. We are excited to have settled into our new space which is now located on level 7, 44 Victoria Street Wellington. Over the last year at Axenic our team has been growing and we needed some more space. It feels like a while ago when we said farewell to the old office and packed up back on Saturday 15th February. A lot has changed since then including a stint at home for all of us during Covid-19 Level 4 and 3 restrictions.  However we are happy to be back in our new space, it has 3 large meeting rooms, a decent boardroom, not to mention the central CBD location. Moving is an exciting change and sometimes we forget the importance of security when the move-in day arrives. In this blog we discuss building security and other important considerations when moving offices.

Read More

What does a 1300km lockdown drive have in common with PCI?

By Ahmed ElAshmawy, on

“How does driving a 1,300km journey during the COVID-19 lockdown relate to PCI compliance?” I hear you say…

As those of you who know me, or have seen me present will know, I love a good metaphor.

Over Easter weekend I had the somewhat surreal experience of driving the 1,300km journey from home to Auckland International Airport and back again during New Zealand’s level 4 COVID-19 lockdown. On the trip home I was reflecting and couldn’t help thinking about the similarities between the lockdown, making this a safe compliant trip and PCI DSS compliance.

Read More

Tips for keeping your sanity WHILE working from home!

By Ahmed ElAshmawy, on

There is no shortage of tips, blogs, etc being published at the moment that are offering well-meaning advice for working from home.  We like to think a bit differently here at Axenic and the following blog post from Axenic Senior Consultant Tory Young is not another one of those.  Instead Tory has generously shared his experiences of working from home over the years and some of the more creative ways he has kept his sanity, productivity and most importantly – his work-life balance while working from home.

Read More