Kroll expands into Australia with Enex Carbon acquisition

Kroll, a provider of risk mitigation, investigations, compliance, cyber resilience, security and incident response solutions, has expanded its cybersecurity offerings with the acquisition of Enex Carbon, based in Melbourne, Australia.

The deal marks Kroll's initial foray into Australia, expanding local resources in Asia Pacific, which accounted for over one-third of the global number of cybersecurity events, according to a 2018 report.

The region is at the centre of a global growth trend thanks to innovation and technological advancement, driven by the State of Victoria's goal of becoming the "cybersecurity capital of Australia."

The Enex Carbon team will join Kroll's Cyber Risk practice and will be led by managing director and Asia Pacific leader Paul Jackson, based in Hong Kong.

Enex Carbon's expertise and proprietary technology also broaden the scope and scalability of Kroll's offerings, particularly as they align with Kroll's vision of providing clients with end-to-end cyber resiliency solutions, from detection and response to remediation, restoration and hardening.

"Organisations that build and reinforce strong cybersecurity cultures are better positioned to not only mitigate cyber attacks, but also to respond and recover more quickly when incidents happen," says Kroll senior managing director and global cyber risk practice leader Jason Smolanoff.

"Enex Carbon's proven strategies for motivating employees at all levels to get behind their firms' security programs and digital transformations dovetail perfectly with Kroll's proactive cyber resiliency services and will enhance our ability to scale them for clients of all sizes.

Enex Carbon brings significant experience serving a diverse clientele across Australia, Europe and Asia, including top ASX 200 organiaations and enterprises.

The firm's SCaaS (security culture as a service) offering reflects its core focus on the "human factor" of cyber risk and commitment to helping businesses move from a check-the-box, compliance-based security awareness approach to one that improves an organiaation's cyber risk maturity at a foundational level through individual and overall cultural change.

Enex Carbon principals also have substantial expertise in cybersecurity governance and management initiatives.

"Our team is excited to be joining Kroll, not only because our clients will now have access to Kroll's global reach and end-to-end cyber risk management capabilities, but also for the opportunity to assist Kroll's clients with our proven approach," says Enex Carbon former CEO Mark Jones.

"Even the most sophisticated cybersecurity programs can be vulnerable to online and digital threats if management and employees aren't engaged and supportive, so we look forward to helping clients bolster their core defenses and resiliency.

"On behalf of all of us here in Asia Pacific and Kroll enterprise-wide, I am thrilled to welcome the Enex Carbon team," adds Jackson.

"As a dynamic global hub of financial, industrial and other commercial interests, the entire Asia Pacific region, including Australia, has become a prime target for cybercriminals. Our expanded cybersecurity expertise positions us well to help clients of all sizes in the region, from small businesses to multinational enterprises, successfully meeting the challenges of today's rapidly shifting digital threats.