SBL Cyber Monitoring: Dutch Solutions to handle cybersecurity incidents
In our digital age, guarding against cyber attacks has risen to the forefront of concerns for businesses, both small and large. Stef Liethoff and Jan Jaarsma have been working in cybersecurity for the last 25 years and teamed up to found SBL Cyber Monitoring while working in neighbouring offices at HSD Campus. Both Stef and Jan have entrepreneurial backgrounds, with Stef (CEO of SBL Cyber Monitoring) having started and sold a company and Jan (CTO of SBL Cyber Monitoring) having his own company that still exists today.
SBL Cyber Monitoring provides security monitoring to detect threats and cyber attacks early, with a focus on building intelligent tools to provide faster responses. “A lot of midsize and small companies…don't have their own skills to [follow up on] cybersecurity incidents,” Stef explained. “So we help them to find the incidents to give them actionable information to handle cybersecurity incidents.” They also work with company’s IT partners to give vital information on how to follow up when an attack happens. One of their tools is WatchEagle Detection and Response, which draws inspiration from the Mitre Attack Framework. This tool breaks down security monitoring into unique tasks which are performed by “agents”. This agent framework allows for an incredibly agile solution that Jan mentioned can be used for everything, but they have decided to focus on security. As Jan put it, “the power of WatchEagle is flexibility.” Their tool is able to detect attacks within the Mitre Attack Framework and report based off of the framework, allowing their customers to receive information in a recognized international standard.
Their flexibility also extends to the team, which Stef sees as a real competitive advantage as they can “outsmart [competitors] by our framework, our services, our flexibility, but also with [our] price.” Jan and Stef see the value in finding a good mix between automated systems and human powered work. By creating this mix, SBL Cyber Monitoring is able to “create potential alerts that are as informative as possible” as Jan added.
With their strategic location at HSD Campus, Stef was intrigued by all of the cybersecurity initiatives happening in The Hague and drew inspiration from talking to other companies within the field. The proximity and connections to major universities has been a big advantage as well. SBL Cyber Security worked with a student from The Hague University of Applied Sciences (De Haagse Hogeschool) who wanted to work within the OT (Operational Technology) security market. Together with the student, they successfully ran a proof of concept with their tools for an OT security customer. Although they are focused on the Netherlands and are even working on an assignment for the Dutch government, they have US based clientele and Stef aptly said “we are not bound to boundaries.”
Jan and Stef are both from in and around The Hague and with a goal of expanding within the Netherlands, HSD Campus was a logical choice to open their office. They enjoy being able to meet with companies facing similar challenges and their team appreciates the chance to join events, talks, and lectures from speakers coming from around the world. SBL Cyber Monitoring was even partnered with another HSD Campus based company before that company was acquired. If you’d like to learn more about about SBL Cyber Monitoring, check out their website to learn more about their unique solution.
