Telus buys Toronto digital forensics provider

Digital WYZDOM specializes in digital forensics, network security, e-discovery, intellectual property and fraud advisory services.

The two companies have partnered in the past, according to Yogen Appalraju, vice-president of Telus Security Solutions. “They bring a very important skillset that we did not have at Telus,” he says. “This is a very niche, specialized area. When [a security breach occurs], you need to understand what happened. It’s not an easy thing to understand. If you suspect someone broke into a network, how did they do it, what did they do, what assets did they get access to? To have the forensics skills to uncover the answers is very important in today’s world.”

According to Digital WYZDOM president Daniel Tobok, the company helps clients mitigate risk caused by breaches and pursue civil litigation against offending parties with backing from court-admissible forensic evidence. Tobok says the company’s investigations span everything from wrongful dismissal cases to stock manipulation. “Really, it’s to gather evidence on who, where, what, why, to give [the client] the tools to do what they need to do.”

Tobok says an increasing number of forensics cases stem from insider threats. “Five years ago, I would have said, 80 per cent external [threats], 20 per cent internal. What we’re seeing today it’s actually 50/50 and it’s starting to tip towards internal.”

Many of Digital WYZDOM’s employees once served as digital forensic investigators for law enforcement agencies like the RCMP and regional police forces. The company employs about 30 people, all of whom will become Telus employees under the acquisition deal. There are plans to staff up, says Tobok, as Telus ramps up digital forensic services for customers nationwide.

Digital WYZDOM will eventually be rebranded under the Telus banner, according to Appalraju, and will become the cornerstone of a new forensics lab being built in Telus’s downtown Toronto office location.

Tobok will become managing director of Telus’s new forensics practice reporting to Appalraju.