Marcus Richards
Laneden is a small boutique Cyber-Security organisation founded by myself, Darryl Lane.
I have worked in the Cyber-Security industry for 15 years, and after all this time in the industry. After years of defence and offence, the key thing I have learned is that defending your business and customers is damn difficult. No matter your business’s size or whether or not you know what you are doing.
Whether you’re a business entirely new to cyber or you have an established track record, it can be a confusing minefield, an expensive minefield. Typically Offensive guys carry out an excellent assessment and then drop a report on your desk. I have always found this a little lacking.
In many cases, customers need more guidance and support to understand the risks of the attack vectors. What does this report really mean to THEIR business and THEIR customers? Most interactions tend to end once a report has been issued, with little to no engagement from that point onward.
I want to change that, I want to make a business that not only does great assessments but also makes sure the customer is satisfied. I want my customers to have confidence in the knowledge that even post engagement if they need guidance or simply want to bounce an idea off someone, I am there to help. I want them to see me and my experience and expertise as an extension of their business. I want them to know they can count on me, and on my organisation.
Tell us about yourself?
I have always had an interest in… well everything. From Physics, to Neurology, to macro photograpyh, to keeping and caring for various insects such as ant colonies to social engineering, to compromising your entire domain from the comfort of my own home.
I think my interests are born from a drive to understand how things work. I’ve had an interest in Cyber Security since before I even knew it was called cyber security. As a small child living in South Africa, I worked out that if you pick up a phone reciever (from a payphone or other landline) and tapped the hook switch (the switch that disconnects a connection) in a specifc way you could dial phone numbers for free. I think this was probably my first hack.
I have always loved taking things apart to try understand how they work, this drive is still strong within me and makes the world a very beautiful and interesting place.
My career spans some 15 years, within those years I have worked in both Offensive and Defensive security.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
You can’t do everything yourself! It’s just not practical.
What problem does your business solve?
Laneden fills a knowledge gap for many businesses. It helps them identify and manage their security concerns.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Laneden was inspired by all my years of experiance in the industry. I love solving problems and I could see a better way to help people and businesses.
What is your magic sauce?
I care, ultimatly a business is there to make money. They dont tend to care about the who or what. I genuinely care about my clients and want to try to make their lives easier and lift some of that fog that easily accumulates in this industry.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
I would love Laneden to grow, not only in its client base but, in itself too. I’d love to get the business self sufficient and pass on my need to help to those that work at Laneden. Making a cyber security business that truely wants to help its clients.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
So far my biggest challenges have been Marketing businesses, they all sell you the world and most give you a handful of dirt if you are lucky.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
Currently my goal is to build a lead supply line. Once this has been completed I will be looking for young technical talent. Those that truely love what they do. I plan to help individuals break into the cyber industry and help them grow into who they want to be. I really want to build a family business.
