Açoriano Oriental
Jolera opens cybersecurity operations center

The Canadian cybersecurity company presented its operations center at Nonagon in Lagoa. Alex Shan, CEO of the company, reveals that the goal is to reach 70 employees in the Region by the end of next summer


Autor: Ana Carvalho Melo

The Canadian multinational information technology company Jolera opened an operations center at São Miguel Science and Technology Park (Nonagon), dedicated to cybersecurity.

"We are in the business of cybersecurity and infrastructure management, which are areas that go hand in hand. We started as an infrastructure management company and in the last decade we have integrated cybersecurity," Alex Shan, Jolera's CEO explained to Açoriano Oriental.

According to him, cybersecurity is one of the biggest concerns today, both in companies and in various government departments.

“Computer attacks are affecting banks, insurance companies... They are affecting everything. Five years ago, cybersecurity insurance wasn't even an idea," Shan stated, explaining that Jolera's role is not only to protect companies from attacks, but also to help solve them if they happen.

Alex Shan also pointed out that most computer attacks are carried out by criminal organizations, equivalent to what was the Mafia 30 years ago.

“Today the mafia does not exist in the same way; instead, we have organized groups of people whose purpose is to attack cybernetically,” he said, recalling that, with the growth of teleworking, companies can be attacked from the workers' homes.

“Hackers no longer have to attack the office. Today, with the growth of teleworking, due to Covid-19, the weakest entry point became home computers. And, from there, hackers hit the companies", he explained.

Jolera currently has 20 employees in the Azores, but the goal is to increase this number.

"By next summer, we should have about 70 employees and the goal is for that number to exceed 100 by the end of 2023".

Jolera has also been contacting educational institutions and has already signed a protocol with the University of the Azores.

"We bring technology and knowledge to the Azores, with the objective of working with schools and universities to create specific cybersecurity programs and to create valuable jobs in the region," Shan said.

Regarding the choice of São Miguel Island for its operations center, the company explains that it results from a search for new geographies, in which "the Azores represent an interesting bet due to the conditions of the Science and Technology Park of São Miguel" and the "existing regulatory framework at the level of support measures, in particular those aimed at contracting".

In Portugal, the company is already based in Porto, where its European headquarters is located.

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