At the recent Gaborone Consumer Electronics & Technology Show, BW TechZone caught up with Lesley Ditlhotlhole, an IT/Cybersecurity specialist at local firm Carerra Holdings, to learn more about the company's ICT offerings.
Could you start by giving me an overview of the company and what you guys do?
Carerra is basically an ICT company. We offer custom ICT solutions, and these solutions range all the way from cybersecurity services, physical security services, audio and visual services, which normally include board room configurations and home systems setups.
For physical security services, we offer alarm systems, camera systems, and access control systems that can be used to regulate timekeeping in the workplace or something of the sort. We are also a service centre for multiple home appliance providers, like UNEVA and Samsung, and we help provide maintenance for their products.
We also supply hardware IT products. This can range from servers to laptops and desktops, to mobile phones. We also provide software services and products, and this can include cybersecurity services. Basically speaking, Carerra provides a very wide range of services and products that can be customized to your needs.
You mentioned your cybersecurity services earlier. What do you guys do for your customers?
We use brands such as Check Point and Fortigate to help us assist our clients in securing them against daily threats. I’m going to give you a typical example using Check Point, which is one of the leading security vendors in the world right now. What Check Point does is that they provide a range of products such as antiviruses, firewalls, and email security solutions, that can be used to protect your infrastructure at a holistic level. If we have a client that has specific, or not-so-specific needs, we can assist them in identifying loopholes in their environment through some of the pen tests that we often do for our clients. A pen test is basically just getting Carerra to penetrate your network to try to find out what weaknesses exist in your network. Then those weaknesses can be addressed before the bad guys can take advantage of them by hacking you and even exposing you to things like ransomware or any other kind of malware.
We basically give guarantee that your network is secure by conducting these penetration tests and vulnerability assessments, and giving you a solution in terms of the Check Point products that can give you continued security, and not just immediate security.
Would you say that’s what sets you apart from your competition?
Definitely. One thing that you’ll find is that other people will offer you products that are going to solve your immediate problems, but they won’t adapt to the ever-changing technology landscape. Carerra will be with you in the long run, and you won’t even have to pay the whole time. You engage Carerra and we will provide you with solutions that will last you a very long time. A very good example of that is the Check Point artificial intelligence that is used called ThreatCloud. ThreatCloud is basically a technology that collects data amongst all Check Point products all over the world, and centralizes that onto a single database, which then distributes threat and malware signatures to all the Check Point products so they can mark the threats as malicious in the event of a breach.
With the emerging trends happening currently in the world of cybersecurity, what’s your company doing to adapt to those new trends to address new challenges?
Like I mentioned, Carerra takes a very different approach, that is proactive security instead of reactive security, as is the case with most people. You’ll find that most companies will offer security after people have been breached, once people complain that they’ve been hacked. We are very proactive about approaching customers who either know or don’t know anything about security, and let them know what we have to offer them to deploy in their networks, as we are confident that if someone tried to breach their network they would be protected. Also taking into consideration the earlier mentioned ThreatCloud artificial intelligence which is a technology that is always learning about emerging threats and malwares that pose a risk to our clients. So our clients are secured before we even know of the threat as Carerra Holdings.
Are there any community or social initiatives that Carerra Holdings is involved in? Are there any projects that your company is doing to give back to the community?
Definitely. Carerra is a company that is very engaged with the community. In fact, today, as we’re speaking, our Business Development Executive is in Ntlhantlhe, where we’ve just donated a printer to Emang Junior Secondary School. This is just one typical example of the giving back that Carerra does in the community. Carerra is also a trusted giver to Ambrose Academy, which is a school for children living with disabilities. We are known to be one of the academy’s sponsors. There is also an orphanage in Gamodubu village that Carerra has adopted, and we often give out any kind of help that the orphanage would need, such as buying food, toiletries and any other amenities that they may need.
Finally, do you have any success stories that you could share with us?
100%. Just recently, we had a very big publication in the papers where Botswana Power Corporation was praising us for our security services. Botswana Power Corporation is a Check Point client, and Carerra is the direct partner with Check Point for the implementation of the products that Botswana Power Corporation uses. They were essentially praising Carerra and Check Point for the proper deployment and security of their networks. That is one of our proudest and most recent successes.
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