Worldwide Currencies cyber resilient, with ITHQ strategic solutions

Worldwide Currencies is a global trading platform

London based market leaders in foreign currency, Worldwide Currencies, offer the best foreign currency exchange rates with no commissions and free wire transfers.
Whether clients wish to buy property abroad, emigrate to another country, set up regular international payments or send money back to the UK, Worldwide Currencies can help. They offer personal, business and institutional specific services and are rapidly expanding.
When the business was hit with a ransomware attack in 2021, they were recommended ITHQ as the experts who could help them recover.

Tactical review and SAFE cyber strategic review allowed fast deployment of critical tools to restore data and secure networks

Best of breed solutions deployed for multi-layered cyber security and continuous vulnerability management

Cost savings realised as superior solutions deployed

Data visibility now 100%, up from only 20% pre-ITHQ engagement. Alerts prioritised and remediated before any internal alarm is raised

Worldwide Currencies is now confident their resilience partner is accountable for their solutions and contract terms are simple and clear

All systems monitored and activities logged

It was Easter Sunday when I heard the words nobody wants to hear, 'there's been a breach'. I had never considered we could be a target for cyber criminals because I thought we simply weren't big enough: surely they'd go after a large bank or a larger trader, for instance. First lesson: data is currency and any business is a target. Everything was encrypted. Then came the ransom note. It was a heart-stopping moment and our former security partner could not help us when it came to the crunch.
We are foreign currency, transfer and trading experts. We rely on external resources to be our cyber security experts.ITHQ stepped up for us very quickly at a time of extreme stress. We were in lockdown, working remotely and it was a bank holiday weekend. Scott and his team got well and truly stuck in to get us back up and running as quickly as possible. ITHQ were the voice of calm reason when we were having sleepless nights. Cyber crime is not always just a simple hack. This was organised crime and they had clearly spent time gathering information about us.

Why ITHQ?

We learned the hard way that not all tech businesses are the same. Although we felt our security was the responsibility of our previous partner, their small print stated our security was our responsibility.
I needed to find a real cyber security expert fast. I turned to a trusted partner and they recommended ITHQ to me. Scott, the CEO of ITHQ, got stuck in straight away. He was fantastic. Not only knowledgeable regarding what we needed to do to secure our business, he was also incredible at rallying the troops and keeping me calm and focused at a very stressful time.
We did not pay the ransom. ITHQ helped us find a way to restore our data. They told us exactly what we needed to do to secure our business and implemented solutions immediately that give us total visibility of our networks.

Resilience Service Summary

100% network visibility, prioritised alerts

Trusted, accountable IT partner

Strategic resilience, multi-layered security

Teams trained in security awareness

Full logging and monitoring

Regulatory standards surpassed

Next generation XDR endpoint protection

Wireless network refresh

Firewalls updated

Highly responsive support team

Ransomware attacks are a threat to all businesses, regardless of size or sector. Worldwide Currencies did not consider themselves a target. Yet cyber criminals don't necessarily investigate targets prior to attack. Instead, their bots attack networks relentlessly and only learn about the business they have breached once they are inside.
Once 'over the wall', the criminals will then put a ransom value on the data. In the case of Worldwide Currencies, all data was encrypted including most backups and the ransom was substantial.

The downtime caused by this ransomware attack cost Worldwide Currencies a great deal in lost trading revenue. It also caused a huge amount of stress. Further woe was added when they realised that the contract with their former IT partner did not clearly state accountability for security.
The more regulated a sector, the greater the need to work with qualified, experienced experts who hold accountability for the solutions they deliver. For true operational and technological resilience, a strategic approach to multi-layered security is essential.

Paying less for a better service was not something I was expecting. I now have expert advisors that I implicitly trust. I have sometimes suggested tools or software to the team and they've said, 'no, you don't need that.' Whereas past partners would have happily sold me something I don't need, ITHQ have never done that.
Every project ITHQ have managed for us has gone smoothly. They go above and beyond every time, ensuring a seamless experience for us. I can't fault them. We have regular catch ups where they keep me not only updated, but ahead of any projects. They contact me before any maintenance happens, pre-warning me so that I don't panic if I see something unexpected on the system.
I absolutely recommend ITHQ to any business that takes security and resilience seriously. It is their proactive approach, customer service and expertise that really sets them apart. They are responsive and take responsibility for everything they do. It's refreshing. I get proof of every action, every patch, every update. I am never left guessing and if I raise a query, I receive a response within twenty minutes. I feel very safe working with them and having experienced the horror of a breach, I can't put a price on having that peace of mind.