WitFoo shifts global cyber defence base to New Zealand

WitFoo has shifted its base for global growth from the United States to New Zealand, with founder Charles Herring relocating the cyber security software firm's centre of operations.

The company said New Zealand would serve as the home market for its work on what it calls a single "Cyber Grid" approach to sovereign cyber defence. WitFoo positioned the move as part of an expansion of its international footprint and partner network outside the US.

WitFoo was founded in 2016. It has worked on cyber security software products aimed at security operations and data processing.

Research Roots

WitFoo said its early development included six years of research and more than 4,000 experiments in production environments. It referenced work across Fortune 500 firms, universities and hospitals in the US, including Johnson Controls.

The company said that work produced a data science breakthrough which it now brands as "Empathetic Processing". WitFoo described the approach as an attempt to emulate how humans listen and try to understand one another.

WitFoo linked the technology to its flagship "Precinct" security operations centre platform. It also described "Empathetic Processing" as intellectual property behind its "Conductor" product, which it characterised as a pre-processing benchmark for Security Information and Event Management data pipelines.

WitFoo said "Conductor" reduces computational and storage costs by over 95% while maintaining 100% signal fidelity. The firm also said the same approach reduces the economic and energy costs of security by 98%.

New Zealand Focus

Herring framed the New Zealand shift in terms of local cyber crime impact and the country's position in technology adoption.

"Cyber crime costs New Zealand approximately $1.6B per year, " said Charles Herring, Co- Founder and Chief Executive Officer, WitFoo.

Herring linked the decision to New Zealand's standing in the international community and its approach to innovation.

"Harnessing New Zealand's reputation for and commitment to innovation, along with its standing in the international community, is a natural fit as we continue to develop our software and our 'rest of world' partner network from here. " said Herring.

"If we can play a material role in stemming that cost, it will be a win for both WitFoo and New Zealand." said Herring.

Cyber Grid

WitFoo said New Zealand would be the first country to experience what it described as "transformative sovereign cyber defences" under its "Cyber Grid" model. The company characterised its approach as a shift from passive defence to active attribution.

The firm also pointed to structural factors in New Zealand that it said make co-ordination easier for large-scale efforts. WitFoo cited the country's single central government and the presence of one military, one law enforcement agency and one security services agency.

The company did not disclose details of investment levels, local hiring plans, or the operational footprint it expects to establish in New Zealand. It also did not provide a timeline for deployment of the "Cyber Grid" concept, or the scope of its engagement with government agencies and critical infrastructure operators.

WitFoo described its work as focused on cyber defence outcomes across citizens, businesses and infrastructure. It said it aims to deliver nation-scale protection through its approach to analytics and data processing.

The company said it will continue developing its software from New Zealand alongside its partner network outside the US, with Herring stating: "Harnessing New Zealand's reputation for and commitment to innovation, along with its standing in the international community, is a natural fit as we continue to develop our software and our 'rest of world' partner network from here. "