The Blog

Axenic Lightning Talks Series – March 2025

A few years back, we kicked off our own internal lightning talks—our way of having a good old geek-out over cybersecurity topics that get our Governance, Risk, Assurance, and Compliance brains buzzing. Think of it as a slightly more structured version of those deep and meaningful yarns we used to have around the office coffee machine… before COVID did its thing and made us all experts in online meetings awkwardness instead.

These blogposts are not written by one team member. The content is provided to you by the whole Axenic Team – or whomever attended on the day.

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From iced matcha tea to qualification: The rollercoaster ride to becoming a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA)

Axenic PCI QSA JourneyAlways remember this -> Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

If you’re reading this blog, you probably already have some experience with security standards and certifications – maybe you even hold a few yourself. In this blog, I will shed some light on my own journey to gain the QSA qualification and break down the steps I took to make this happen. 

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Stay ahead: Strengthen your business with third-party risk management

Third Party Risk Management

With the fast-paced business style, organisations nowadays heavily rely on third parties such as vendors, suppliers, logistics partners, cloud services providers, etc. These partnerships can offer great benefits but also could expose your organisation to risks. That’s where third-party risk management (TPRM) comes into play. TPRM provides a structured approach to evaluating and mitigating these potential risks.

Ready to take control and protect your business? Let’s dive into the world of TPRM!

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Plus ça change

When Chris Blunt and I started Axenic back in 2009, John Key was Prime Minister, Barack Obama had just become President of the USA and told Benjamin Netanyahu that he should freeze settlement construction in Gaza to enable movement towards a two-state solution, and a Royal Commission recommended that the 8 Auckland region local government bodies merge to form a “supercity”.

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