Security, Compliance & IT Governance


IT consulting in 2025 is driven by trends like AI integration, edge computing, and quantum advancements, helping businesses streamline operations, enhance security, and adopt sustainable practices. By staying ahead of these innovations, consultants empower organisations to remain competitive, adapt to challenges, and leverage emerging technologies for growth.


Legacy systems, crucial to many organisations, pose significant cybersecurity risks due to outdated technology, lack of modern security features, and difficulty integrating with current security tools. These systems often run unsupported software, making them easy targets for cyber-attacks. Their complexity and reliance on outdated authentication methods exacerbate the risk. Recent breaches underscore the need for organisations to modernise their systems and adopt advanced security measures to protect sensitive data and stay competitive.


To de-risk and deliver multi-year IT projects, it’s crucial to embrace flexibility, transparency, and early feedback. Agile methodologies, which focus on launching early with essential features, play a key role in managing risks. Success also hinges on stakeholder engagement, adaptive governance, transparent contracting, and automation. Regular feedback, open communication, and trust among teams and clients are fundamental to overcoming challenges and ensuring project success in 2024’s complex IT landscape.


In 2024, WorkingMouse adopts a AAA approach to software security, focusing on authentication, authorisation, and auditing to safeguard user data. This layered defence incorporates modern methods like two-factor authentication, biometric verification, and session auditing to detect and prevent cyber threats. Additionally, with the rise of zero trust architecture, continuous monitoring and verification ensure both internal and external users are scrutinised, providing robust protection against evolving cyberattacks.


OpenID Connect (OIDC) is an identity layer built on top of the OAuth 2.0 protocol, used for secure identity management. It allows applications to verify a user’s identity without directly handling user accounts, simplifying authentication and enhancing security, especially in microservices architectures. The process involves user authentication via a server, code and token exchanges, and access to user information using tokens. OIDC’s flexibility and secure token-based approach make it a key tool for managing identities in modern applications in 2024.


A payment gateway acts as a secure intermediary between businesses and banks, managing transactions while ensuring compliance with payment data standards. When choosing a gateway, consider factors like ease of integration, support for mobile payments, and transaction fees. Common options include eWay, Stripe, Pin Payments, and Braintree, with pricing around 1.5-1.75% per transaction plus a small flat fee. It’s essential to start the approval process early and choose a gateway that meets both your technical and commercial needs for success in 2024.


Bimodal IT, which separates development into two modes—Mode 1 for stability and predictability, and Mode 2 for agility and innovation—remains essential in 2024 for balancing legacy systems with modern advancements. Mode 1 focuses on reliable, structured processes, while Mode 2 emphasises exploration and rapid development. At WorkingMouse, we leverage the bimodal model to ensure stability for customers while driving innovation through agile projects. Integrating both modes collaboratively helps organisations adapt quickly to market demands while maintaining operational stability.


Owning your software’s intellectual property (IP) is crucial for full control over its use and distribution. Copyright law ensures that, unless explicitly stated in a contract, developers or companies retain ownership of the software they create. By securing IP through employment and service agreements, you gain exclusive rights to make copies, publish, adapt, and commercially license your software. Without this, you risk losing control over your product, limiting its potential revenue or resale opportunities.


Artificial Intelligence (AI) raises philosophical and ethical questions, especially around its deep learning capabilities, which mimic human brain processes. While AI’s potential for efficiency is significant, concerns about bias, unintended workarounds, and the ability to switch off autonomous systems remain. As AI evolves, ongoing discussions and research aim to mitigate risks and ensure safe advancements. Though these technologies are still in early stages, we must prepare for their future impact.


Building software in 2024 comes with various risks like scope creep, productivity issues, employee turnover, technical challenges, and external factors. Mitigating these risks involves clear communication, effective planning, and using agile methodologies to stay on track. Employing the PRINCE2 Risk Management Approach—identifying, assessing, planning responses, implementing, and communicating—helps manage risks proactively throughout the project. By preparing and monitoring these risks, you can ensure a more successful software development process.


At WorkingMouse, we focus on the Four Golden Signals—latency, traffic, errors, and saturation—to monitor and optimize system performance. These metrics, part of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices, help us maintain stability, identify issues early, and enhance user experience. By integrating these signals into our DevOps reports, we ensure high reliability and performance, prevent downtime, and support effective resource management and security.


WorkingMouse has achieved ISO 27001 certification, underscoring our commitment to top-tier data security and reliability. ISO 27001 is a global standard for information security management, ensuring the protection of data, compliance, and risk mitigation. This accreditation enhances customer trust by demonstrating our rigorous security practices and adherence to high standards. For more details on our commitment to security, check out our ISO 27001 certification announcement.


Legacy systems can pose significant cybersecurity risks due to outdated technology, lack of vendor support, and insufficient security features. These systems often face challenges like security vulnerabilities, obsolete authentication methods, and inadequate monitoring. A practical solution is the like-for-like replacement, where old systems are replaced with updated versions that perform the same functions. Additionally, future-proofing strategies, such as risk assessments, data preservation, cloud solutions, and regular audits, are crucial for maintaining security during the modernization process. For more on how we handle legacy system upgrades, check out our work with the Department of Defence.


In today's world, safeguarding information and ensuring business continuity is crucial due to rising security breaches, with estimated risks reaching USD 5.2 trillion between 2019 and 2023. An Information Security Management System (ISMS) helps protect sensitive data and ensures business continuity by systematically addressing security risks. ISO 27001 is a key international standard for establishing and maintaining an ISMS, offering a framework for documentation, audits, and continuous improvement. It provides benefits such as data protection, regulatory compliance, business continuity, and adapting to emerging threats. ISO 27001 is crucial for any organization, regardless of size or industry, to manage cyber risks effectively and maintain information security.


Speed to market is crucial, but adding complex features can extend development time. Key functionalities that increase complexity and risk include offline sync, third-party integrations, advanced security, multitenancy, dynamic reporting, and multi-platform support. At WorkingMouse, we factor in these complexities and associated risks in our time estimates to avoid missed deadlines and budget overruns.


Risk is unavoidable in software development, but managing it effectively is crucial. At WorkingMouse, we use the "Cone of Uncertainty" to understand and mitigate risk by breaking projects into smaller, manageable builds. This approach helps us keep estimates accurate and reduces overall project risk. We also use "tech spikes" to allow time for research and testing of high-risk tasks before they’re fully estimated. By incorporating these practices, we manage uncertainties better and keep projects on track.


Steve Cole founded SafeWorkPro to address inefficiencies with paper-based safety documents in Cole Contracting, where managing risk assessments was cumbersome and time-consuming. SafeWorkPro digitalizes workplace safety paperwork, significantly improving productivity and compliance. Partnering with WorkingMouse, SafeWorkPro developed a user-friendly app, now with over 20 versions, incorporating features like dashboards, geotagging, and push notifications. This collaboration showcases WorkingMouse’s Codebots Platform, enhancing data collection and user engagement, and supports SafeWorkPro’s growth with over 50 active users.


As cloud computing becomes more popular, understanding its security implications is crucial. Unlike traditional IT, cloud security relies heavily on choosing a reliable SaaS provider, as cloud environments expose data to unique risks. SaaS vendors are responsible for securing data, including handling backups and subcontracting issues. Despite these risks, cloud computing offers significant benefits if managed correctly. To maximize security, thoroughly research and select reputable SaaS vendors, and ensure they implement robust protection measures.


Cloud services offer significant benefits like reduced costs and improved access but face skepticism due to security concerns. Many IT leaders worry about cloud security, fueled by high-profile data breaches like Equifax’s. Key challenges include ensuring data security, integrity, and confidentiality in the cloud. SaaS providers must implement robust security measures, such as two-factor authentication and regular security assessments, to protect user data. Despite these risks, with proper precautions, the advantages of cloud computing can outweigh the drawbacks.

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