The new roles will be created over the next three years in the areas of specialised incident management and security operations support.
Japanese cybersecurity firm Nihon Cyber Defence (NCD) announced today (27 November) that it will create 15 new jobs at its office in Northern Ireland as part of a £1.5m investment.
The investment will see the business expand its presence in Belfast through the creation of the new roles over the next three years.
NCD, which is headquartered in Tokyo, provides a range of security-related services to public and private sector organisations, including incidence response planning, risk assessment, resilience testing, monitoring and incident management. It originally announced back in 2021 that it would open an office in Belfast and launch its cybersecurity services in the UK and Ireland. The company’s move to Northern Ireland created 10 jobs.
Last year, the company announced plans to hire 12 people over the coming 12 months and move into a new office building to accommodate its growing headcount.
The company’s CEO Cartan McLaughlin is originally from Northern Ireland and has worked in Japan for more than 30 years across fintech and cybersecurity.
Dougie Grant, European managing director and global head incident manager at NCD, said that as cyberthreats are growing in both scale and sophistication worldwide, “demand for our expertise has surged across the globe”.
“Our new Northern Ireland staff will offer specialised incident management and security operations support for clients across the UK and Europe. While we considered expanding in our other UK locations, the high calibre of talent in Northern Ireland made it the ideal choice for our growth.”
Conor Murphy, the Minister for the Economy in Northern Ireland, praised the company’s hybrid-working model and said that the expansion “reinforces the north of Ireland’s position as a dynamic hub for high-quality foreign investment and innovation”.
Invest NI said that it provided the company support and guidance to secure the expansion for the region.
Executive director of international business and skills at Invest NI, Steve Harper said: “NCD’s reinvestment in Northern Ireland not only strengthens our global reputation for exceptional talent, but also brings significant international visibility to our world-class skills.”
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