'‘My son says ‘What do you do dad? Are you a hacker?’’’
For Nick Baty, explaining to his son what he does for work is not far from what he does do for work — breaking down something complex to something people can understand.
‘‘I say no, I’m not a hacker.
‘‘What I am is someone who helps organisations, companies and people look after the information they need most to make them successful.
‘‘I help them be as successful as they can and help keep them as safe as possible so when things may not go that well they can be as prepared as they possibly can.’’
Born in Auckland, Mr Baty had spent almost all his working life in Government departments in Wellington. Before joining Computer Concepts Limited (CCL) as a primary consultant for security in September last year, he was Ministry of Health chief security adviser in IT for about two years.
He spent a decade working at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a branch of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB).
Mr Baty’s Dunedin employer provides ICT solutions for a wide range of customers in Otago.
The company was founded in 1990 and has offices in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown and Invercargill.
Mr Baty decided to move his family to Dunedin, his wife’s home town, after successfully approaching CCL’s Christchurch office about a job.
They were living on the Otago Peninsula; Mr Baty described life there as something he and his children could not have had in Wellington.
‘‘A lot of people [in Auckland and Wellington] socially they will go out and do an activity a lot — they might go to the movies or go to the restaurant.
‘‘But what I really enjoy about here is people take the time to know each other. If you go out and do something it’s potluck dinner or you actually spend time [together].’’
His children had been building tree houses at the back of their section and enjoying the company of the neighbour’s children.
His family also enjoyed visiting the Otago Farmers Market and Mr Baty was particularly fond of the architecture and the history in Dunedin.
His job with CCL was more about mentoring and stewardship than it was about the ‘‘nitty gritty’’ of IT security.
One of the main aspects of the role was understanding and then guiding the company’s clients when they made decisions about cyber security.
‘‘What was of real value to [CCL] was my experience in dealing with a wide range of organisations. When I was at the NCSC ... I was able to have constructive, pragmatic and proportionate conversations with a wide range of organisations in a way that makes sense to them.
‘‘It’s as much about the ability to construct and develop meaningful relationships around a complex topic as it was around having public sector experience.
‘‘While we get public sector clients ... we have such a broad range of clients it’s as much about me learning around how different industries and areas work now as it is about sticking to my old stuff ... And I’m after a challenge so it wouldn’t be super interesting if I stuck to my public sector stuff.’’
A lack of skilled workers posed a challenge for IT security, and Mr Baty praised the SIGNAL ICT Grad School for its role in training people who wanted to get into the industry.
Another challenge he faced was helping a number of Dunedin businesses move files from computers and hard drives into cloud services.
‘‘It’s like any technology. Understand what it is you’re investing in and what it means for you and the information you hold.’’
