How to Respond Fast to Cyber Risks as well as Emerging Opportunities

The gap between a new risk appearing and it being exploited has collapsed. 

Automation, AI-driven agent tools like Claude running 24/7, and the industrialisation of cybercrime mean a vulnerability can go from discovery to active attack in minutes rather than hours. The same compression applies to market opportunities; someone else will seize them if you can’t move fast enough. 

In today’s environment, you need speed in security and also for competitive advantage. That’s why threat intelligence and incident response must operate at machine speed, turning awareness into action before attackers or competitors do. And your business needs a delivery partner that can help them flex quickly to capture first-mover advantage when new opportunities are identified.

The Cyber Risk is Real, and Immediate 

• February 2024: NZ’s third-largest university suffers a ransomware attack that forces days-long outages across learning systems, with stolen student and staff data offered for sale on the dark web. 

• May 2024: Latitude Financial hack impacts 14 million customer records across NZ and Australia, with attackers exploiting a single compromised set of credentials. 

• June 2024: Waikato health system breach follow-up shows costs in the tens of millions, with stolen medical records still surfacing online three years after the original attack. 

• Globally, the MOVEit file transfer breach (2023) hit more than 60 million individuals, including NZ-based companies.
  

These aren’t edge cases, they’re a new normal. 

Why the Cyber Attack Timeline Has Collapsed 

In the past, attackers had to manually find, plan, and execute. Now.... 

• AI-powered reconnaissance can scan for vulnerabilities across thousands of systems in minutes. 

• Automated exploit kits can run 24/7, targeting weaknesses at scale. 

• Dark web marketplaces put zero-day exploits, leaked credentials, and ransomware-as-a-service in the hands of anyone willing to pay. 
  

The motive is there (financial gain), and the means are now fully industrialised. 

But It’s Not Just Risk, It’s Opportunity 

The same tools that enable attackers also let innovative organisations move faster than ever: 

• AI-driven product pilots can be stood up in days or weeks, not months. 

• Automation pipelines can free teams from repetitive tasks overnight. 

• Predictive analytics can flag emerging market shifts before your competitors see them. 
  

The challenge? You have to keep abreast of these emerging tools, risks and opportunities and be able to act immediately. That means accessing the right expertise without the lag of recruiting or onboarding permanent staff. 

How Large Organisations Move Fast (and Why You Can Too) 

Big corporates and government agencies can pivot because they have: 

• Standing contracts and relationships with innovative delivery partners 

• Pre-approved budgets for urgent threat response and new initiatives  
  

The MomentumIQ Rapid-Response Model 

We work with clients to: 

1. Run an Initial Discovery Session – Identify gaps, surface quick wins, and prioritise action. 

2. Deploy Immediately – A single specialist or a purpose-built pod, depending on the problem or opportunity. 

3. Engage Flexibly – Statement of Work, time & materials, or fixed price, whatever best fits the urgency and scope. 

From Breach to Breakthrough 

This rapid-response approach works both ways: 

• Contain and remediate a breach before damage escalates. 

• Seize an emerging market opportunity—like piloting a new service or securing a first-mover advantage before competitors even mobilise. 

Partnering well makes your business more flexible and more resilient. Maintain access to on-demand expertise you can deploy the moment you need it to respond to risks as well as opportunities.

The team at MomentumIQ take the time to build a relationship and understand your organisation upfront looking to add true value when and where it's needed. True consultancy and customer-first rather than the tired land and expand model of larger consultancies. Explore our consulting services or book a conversation with us.