About Pākiki Security

Pākiki Security is an IT Security Company providing advice, security consulting and penetration testing (ethical hacking). The three founders have 45 years of experience in the IT industry, with 20 in security specifically.

Why choose us?

• We’re an Aotearoa-owned boutique and are based in Christchurch and Wellington.
• Our goal is to help customers improve their overall state of security. We act with mana, and will not sell a service which we do not think will help to improve your security posture.
• Other than technical tools for penetration testers, we do not sell or implement security products. This allows us to provide you with fully independent, unbiased, and vendor-agnostic advice.
• We place our customers, staff, and communities first:
  • We give 5% of our profits as a Koha to a charity decided by the staff.
  • An eco-sourced native tree is planted for every project sold.
  • We give our staff a number of perks (see below).
• We’re at the cutting edge of research and development. We develop our own tools which other penetration testing companies buy off us. We can use that research to help find the latest vulnerabilities in your projects before they’re implemented in other tools.
• Our professionals have been trusted by the majority of Aotearoa’s largest organisations and government agencies for many years.

What does Pākiki mean?

Pākiki is the Māori word meaning “to frequently question, inquire, or probe”.

Our Founders

Glenn Sparrow

Glenn has been involved in the tech industry for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience and a passion for customer management. Outside of work Glenn has been involved with a number of charitable organisations in both the Arts and Health sectors for a number of years and is a proud father and husband.

Jessica Kearns

Jess started her career in IT at a small software development company, where she carried out all technical functions, including helpdesk, software development and system administration. In 2012, she followed her passion and moved into IT Security, and started as a penetration tester. She was promoted multiple times, and from 2021-2023 was running one of the largest pentesting teams in NZ. Jess has presented on technical topics at the majority of Aoteoroa’s security conferences, including OWASP Day, CHCon/CHCamp and KawaiiCon.

Karl Barrett

Karl began his career with a BE(Hons) in electrical and electronic engineering from Canterbury University, followed by a move to software as a full-stack developer. He has been a professional penetration tester since 2015 and has conducted an estimated 300+ engagements across network, web/desktop/mobile application, and hardware in this time. Over his career in Security he has presented a range of talks and training at industry conferences as well as participated in public bug bounty programs.

Careers

We care for people and have a belief that by treating our staff well, they’ll take care of our customers. And it’s the right thing to do. As such, we offer:

• 4-day work weeks (at full pay)
• A team breakfast once a week
• Work from home
• Regular team events
• A guarantee that we will not be sold to overseas investors

We love seeing what skills and knowledge are around. While we’re not hiring at the moment, we still invite you to send us your details. Email us your CV.