ODTN Mart CISO: “Our Trust in Third-Party Defenses Is Unshaken”

Vancouver, BC —

Cyber lead signals confidence in outsourced security as internal fatigue quietly builds.

July 21, 2025 — In an exclusive interview with ODTN News, Dr. Kavita Sandhu, Chief Information Security Officer at ODTN Mart, defended the company’s growing reliance on managed security providers (MSPs), brushing aside recent reports of staff turnover and escalating workload among internal cyber teams.

“We’re aligned with top-tier security vendors who understand our environment deeply,” said Dr. Sandhu. “That trust allows us to stay focused on what matters — keeping systems resilient without bottlenecking innovation.”

Calm Above, Friction Below

The statement follows weeks of reports across the retail sector pointing to increased burnout among in-house IT and security professionals. But Dr. Sandhu framed ODTN Mart’s security posture as proactive and balanced, citing regular audits and “well-tested partnerships” as proof of stability.

“This is a time for smart delegation,” she added. “You don’t build resiliency by overextending — you build it by knowing when to let your partners lead.”

Still, multiple former ODTN Mart cyber staff, speaking off record, described the environment inside the SOC as “high-volume, low-voice” — a place where alerts are constant, but executive engagement is increasingly distant.

“The dashboards light up. The tickets queue. But no one asks how we’re doing — just whether the SLA is met,” one former analyst said.

A Familiar Pattern?

Cyber governance researchers say ODTN Mart’s model reflects a growing trend among large Canadian enterprises: optimizing visibility and reporting over direct investment in internal resilience.

“MSPs offer scale and flexibility,” said Dr. Aashir Rao, fellow at the Western Institute for Civic Integrity (WICI). “But overdependence on external coverage creates blind spots — especially when internal teams are understaffed and overstretched.”

Dr. Sandhu disagrees.

“We run drills. We run diagnostics. And we still run lean — by design. There’s no evidence that bloat equals better protection.”

Confidence, or Containment?

When asked whether her team had flagged recent retail sector “data harmonization conflicts” as potential precursors to larger systemic issues, Dr. Sandhu declined to comment, citing ongoing reviews.

She did, however, reinforce her central message:

“The frontline is shifting. The question isn’t whether you outsource — it’s whether you do it with eyes wide open. At ODTN Mart, we do.”

Following the risk behind the ROI. — Leila Park

ODTN News’ Mira Evans & Ayaan Chowdhury contributed to this report.