In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Jana Odineca, the Co-Founder and CTO of ORNA Inc., shares her groundbreaking approach to making enterprise-grade cybersecurity accessible for small and medium-sized businesses. With a decade of experience in the cybersecurity field, Jana has shifted her focus from offensive security measures to building AI-powered solutions that help businesses respond to cyber incidents with confidence and precision. Through ORNA, she is revolutionizing the way SMBs protect themselves from growing digital threats, offering a platform that simplifies incident response and enhances preparedness. In this conversation, Jana discusses how AI-driven tools, like incident response plans and crisis simulations, help businesses mitigate risks, reduce the impact of breaches, and ultimately thrive in today’s increasingly complex digital landscape. Whether you’re just starting to address cybersecurity or looking for ways to strengthen your existing defenses, Jana’s insights offer invaluable guidance for any business aiming to safeguard its future.
Jana Odineca is the Co-Founder and CTO of ORNA Inc., a cybersecurity company focused on delivering AI-powered incident response solutions purpose-built for small and medium-sized businesses. With over a decade of experience in the cybersecurity field, Jana began her career on the offensive side of the industry—conducting penetration tests and red team assessments—before shifting her focus to incident response, digital forensics, and cyber resilience.
Throughout her career, she has helped countless organizations navigate the chaos of cyber incidents, recover quickly, and build stronger security practices. Jana is also a member of the CTI League, an international volunteer group supporting critical infrastructure during cyber threats, and she works closely with nonprofits and SMBs to improve security awareness and readiness.
Her mission through ORNA is to make enterprise-grade cybersecurity accessible and effective for small businesses, without requiring large budgets or dedicated security teams.
ORNA positions itself as an “AI Cyber Incident Response Platform.” How does your AI-driven approach specifically benefit small and medium-sized Canadian businesses with limited cybersecurity resources?
Cyberattacks don’t just target large companies—small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often seen as easier targets due to weaker security and fewer resources. Unfortunately, many SMBs still believe they’re not at risk until it’s too late. A breach can lead to costly fines, lost data, and damage to customer trust.
The challenge is that most SMBs don’t have dedicated security teams or the time to build complex incident response plans. That’s where ORNA makes a difference. We provide an AI-powered platform that includes a complete incident response plan and customizable playbooks—so even without in-house expertise, SMBs know exactly what to do in the event of a breach.
The platform walks each team—technical, legal, communications, and executive—through their specific responsibilities in real time. AI automation ensures the right steps are assigned to the right people, helping businesses respond faster and more effectively.
It’s like having a virtual incident response team on standby 24/7. We’ve taken a process that’s usually expensive and complicated, and made it simple, accessible, and affordable—so that small businesses can protect themselves confidently, without needing to be cybersecurity experts.
Your platform claims to reduce breach losses by over 80% for all threat types. Can you share a specific example of how ORNA helped a Canadian SMB effectively respond to and mitigate a cybersecurity incident?
One example involves a family-run business in Ontario. A cybercriminal stole an employee’s Microsoft 365 login—unfortunately, this employee also handled payroll and website management. The attacker used those credentials to access the payroll system, changing bank account details to reroute employee payments. They also hijacked the company’s website, locked staff out, and added a fake payment page to scam customers.
For many small businesses, this would have been devastating. But this company had ORNA’s incident response platform. They followed our step-by-step playbook for business account compromise, which walked them through resetting credentials, regaining control of systems, and assessing the scope of the breach.
Crucially, the playbook also instructed them to involve legal counsel to stay compliant with Canadian privacy laws like PIPEDA. With legal guidance, they notified affected individuals, communicated clearly with customers, and preserved evidence.
Thanks to ORNA, they avoided fines, regained customer trust, and fully recovered operations—something many SMBs struggle to do after a breach. Without the guidance in place, they could have lost not just money, but their business entirely.
ORNA emphasizes the ability to run AI cyber crisis simulations. How do these simulations help SMBs prepare for real-world threats, and what key lessons have your clients learned from this practice?
Cyber crisis simulations are like fire drills. Everyone thinks they know what to do in an emergency—until it happens. Without practice, teams can panic, make assumptions, or miss critical steps.
Our AI-powered simulations let SMBs rehearse realistic scenarios like ransomware attacks or phishing incidents. This helps them identify weaknesses and improve their response ahead of a real crisis.
One company, during a simulation, discovered their backups hadn’t been working for years due to a hidden error—something they would’ve only realized too late. Another company realized they didn’t know where sensitive data was stored, prompting them to launch a data classification project to reduce legal risk.
Each simulation helps organizations strengthen their response, improve coordination across teams, and gain confidence. The key lesson? Preparation makes all the difference.
With over 200 integrations, ORNA aims to provide a unified dashboard for various security tools. How does this integration capability help SMBs overcome the challenge of managing multiple cybersecurity solutions?
During a cyber incident, businesses often need to pull data from multiple tools—firewalls, antivirus, email platforms—each requiring separate logins, manual exports, and secure storage.
With ORNA’s integrations, all of that information flows into one dashboard automatically. Logs, alerts, and related evidence are organized and linked directly to the incident being managed. This saves time, eliminates confusion, and ensures compliance with data retention rules.
For small businesses with limited staff, this unified view is a game-changer. It streamlines investigation, reduces the chance of missing key details, and helps teams respond quickly and effectively.
As we conclude, what advice would you offer to Canadian SMBs looking to enhance their cybersecurity posture, especially those who may be hesitant to adopt AI-powered solutions?
Cybersecurity is like dental hygiene—small, consistent habits can save you from painful and costly problems later. Start with the basics: enable multi-factor authentication, use strong passwords, back up your data, and train your team to spot scams.
You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to protect your business. But ignoring it can cost you everything.
As for AI, it’s not something to fear—it’s a tool. AI-powered platforms can simplify and automate complex tasks, helping you respond to incidents faster and with less effort. You’re still in control—it just gives you a head start. Start small, stay informed, and let technology work for you, not against you.
