A Nightmare at Wonderland Enterprises

When it comes to security threats, it’s not a matter of if, but when.

Most IT teams know this. And as these threats become both more numerous and more sophisticated, modern organizations need to evolve to meet those threats, or risk substantial revenue loss and permanent damage to their reputations. The plentiful cybersecurity challenges are enough to keep a Chief Technology Officer up at night. That’s exactly what’s happening to Amir Khalil, who is awakened nearly every night by terrible nightmares about security breaches at his fictional company. He decides to take action and confront evolving security threats head-on while allowing his internal IT teams to focus on other value-added work. Let’s see if he can end his security nightmares.
 

Cybersecurity troubles “are the biggest concern for companies globally in 2022, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer.” ¹

 

The worldwide financial damage of cybercrime is expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025.²

 

Another Nightmare

Amir Khalil wakes up in a cold sweat. “Not that nightmare AGAIN,” he thinks. For the third time this week, the Chief Technology Officer has been plagued by a worst case scenario while he sleeps.

In the nightmare, his company, Wonderland Enterprises, has been hit with a massive security breach, and he’s been forced to answer for it at a press conference. Not only has Wonderland taken a big revenue hit, but their reputation is now permanently damaged. All of these security woes are happening right after the company completed a large merger.

At the press conference, Amir is peppered with question after question that points out how avoidable this was. “How did you and your teams miss such a damaging threat?” “Why weren’t you able to respond to it quickly enough when you realized what was happening?” “How many people now have access to your customers’ personal information?”

“ENOUGH,” Amir thinks to himself after reliving the nightmare. “I’ve got to do something about this.”
 

Disparete Security Systems

At the office the next day, Amir does an analysis of the state of Wonderland’s security infrastructure. Since news hit that the company was acquiring another organization, they’ve been the target of more and more security threats. This disruption is causing the IT team to spend countless manual hours responding to those threats. “And to top it all off, the company we acquired has an entirely different security infrastructure than us, which makes it even more difficult for our team to have a coordinated threat response,” he thinks.

As Wonderland continues to grow, he knows that automation is the way forward. He wants to free his teams up to deal with other technology needs instead of being bogged down investigating threats. He decides to call a meeting with his team to discuss solutions.

 

 

Only 30% of organizations in a recent study feel they can effectively keep up with the evolving cybersecurity threat landscape.³
At the IT team meeting, Amir can tell his team is tired. “Listen, I know that since the merger we’re all working longer hours to keep up with an increasing volume of evolving security threats,” he says. “That’s why I’ve asked you all to be here today.” He explains that he will be researching ways to help automate Wonderland’s security response at scale. As he announces this plan, he can almost hear a collective sigh of relief. “I’d like this to be a team effort,” he adds. “If anyone knows of a solution that might be a good fit for us, I want to hear from you.” Nancy, a newly hired Cybersecurity Engineer, raises her hand. “I have an idea,” she says.

   

 

Looking into BDO

Nancy explains that at her previous organization, they saw vast improvements in security detection, investigation, and response practices while freeing up their internal IT teams to focus on other initiatives when they started using a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP). “We worked with this company called BDO Digital,” she said. “Their managed cybersecurity solutions and services leverage Microsoft Azure Sentinel, harnessing the power of AI to stop most threats dead in their tracks.” She added that when a threat was identified, a BDO team member contacted the company immediately to explain how the threat was resolved and consult them on future actions. This quick response greatly reduced the impact of any given threat.

Amir is impressed by what he’s hearing, and decides to reach out to BDO Digital for a consultation to get more information.
 

In-Depth Assessment

Amir asks Nancy to reach out to an old contact from BDO Digital that she knew from her previous job. Brad, their dedicated BDO Digital service delivery lead, quickly connects with the Wonderland team to begin the assessment process. Over the next couple of weeks, he and the BDO Digital team do a thorough review of Wonderland Enterprise’s existing infrastructure, including the inner workings of the company they just merged with.
 

They find that Wonderland Enterprise has:

• Multiple cybersecurity solutions that deliver redundant capabilities, which balloons costs and forces IT personnel to switch between multiple different interfaces to deal with a threat.
• Inadequate coverage with an understaffed and under-skilled team who aren’t able to provide 24x7x365 support and are dealing with inconsistent processes.
• An overabundance of incident alerts, causing alert fatigue and putting them at higher risk for a serious incident.

“Now it’s probably easier for you to see why I’ve been having nightmares!” Amir says. “Well, that’s just the bad news,” Brad tells him. “But fortunately, we have plenty of good news, too.”
 

“These problems are likely not that surprising to you. Maybe you didn’t know the full extent, but your team has been dealing with them, and you came to the right place to solve them,” Brad tells Amir. Brad goes on to explain exactly how BDO Digital’s cloud-based MXDR solution will shore up Wonderland’s security vulnerabilities. “First and foremost, leveraging the power of AI to combat evolving security threats will be a gamechanger,” he says. “Most threats, everything from phishing scams and suspicious logins to ransomware, will be rapidly identified and automatically triaged, greatly reducing the likelihood it becomes an ‘incident’ in the first place.” Plus, leveraging BDO Digital and Microsoft Azure Sentinel gives Wonderland Enterprises a single, easy-to-use interface when threats do require human attention.

Wonderland can rest easy knowing that even as solutions evolve, Azure’s industry-standard compliance certifications will ensure they always remain compliant. “With the combined power of BDO Digital and Microsoft, you’ll also have a vast network of experts at your disposal 24/7,” Brad says. “And our solutions will evolve and automatically update to deal with new types of cybersecurity threats, too.”

We offer a global managed security monitoring and response solution, leveraging Microsoft Azure Sentinel.

• Monitor - Our people, processes, and technology are working for you 24x7x365
• Detect - Proactively hunt for malicious activity leveraging vast threat intelligence
• Respond - Act instantly with automated protection

  

Easy Implementation

Because BDO MDR leverages Microsoft Azure Sentinel, it’s easy to implement across Wonderland Enterprise’s current infrastructure and works seamlessly with the Microsoft products many employees use every day. Amir notices instant improvements once the company is using the solution. For one, Wonderland is able to respond to threats faster. They are also able to consolidate costs by eliminating overlapping products and licensing. “Now that our security operations are streamlined, we feel like one company moving toward common goals,” one IT team member says. Plus, Amir is able to shift his team to work on other initiatives that will help bolster Wonderland’s technological infrastructure. This includes coming up with long-term remote work practices and strategy, something they haven’t been able to focus on because they’ve been bogged down by day-to-day security operations. Just as Brad said, BDO Digital has security parameters that handle threats automatically, including suspicious logins and ransomware. “I’m so glad we decided to leverage an MSSP to handle cybersecurity,” Amir thinks.
 

High performing organizations are more aware of the benefits of automation.

78% of organizations in a Ponemon Institute study say the most important aspect of automation is finding threats before they do damage.⁴

 

No More Nightmares

Amir is sleeping better. He’s no longer plagued by visions of terrible security breaches and embarrassing press conferences. At his next IT team meeting, Amir also senses that the energy in the room is different. For one, the team actually has energy. That’s because the benefits of BDO Digital have only grown as Wonderland Enterprises continues to use it. Job satisfaction among their internal IT teams is growing steadily and the company is now able to attract and keep top talent. Having BDO Digital’s team of cybersecurity experts on hand 24x7x365 means that they are no longer taking extra weekend shifts to monitor and respond to threats. Plus, BDO Digital provides detailed monthly reports that breakdown every security incident and their response, which Amir can present to the rest of Wonderland’s leadership team as needed. “I want to thank Nancy for helping us find a security solution that has ended our collective IT nightmare,” Amir says. 

 

Sources:
1 ‘Cyber risks top worldwide business concerns in 2022,’ Help Net Security, January 2022
2 ‘Cybercrime To Cost The World $10.5 Trillion Annually By 2025,’ Cybercrime Magazine, November 2020
3 ‘2022 Global Study on Closing the IT Security Gaps,’ Ponemon Institute Report, January 2022
4 ‘2022 Global Study on Closing the IT Security Gaps,’ Ponemon Institute Report, January 2022