At a glance
LegalCo*, a law firm in Cardiff, challenged ROCK to deploy SOC to secure its systems and data. Much of the firm's data was categorised as personal, sensitive and confidential and it recognised that a data breach could destroy its reputation and cost them significantly.
The situation
LegalCo* challenged ROCK to strengthen its defences against potential cyber security attacks.
In strategic partnership with LegalCo*, ROCK worked to learn about how its processes, systems and data supported its operations and how certain threats might impact the organisation. A single point of visibility for all potential threats was established to help in identifying weak links in LegalCo’s* defences.
It was discovered that LegalCo’s* disaster recovery and backup processes meant that if a data breach occurred, the most recent version of their data could not be recovered.
ROCK performed a series of tests wherein our engineers imitated the likely actions of cybercriminals. These were conducted both remotely and on-site, revealing several flaws that needed to be addressed. It was discovered that employees’ lack of education in cyber security posed one of the strongest threats and this alongside poor anti-virus and firewall configuration meant phishing emails were highly likely to cause security issues.
Recommendations
- Automate backup and recovery processes to produce three redundant copies of data on the cloud daily, and implement manual processes for storing copies of data off-site on a hard drive
- Educate current employees on workplace cyber security best practices and include automated education in the employee onboarding process
- Install optimum anti-virus software on all relevant endpoints and configure the network firewall to restrict unwanted traffic
How we helped
- SOC 24/7/365 proactive cyber security monitoring identified and prevented 13 potentially serious threats in the first year
- Employee cyber security education is automated within the employee onboarding process
- Automated backup and disaster recovery processes implemented to cover worst-case scenarios
Outcome
ROCK worked with LegalCo* to visualise its security threat landscape, including endpoints, servers, software, services, traffic and processes so these assets could be configured in SOC proactive monitoring tools and analysed for threat 24/7/365. Proactive monitoring identified 13 potential threats in the first year and defended against them before an issue occurred.
Employees were educated on cyber security best practices. This included information on how to verify emails as secure and how to identify phishing emails and fake websites. An ad hoc project was undertaken to include employee education videos and tutorials in the onboarding process so all new employees benefit from the same education.
*We value our clients and their right to confidentiality. While the name has been altered, the results are real.
