Challenge
A higher education organization had limited resources and budget to invest in cybersecurity. The company had legacy technology in place, and the biggest challenge was that their team was so overwhelmed by the number of tools and products they had.
Like many educational institutions, this organization needed to protect three very different groups: faculty who utilize company technology, current students with their own devices also utilizing school technology and alumni who still have access to their school emails. Although not directly responsible for student and alumni technology and devices, the school needed to be able to monitor student and alumni email security effectively to mitigate possible business email compromise threats.
The organization did not have the resources to hire more people, and the limited budget for the business made it challenging to implement new technologies.
Solution
The organization already invested in Microsoft Security A5 licensing, so Difenda optimized their current toolset and implemented Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) for faculty and extended Managed Email TDR, powered by Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to students and alumni.
During the initial email security health check, Difenda optimized its Microsoft tools and identified multiple vulnerabilities. We then collaborated on establishing policies, procedures, and documentation to enhance the existing security posture. To help streamline cybersecurity management Difenda operationalized the Difenda Shield so the team had a single pane of glass view into their entire system. Difenda also took on some of the heavy lifting and operational activities, implementing controls such as security awareness training and threat intelligence.
Outcome
Increased Visibility
Improved ROI
Saved Time And Resources
Met Multiple Persona Requirements
Impact
The business saw a significant improvement in cybersecurity by implementing MXDR and Difenda Managed Email TDR. Their lean staff can now alert and contain business email threats across their entire email network in minutes and focus on other aspects of their work while the Difenda SOC takes care of threat response.
Difenda’s flexible and modular approach to cybersecurity management was able to help the business address its needs while accounting for its budget. The organization gained more visibility into its systems and now has policies and procedures in place to help mitigate the risk of future attacks.
