Textbook security for a global chemical company
Digital manufacturing techniques are transforming RUDOLF’s global chemical production, connecting modern operational technology (OT) with advanced capabilities such as IIoT and artificial intelligence (AI) in Brazil, India, China, and elsewhere to drive productivity and growth.
However, this innovation is accompanied by an alarming rise in cyber risks, with diverse cyberattacks threatening the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of RUDOLF’s manufacturing data. Against this backdrop, RUDOLF faced the following issues:
- Lack of security visibility: Reliance on different network and endpoint security platforms led to incomplete security visibility, especially among legacy IIoT devices. “Some smaller manufacturing sites were ‘dark spaces’, with very little security visibility,” says Florian Kretzschmar, Head of IT, RUDOLF.
- Inability to scale global footprint of factories: RUDOLF struggled to scale remote access and support its hybrid workforce across IT/OT and third parties using its legacy virtual private network (VPN) infrastructure.
- Resource-intensive security: People and expertise were concentrated on day-to-day security administration, leaving less time for more important tasks such as threat hunting.
- Reduced performance: The sprawl of devices, endpoint agents, and security solutions made it difficult to optimise network and device performance.
Florian is challenging this status quo with a radical new approach to cybersecurity. He explains, “RUDOLF is pursuing a platform-based zero trust approach to manufacturing security, geared to modernising our infrastructure and reducing risk. The strategy focuses on rationalising network security spend, closing legacy gaps in visibility, and ensuring data protection and compliance.”
“We can see everything now. All those dark spaces around the world have disappeared. Palo Alto Networks unites all of our security information, allowing us to detect and respond to threats significantly faster.”
Florian Kretzschmar
Head of IT, RUDOLF
Security journey
Network Security
PA-Series Hardware Firewalls
Endpoint Security
Cortex XDR®
Secure Remote Access
Prisma® Access
RUDOLF enjoys great chemistry with Palo Alto Networks
RUDOLF’s engagement with Palo Alto Networks has evolved into a strategic partnership. The company initially standardised on Palo Alto Networks hardware firewalls to provide complete, consistent network security. Cortex XDR endpoint security was then added – replacing Kaspersky – to consolidate the platform. Now, RUDOLF is implementing Prisma Access in place of expensive and vulnerable site-to-site VPNs to drive high-performance connectivity.
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Safeguards high-availability manufacturing operations
![Safeguards high-availability manufacturing operations]( "Safeguards high-availability manufacturing operations")
The single security platform maintains safe operations, ongoing production, and business continuity. Using Prisma Access – which is the Palo Alto Networks secure service edge solution and a core component of the broader Prisma SASE platform – RUDOLF’s remote maintenance experts in Germany can monitor machine health and troubleshoot issues in subsidiaries as diverse as Peru, the US, and the UK.“Prisma Access gives RUDOLF consistent, manageable access to our OT environments – all aligned with our zero trust strategy,” says Florian.
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Maximises security visibility
![Maximises security visibility]( "Maximises security visibility")
Complete visibility into all manufacturing and back-office assets, including vulnerabilities, communications flows, and roles within industrial processes, allows RUDOLF to apply consistent, streamlined security across all OT and IIoT devices. Cortex XDR integrates with Prisma Access to deliver 360-degree insight, which enables RUDOLF to respond to cases 70% faster than before.“We have visibility into clients in the production environment that we didn’t even know existed. Sensors, pressure devices, and everything else are now on our security inventory,” says Florian.
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Reduces total cost of ownership
![Reduces total cost of ownership]( "Reduces total cost of ownership")
The single unified Palo Alto Networks platform liberates staff from mundane monitoring and transactional processes to focus on strategy. In addition, new subsidiaries do not need a dedicated security team – they are managed centrally from the unified console.Overall, RUDOLF has reduced the time spent on security administration by 50% compared with its previous scattered security. Moreover, this platform approach has reduced RUDOLF’s security costs by 60%.
“AI-driven security reduces alert fatigue, improves incident detection, and streamlines compliance reporting,” adds Florian.
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Increases business agility
![Increases business agility]( "Increases business agility")
RUDOLF is working at a lightning pace. New people can be connected – and business acquisitions onboarded – 80% faster than with the previous VPN platform.Performance has been transformed too. By eliminating the backhaul of traffic to the data centre, remote users can access data 50% faster, accelerating business productivity.
Cortex XDR contributes to this agility. Florian says, “We can now contact a user and alert them to the fact they clicked on a bad link 10 seconds ago.” This rapid response adds another layer of security, reducing risk and increasing user confidence.
The single security platform maintains safe operations, ongoing production, and business continuity. Using Prisma Access – which is the Palo Alto Networks secure service edge solution and a core component of the broader Prisma SASE platform – RUDOLF’s remote maintenance experts in Germany can monitor machine health and troubleshoot issues in subsidiaries as diverse as Peru, the US, and the UK.
Complete visibility into all manufacturing and back-office assets, including vulnerabilities, communications flows, and roles within industrial processes, allows RUDOLF to apply consistent, streamlined security across all OT and IIoT devices. Cortex XDR integrates with Prisma Access to deliver 360-degree insight, which enables RUDOLF to respond to cases 70% faster than before.
The single unified Palo Alto Networks platform liberates staff from mundane monitoring and transactional processes to focus on strategy. In addition, new subsidiaries do not need a dedicated security team – they are managed centrally from the unified console.
RUDOLF is working at a lightning pace. New people can be connected – and business acquisitions onboarded – 80% faster than with the previous VPN platform.Looking ahead, RUDOLF will complete the Prisma Access roll-out and fully standardise the security infrastructure.
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