Locking the door on threat actors
With the rapid growth in its manufacturing business, Vicaima needed to modernise and enhance its cybersecurity programme to keep up with new threats. Legacy endpoint protection and a lack of security visibility heightened operational risk, and the high demand for cyber talent in Portugal made it difficult to hire and retain seasoned security analysts.
To support its cyber defences, Vicaima needed to:
- Improve visibility to deal with increasingly sophisticated attacks across an expanding attack surface.
- Simplify investigations and increase resources to speed up detection and response times.
- Tackle the overwhelming backlog of alerts to provide more time for strategic initiatives and hunting down new threats.
“Limited visibility left our attack surface vulnerable to security threats, making every day a battle. We needed to partner with cybersecurity professionals to proactively detect and respond to threats.”
Samuel Conceição
IT Director, Vicaima
“Great products and highly experienced people”
Vicaima chose a platformization approach to cybersecurity, using Cortex XDR endpoint protection and experts from Unit 42 to transform detection and response. This unified approach now provides Vicaima with complete visibility across its endpoints, reducing risk and supporting uninterrupted manufacturing.
“The Palo Alto Networks platform gives us 24/7/365 control over our infrastructure. The pairing of great products and highly experienced people ensures we are always ahead of threats,” says Samuel Conceição, IT Director, Vicaima.
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Eliminating blind spots through complete visibility
![Eliminating blind spots through complete visibility]()
Vicaima’s first step was to replace its existing antivirus platform with Cortex XDR. AI-powered endpoint security uses behavioural threat protection to pinpoint and stop threats – and provides a complete picture of any attack for rapid investigation.Cortex XDR also natively integrates Vicaima’s network, endpoint, and cloud data from multiple sources, including firewalls, Microsoft 365, Azure, and ClearPass.
This simple, connected approach has enabled the team to respond to incidents within 20 minutes, stopping threats before they inflict damage. On several occasions, low-complexity threats have been responded to in as little as three minutes.
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Agile investigation, containment, and threat remediation
Vicaima has extended this cyber defence with Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response. Unit 42’s seasoned analysts perform in-depth investigation, containment, and threat remediation directly within the Cortex XDR environment, containing threats before they become a breach.
For example, in one recent month, Unit 42 investigated 255 incidents, subsequently presenting Vicaima with 42 threat reports. Samuel’s team can communicate with the Unit 42 security analysts directly, at any time, using the Cortex XDR console.
“The Cortex and Unit 42 MDR services are fully integrated, giving us complete 24/7 control over the manufacturing environment,” he says.
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Security skills that provide impact and value
![Security skills that provide impact and value]()
With Unit 42 professionals handling alert triage and investigation, the Vicaima team can focus on more strategic initiatives.According to Samuel, this has transformed operational efficiency and reduced costs. “Without Unit 42, we would need an additional five FTEs to perform 24/7 monitoring – adding a considerable cost overhead,” he says.
This managed approach also addresses the cyber skills shortage in Europe, relieving the Vicaima team of long hiring cycles and the threat of burnout.
“Unit 42 is an extension of our team, well versed in our environment and ready to respond at a moment’s notice,” says Samuel.
Vicaima’s first step was to replace its existing antivirus platform with Cortex XDR. AI-powered endpoint security uses behavioural threat protection to pinpoint and stop threats – and provides a complete picture of any attack for rapid investigation.
With Unit 42 professionals handling alert triage and investigation, the Vicaima team can focus on more strategic initiatives.Strengthened security delivers a competitive advantage
Unit 42 gives Vicaima’s SecOps a powerful business edge. Samuel explains, “Customer questions often go beyond the specification of our doors and touch on our design security. When we tell them about the Unit 42 MDR service, they are immediately impressed. It reflects a reliable, highly professional manufacturing operation and undoubtedly helps us win new business.”
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