Overview
Executive Summary
Not all personal identifiable data is the same. Criminals, competitors and gossip hounds take a particular interest in the details of specific individuals because of their high net worth, prominent social positions or celebrity status. And there is no better place to find such data than at a luxury retailer that provides high-quality items to a clientele that includes major celebrities, business moguls and royalty.
If the data they protect falls into the wrong hands, it can be catastrophic. They could alienate very lucrative clients, suffer immense reputation damage and even lose big spenders to rival retailers in a highly competitive market where the quality of sales far outranks quantity. This scenario was a real threat to Performanta’s client. With more than 3,000 staff spread across a dozen global locations, there were many opportunities for unscrupulous or compromised employees to steal business data. Since the client had no means to monitor or manage their data thoroughly, they were at serious risk.
The client had several requirements for Performanta. They hired our assessment services to provide a vendor-agnostic view of their systems, leading to designing a plan that fitted their needs. Those needs are specific, including fingerprinting all their data for detailed control and visibility. Yet they also wanted data loss prevention delivered as a service, complementing their core IT and security teams rather than burdening them.
Performanta delivered a bespoke solution that integrates with the client’s Microsoft environment. We collaborated on data discovery and fingerprinting activities and provided the data loss prevention service as part of our security operations centre, which guarantees 24/7 monitoring and threat analysis through our experienced security and business professionals. Our retail customer remain the custodians of their data, supported by regular reporting to different client stakeholders, helping them focus on appropriate action. We also regularly meet with the client to assess policy and other improvements, mitigating future risks and threats.
Data theft is a concern for every business. But for this client, it can destroy their reputation and prospects overnight. They required a discrete and customised data loss prevention solution that gave them complete visibility and control across worldwide locations, and as a service to keep their IT and security teams focused on other priorities. Performanta delivered, working closely with our luxury retail client to protect the information of their VIP clientele.
The Challenge
Luxury retailers serve high-income clientele, including celebrities, royal families and other high-profile individuals whose private information is desirable to privacy snoops and unethical employees. Performanta’s customer serves this level of consumer and was concerned that they needed more control over their data across global locations and a 3,000-strong workforce.
The customer is a long-established business busy digitising their operations. Their data contains important personal identifiable information (PII), including names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and other information. This information is spread across numerous business systems, accessible to a rotating staff or retail employees.
The luxury had no means to sufficiently monitor or manage their data assets. They couldn’t safeguard it from negligence, competitive espionage and outright theft. As part of their digital strategy, they wanted complete data visibility, including fingerprinting the data for easier traceability. Since they operate a small security and IT team, they required data loss prevention (DLP) as a service, complete with full reporting.
The Solution
This type of data management solution requires extensive customisation to meet the retailer client’s needs and specialised environment. Performanta assessed their environment, provided vendor-agnostic consulting, and collaborated to design relevant policies protecting customer data. We simultaneously designed and deployed the unique technical solution, which integrates with their Microsoft business systems, and helped execute the discovery and fingerprinting of their data.
Performanta’s people are data protection subject matter experts, and we maintain constant interactions with our customer, who remains the data’s custodians. We hold periodic reviews to improve the service’s accuracy and prevent potential breaches. Our service notifies our customer about data-related activities, including details about times and involved persons across all their global locations.
Our DLP service integrates with Performanta’s security operations centre, providing 24/7 monitoring coverage that benefits from our scale and pooled security resources.
The Results
Using our managed data loss prevention service, Performanta’s luxury retail client has secured their data across more than a dozen global locations. We delivered a bespoke DLP solution that tracks customer and transactional data on a detailed level. Our client now enjoys complete data monitoring and management abilities built to their requirements.
They now also have the support of our monitoring service teams, augmenting and enhancing their established IT and security teams. Performanta regularly engages with their management teams to ensure our service meets their business and risk reduction objectives. Different stakeholders receive frequent reporting, styled to their specific perspectives and concerns. And our 24/7 security operations centre brings them the peace of mind that we always keep an eye on their data.
This luxury retailer has been serving their customers for over a century. They deal with a very exclusive class of customers whose personal details are incredibly valuable. Anyone stealing that data would damage the retailer’s reputation, prospects and income. But rather than take the chance and stay in the past, they are digitising their operations. With the collaboration and support of Performanta, our retail client can continue that ambition, knowing the valuable data is continually protected on their terms.
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About Performanta
Performanta was founded in 2010 and has over 150 staff worldwide, including former CIOs/CISOs from large enterprises. It has a global footprint with a team of 80 analysts working in two SOCs, helping to secure customers across 50 countries, from offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, South Africa and the USA. Performanta offers a consultative approach to people, process and technology, focusing on security projects in line with adversarial, accidental and environmental business risk. With a holistic cybersecurity view, we understand the modus operandi of the perpetrator and accordingly build an intelligent defence mechanism to make customer environments less susceptible to attacks.