The Spanish business group dedicated to nature conservation improves its visibility and peace of mind for its IT team through Sophos managed detection and response (MDR) provided by CENTUM Digital as a partner.
Internaco is a Spanish group of companies dedicated to the commercialization of innovative, competitive, and quality solutions in the field of nature conservation, hardware, and DIY. Through a network of distributors and partners, they provide brands, products, services, and innovative processes in the forestry, gardening, compaction, cleaning, recycling, energy, and hardware sectors.
In addition to their comprehensive offering, they also provide services such as sales management and contact centers to enhance customer satisfaction. They offer support and after-sales services, accompanying their clients throughout the entire process from initial advice to incident resolution, as well as training, IT, and procurement services. These are supported by several logistics platforms spanning over 35,000 square meters across La Coruña, Orense, and Madrid.
Since obtaining the exclusive distribution rights for the Swedish brand Husqvarna (a world leader in outdoor machinery) in the Spanish market in 1969, Internaco has continued to grow by diversifying its business and acquiring other companies and divisions dedicated to recycling, the fruit sector, distribution of agricultural machinery, as well as organizations dedicated to hardware or irrigation and green area management at a professional level.
With a turnover of 123 million euros in 2022, Internaco currently has over 240 employees, more than 3,000 distributors and partners in Spain and Portugal, and a presence in 50 countries with a total capacity of 150,000 square meters across all its logistics centers.
Evolving cybersecurity to detect and mitigate attacks
As part of their commitment to excellence, cybersecurity has always been a priority for the team at Grupo Internaco. In light of recent events that have impacted the global business and economic landscape, such as the situation arising from the war in Ukraine, the group’s IT team faced increased insecurity. They deemed it necessary to evolve from traditional solutions and adopt a solution that would enable them to detect and mitigate attacks more swiftly.
In addition to external risks, due to the nature of their business and sector, Grupo Internaco was particularly interested in addressing phishing and ransomware attacks, as well as identity impersonation and user verification issues, especially in banking payments.
“While we carry out training and awareness campaigns such as phishing simulations to evaluate the impact of a potential security breach in our company, we are aware that the human factor is a crucial aspect of our cybersecurity strategy, as a minor
error could halt our entire productive activity,” explains Francisco Feal, Head of IT at the company. “In our department, we embrace a Zero Trust policy regardingcybersecurity and seek to surround ourselves with good partners who assist us in the tasks of prevention, detection, and mitigation of cyberattacks,” he adds.
Faced with this situation, Internaco’s IT department decided to turn to their trusted partner, CENTUM Digital, an Engineering and Digital Services company dedicated to professional sectors, offering digital solutions that optimize the quality and security of their clients and the products they commercialize. They sought a collaborator who could help improve their cybersecurity levels, and CENTUM Digital offered maximum cooperation, presenting the project as the beginning of a long-term relationship.
“At Internaco, we value both the provider and the technical solution equally, and from the beginning, we saw that they wanted to collaborate with us and offer us the solution that would benefit both parties, beyond simply selling us a license,” comments Francisco Feal.
Grupo Internaco reduces vulnerabilities with Sophos MDR
To enhance the company’s cybersecurity levels and provide peace of mind to the team, Grupo Internaco and CENTUM Digital decided to implement Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Sophos MDR functions as a managed security operations center (SOC) with a global team of cybersecurity experts. They continuously monitor the environment, detect threats, take appropriate actions, and collaborate with the internal team to eliminate them. By adopting this solution, Internaco’s IT team has reduced vulnerabilities and gained better insights into security incidents.
CENTUM Digital, with its extensive experience in deploying and operating SOCs, combined with the expertise of its analysts, considers Sophos MDR to
be the ideal tool for enhancing monitoring activities and responding to various incidents.
“Sophos MDR has undoubtedly provided us with more information about what is happening on our devices. Monitoring all events that may pose a risk has given us much more visibility and a better understanding of our network activities, whether they involve risks or not,” explains the IT manager at Grupo Internaco.
Managed detection and response (MDR) allows the company’s IT personnel to focus on other vital tasks while reducing risks and costs associated with security incidents and data breaches. Sophos MDR offers a much shorter time for threat detection and neutralization compared to internal SOC teams, with an average detection time of 38 minutes for the MDR team, whereas internal SOC teams often take an average of 16 hours. Francisco Feal and his team value this improved efficiency, noting that “response times have significantly reduced, as Sophos and CENTUM Digital promptly notify us of any vulnerabilities that arise. We greatly appreciate the security provided by having a team behind us that looks out for our safety. While it may not be a dedicated SOC, it comes pretty close.”
After successfully implementing the project without any issues or delays, thanks to the collaborative teamwork in determining the requirements, Grupo Internaco is satisfied with the close relationship and availability shown by the teams at CENTUM Digital and Sophos. They foresee a long-lasting partnership in the future.
