Security, Proactive, Response

Arctic Wolf to Ege Carpets

June 9, 2024

Danoffice IT
Security
Arctic Wolf
Case story

Secure. Proactive. Response. Over the course of a short century, the Danish carpet manufacturer, Ege Carpets, has managed to create a leading position for itself both in Denmark and abroad. Their production is a large industrial production in constant growth. The IT foundation runs like an invisible network under the company’s many looms and serves to protect the production line, the business, and the future.

Any disruption comes with a cost and therefore, the company goes to great lengths to protect the IT operations and infrastructure. It does not suffice to simply respond to threats, they must be eliminated. That task is achieved through a collaboration between Danoffice IT and Arctic Wolf. There can be no doubt that Jakob Bonde Pedersen, Head of IT at Ege Carpets is responsible for a complex organization, Ege Carpets has subsidiaries in 10 countries, distributes to more than 80 countries, and has one the world’s highest environmental certifications in carpet production. The IT infrastructure ties it all together spanning development, operations, business, and not least to the company’s unwavering mission to create the world’s most sustainable carpets. To sum it up in Ege Carpet’s own words: Sustainability is not a choice. They have a thoroughness which is reflected in all parts of their company, including their IT security.

When the Top-Level Management Assumes Responsibility

That IT security today is the prerequisite for being able to run a sustainable production at all is high on the global agenda. For years, the intense debate in the IT industry revolved around where the responsibility for security lies. Today, we know that one will ultimately not be successful until the company’s top-level management assumes full responsibility and implements a corporate strategy to match. However, we also know that this is a new development, and it is in its infancy with only very few being on par with this realization. Yet, Ege Carpets is not only on par, they are leading the way at the forefront. “I am fortunate to be part of an organization which has taken a serious approach to IT security. We are really good at maintaining our focus on security and this is something our board of directors has implemented. We even have board members who are tasked with focusing on security and that is a great strength for us. This means that my suggestions are being put into place and that there are truly high demands. It also means that we select the best of the best,” Jakob Bonde Pedersen says.

From Reaction to Proactive Action

This reality creates the best possible prerequisites for taking action and this is exactly what Jakob Bonde Pedersen and his team were looking for when they chose a Security Operations Center solution with Arctic Wolf. “Primarily, we needed a powerful security monitoring and we had been looking at various options for a while,” he says and adds: “We were looking for the best options to manage scenarios where we would need help. Who do we want to handle the monitoring and who is best equipped to help us if somebody does get through and breach our security? And similarly, who can help us predict the problems and solve them before they actually arise? We found the answer when we participated in a Danoffice IT seminar at which Arctic Wolf introduced an all-in-one solution which appeared to be the answer to our needs.”

One Solution to Take Us All the Way

The combined solution is precisely the answer to Jakob and Ege Carpets’ need for a non-stop production line. The company wanted a better overview of any activity in their environment. Which logs do we know about and which actions are outside the norm and thereby present a threat? Both Jakob and the company’s top-level management unequivocally believe that it is better to invest in security proactively than incur the vast losses that would come from the production line being halted as a result of an attack. “Naturally, we wanted the best SOC solution, and this is where Arctic Wolf’s Managed Detection & Response stood out in a positive way. The determining factor was that their Managed Risk was included in the overall solution. Managed Risk is the proactive piece and that is truly a valuable additional layer which simply reduces our risk. It sees everything. Are we patching our holes correctly? Is the machine in the corner that never gets turned off a weak link? This solution brought us all the way. There is a great difference between Arctic Wolf and other solutions. There are some who can deliver a comprehensive solution, but then they include 27 different software installations.”

One combined solution in line with our requirements

Security Is Not a Choice

As an organization Ege Carpets represent a modern and serious maturity in their IT security protocols, that stands as a direct response to the reality in which they run their business. “The threat is real. We see that the simple attacks, which we are constantly fending off, are increasing in frequency. There are just more and more,” Jakob Bonde Pedersen explains and elaborates: “This is why the combination of detection and response along with the proactive insight gives us such a great advantage. We actually were able to ward off an attack in that way.” So, it is clear that just as the company’s sustainability strategy is not a choice, neither is wavering on security.

Do Not Turn a Blind Eye

”They were probably not used to a customer asking this many questions,” Jakob says when we start talking about onboarding the solution. “You do not just install a system and then walk away. The organization needs to be set up for it and the roles must be defined. You need somebody who can talk to management and the board of directors. In our business, we do not have a tech responsible for security, that is my responsibility. In order to protect all links in the chain, we have established solid governance around it.” Thereby, Jakob places the focus on the insight that is gained with Arctic Wolf.

You gain an insight, then you need to determine what to do with that insight. Do not turn a blind eye to the fact that this is a discipline, which you need to cultivate and allocate resources. This will place a toll on the resources within your organization,” he says. “The insight you gain must be put into context within the organization. There are several options, benchmarks, and so much more. Therefore, you need to find the numbers that make sense for your organization and then know how to interpret those numbers.”

”This solution brought us all the way. There is a great difference between Arctic Wolf and other solutions. There are some who can deliver a comprehensive solution, but then they include 27 different software installations.”

Jakob Bonde Pedersen, Head of IT, Ege Carpets.

Power Collaboration – Powerful Result

The myth of a good IT project is a unicorn in our industry. Several things can go wrong and technical know-how is rarely enough. Therefore, the process and collaboration to create the solution, such as the one Ege Carpets needs, are crucial. “This is a big project to implement,” Jakob confirms, “We were promised that the implementation would be done within 3 months and my reaction to that was yeah, sure, we have been working on this for a while and this is complex stuff we are dealing with! However, I must admit, they proved me wrong. I will give them that, we made it happen. On the technical side, everything was successful from the beginning. That could have been expected because everything is prepared as a single package. Now we are in a powerful position to face the threats we see today and to face the future because we are looking right at it.” Jakob Bonde Pedersen, Head of IT at Ege Carpets concludes.

Subscription for Proactive Security – MDR & MR

If you are spending time looking for a needle in a haystack during an attack, it will have severe consequences, for any company. This is why logs are so crucial in the battle against attacks and breakdowns because they can reveal vulnerabilities and attacks that have been launched. Arctic Wolf’s Managed Detection & Response, MDR, is an efficient system for collecting and responding to logs that are out of the ordinary. This is a reactive service which provides a structured overview to manage the risk. If a user’s logs reveal atypical behavior, they can be shut down and isolated and the same holds true for a production server.

Arctic Wolf’s Managed Risk, MR, is the proactive element which made the difference for Ege Carpets. The environment and systems are tested on an ongoing basis based on known standards and parameters. Thereby, vulnerabilities are detected and eliminated before they can lead to an attack or breakdown. The system also provides recommendations for improvement and increased security and it is worth noting, that counseling is included with this service – which saves costs for the customer. Arctic Wolf’s solutions are of course vendor-neutral and technology independent and thereby, they can be implemented into all types of systems.

Facts about Ege Carpets

Today, Ege Carpets is a modern global company that has been at the forefront of the Danish textile industry for nearly a century. They have a progressive sustainability charter and are among the largest textile flooring manufacturers in Europe.

Founded by Mads Eg Damgaard in Herning, Denmark, in 1938
578 employees
Subsidiaries in 10 countries
Distribution to more than 80 countries
Manufacturing on four locations in Denmark and one factory in Lithuania
Main focus on hotels, office spaces, and marine
Secondary focus on real estate and retail