Vixxo’s lean security team is always strengthening its cybersecurity posture. It searched for a tool that could increase visibility into its digital landscape, keep pace with attackers as they turn more to automation, and provide the most capabilities in return for the investment. To achieve these goals, Vixxo chose Darktrace.

“Like every organization, Vixxo is under attack on a continuous basis,” said Klint Price, the Vice President of IT Operations and Cyber Security at Vixxo. “Whether it’s an intentional act by an attacker or an automated script that’s running on the internet, Darktrace allows us to see what is happening in our ecosystem and takes appropriate action when necessary.” 

As Darktrace’s unique Self-Learning AI learns the company’s normal business operations, it can detect any abnormal activity that indicates a cyber-attack, including novel threats. When an attack does occur, Darktrace Autonomous Response makes micro-decisions, taking precise and targeted action to enforce “normal” to contain an attack without disrupting business. Darktrace also uses natural language processing and Explainable AI to communicate its findings and actions to the security team. 

The team was initially cautious about enabling autonomous actions and therefore set Autonomous Response in Human Confirmation mode. One Saturday, it received an alert of what could have been a serious incident. By luck, an engineer happened to be at his computer, so he was able to stop the breach. But this incident prompted Vixxo to switch the AI capability to fully autonomous mode, so the next time this happens, the threat is instantly neutralized.

While Darktrace Real-Time Detection and Autonomous Response help Vixxo react to attacks, the company wanted to take proactive action. The security team saw the value in using the time it wasn't  under attack to harden its digital infrastructure, so Vixxo became an early adopter of Darktrace / Attack Surface Management.

This product uses AI to “think like an attacker” to predict and pre-empt attacks. / Attack Surface Management brings together many previously siloed security tools and processes to reduce risk while helping the security team to prioritize its time and resources.  

“/ Attack Surface Management is an incredibly helpful way to understand risk, particularly when comparing changes over time. Understanding vulnerabilities is one thing, but actually being able to digest and prioritize them is even better,” Price said. 

/ Attack Surface Management looks at the company’s digital footprint from the outside, as a hacker would, to see vulnerable areas of entry. Darktrace / Proactive Exposure Management uses the AI’s understanding of internal systems to identify attack pathways and prioritize high-value targets.  

“/ Attack Surface Management is a product that’s giving us better visibility into external threats and external attack surfaces that we may or may not have known about without the product,” said Eric Burt, the Senior Manager of IT Operations and Cyber Security at Vixxo.

The Cross-Platform Products like / Attack Surface Management and / Proactive Exposure Management share insights with the Platform Products, powered by Real-Time Detection and Autonomous Response, to harden defenses around critical assets and attack paths. This further strengthens the Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform, which continuously improves an organization’s cybersecurity.  

“At Vixxo, the Darktrace ecosystem provides a true feedback loop between the different components we are using,” Price said. “For example, by introducing / Attack Surface Management into our ecosystem, it’s allowed us to identify assets that we previously thought business units had retired. / Attack Surface Management allows me to go home at the end of the day knowing my network, my users, the identity of my users, and my ecosystem are in good hands.”

Darktrace’s value extends beyond protecting Vixxo’s digital landscape and has saved the company money on cyber insurance. While most companies are facing rising costs for cyber insurance, Vixxo’s insurance broker found lower rates with carriers that recognize Darktrace as a preferred partner. 

“Our broker interviewed numerous carriers, and many were interested in doing business with Vixxo,” Price said. “However, when these carriers found out that we had Darktrace in our environment and could demonstrate a level of maturity with how Autonomous Response was configured, we were able to see significant cost savings, whereas other companies are seeing massive increases.” 

Darktrace has also allowed Vixxo to reorganize its IT budget. With product families that not only bring together various security tools but also power each other across the Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform, Darktrace offers continuous, high-value protection. 

“Darktrace has impacted our budgets in a very positive manner,” Price said. “It’s allowed us to consolidate toolsets and pick strategic partners with whom we want to have long-lasting relationships due to the relationship and capabilities which they provide. These cost savings have allowed Vixxo to divert funds to other cybersecurity initiatives and IT transformational objectives.”