Client
Kellner Telecom GmbH, with eight branches throughout Germany and its central headquarters in Korntal-Münchingen near Stuttgart, is experienced in the construction of modern communications infrastructure. With its almost 300 excellently trained professionals, it is a specialist for holistic, efficient and customised solutions, whether as an individual service or as a general contractor for turnkey projects. For 40 years, the company has stood not only for quality, but also for customer proximity and know-how.
From the planning and construction of infrastructures to the delivery of system technology, maintenance, service and documentation: by networking the business areas of cable systems, radio systems and network and transmission technology, Kellner Telecom bundles competences and creates synergies.
Challenge
Cyber security is a top priority at Kellner Telecom - not only because of the drive to protect its own systems, but also because the medium-sized company works with corporate customers from the critical infrastructure sector who demand IT security standards that can be proven by ISO certifications.
Since it was difficult to implement an own SOC with the five-member internal IT team in terms of personnel, Jürgen Messmer (Team Leader Internal IT at Kellner Telecom GmbH) decided to benefit from the know-how of an external provider of managed security services. The fact that several of the company's suppliers had been hacked and encrypted in the recent past underlined the need - also for the management.
Solution
The IT managers at Kellner Telecom quickly realised that pure protection tools were no longer sufficient in view of the current IT security situation and that early attacker detection was essential in order to detect and ward off successful cyber attacks in good time. In order to find the right solution, Jürgen Messmer probed providers and products on the market and quickly came across Allgeier secion's Active Cyber Defense (ACD) service. The Managed Detection and Response Service (MDR) from the Hamburg IT security experts was already convincing during the first presentation. A major advantage for Jürgen Messmer: By installing sensors at every location, all parts of the company can be protected as a network. As a 24/7 fully managed detection and response service, ACD continuously monitors network traffic for anomalies and detects whether systems are communicating to command & control servers. Compromise attempts are thus actively identified and incident response measures can be initiated in good time - before cyber criminals spread throughout the network.
Result
The implementation of ACD was straightforward and went according to plan: After three months, the sensors were installed and active at all locations. The project effort for Kellner Telecom was only one man week. Through the 24/7 Threat Hunting service, Kellner Telecom's corporate network is permanently and proactively monitored - a reassuring feeling not only for the IT team, but also for the management. The managed service also had a positive impact on the conclusion of a cyber insurance policy. The cyber security analysts of the ACD team were able to prove their reaction speed during the recent relocation of a site: After the servers were shut down as scheduled (but without warning), Jürgen Messmer received an email10 minutes later saying: "Something is wrong, we no longer have a connection to you".
"For all SMEs, large and small, it is already five past twelve when it comes to cyber security. I previously worked for a large IT company and was partly responsible for the SIEM and SOC there. Of course, medium-sized companies rarely have the appropriate resources to guarantee a high level of IT security in-house. Nevertheless, when I started at Kellner Telecom, I wanted to ramp up the cyber security level quickly before an incident occurred. I knew that there were managed services in the area of IT security and Allgeier secion was a very good choice for us here: we had a really good project flow - from the product presentation, through the realisation of all defined milestones, to the implementation. Through the regular expert discussions with the IT consultants, we were able to locate black sheep and clean up our network. An anomaly has also already been detected, whereupon we took the client out of circulation. I am so satisfied that I have already actively recommended ACD several times to colleagues at other medium-sized companies."
Jürgen Messmer Team Lead Internal IT at Kellner Telecom GmbH