As a leading provider of network-neutral data center colocation and interconnection services, Cologix operates a vast network of data centers across North America. Its infrastructure forms the backbone of cloud computing environments for some of the world’s largest cloud providers. Daniel Neier, Director of IT Security for Cologix, describes the business as the physical infrastructure to the cloud. “Cologix provides the physical space, power and cooling as well as physical and virtual connections that allow businesses to connect to hundreds of service providers, including the largest cloud providers in North America.”

Achieving rapid business growth

Cologix provides the connectivity and choice that businesses need to accelerate growth, with 710+ network providers, 350+ cloud service providers, and 30+ cloud onramps as a part of its scalable ecosystems. To support those ecosystems, Cologix operates 45+ data centers today, with plans to develop more. “We’re a high growth company, and we’re continuing to invest in that growth,” said Neier. “Keeping our systems and people connected and secure as we scale is critical to our success.”

Accounting for the weakest link

Operating mission-critical infrastructure in a high-stakes environment brings significant security challenges, the biggest one being employees. “There will always be a risk that someone will click a bad link, mishandle data, or reuse passwords,” said Neier. Phishing emails are a particular concern for Cologix, as the volume of threats continues to grow. “Minimizing the opportunities for employees to make a mistake is an important goal for us.”

Another concern is the risk of unauthorized access to Cologix’s systems.  Neier’s team had a few false alarms where it suspected a hack, only to learn that employees had left the country with company assets – without notification and enhanced security controls. “That’s a risk,” said Neier. “During travel, devices could be confiscated by international authorities. We needed a way to quickly detect any troubling situations and to cut off access if needed.”

Commitment to partnership

Cologix’s relationship with Darktrace is rooted in trust. “I was frustrated with other products and vendors – they weren’t communicating effectively, and, in some cases, they weren’t being transparent,” Neier said. On a colleague’s recommendation, Neier looked at Darktrace and was impressed by both the technology and the company’s commitment to partnership. “The experience was so good that we now compare other vendors to Darktrace. They listen, adapt to our sales cycle, and are direct, transparent, and honest. In cybersecurity, trust is everything – and with Darktrace, we have a true partner.”

A unified ecosystem

Neier also desired to simplify and consolidate tools. “We had a tool for everything, but it needed streamlining and greater control,” Neier said. “We wanted to consolidate our cybersecurity infrastructure as much as possible, and Darktrace offered a unified platform that included many of the security capabilities we needed – managed through a single dashboard.” Today, Cologix is using the Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform, including:

• Darktrace / EMAIL
• Darktrace / ENDPOINT
• Darktrace / IDENTITY
• Darktrace / Attack Surface Management
• Darktrace Cyber AI Analyst™

In addition to providing Cologix with a unified cybersecurity platform, Darktrace can easily integrate with other third-party security solutions, even providing Neier and his team centralized visibility across their entire cybersecurity infrastructure through the Darktrace dashboard.

Proactive protection reduces complexity and increases efficiency

For employees traveling abroad, Cologix now has a process to enhance device security. In addition, “if Darktrace detects an employee’s device is in another country without pre-notification, it will immediately lock the device to mitigate the risk, which gives my team the time to investigate if the incident is a threat or a policy violation,” said Neier.

Operationally, Darktrace has helped Cologix reduce its technology complexity and increase efficiency. “Darktrace has been an easy platform to learn and integrate. Consolidating our cybersecurity with Darktrace has significantly scaled our capabilities. We’re not a massive team, so having a single platform is helping us scale and respond faster.” Within a 13-day period, Darktrace saved Neier’s team 726 analyst hours on investigations.

Darktrace Cyber AI Analyst acts like a member of Neier’s team, one that autonomously monitors, detects, and responds to threats 24/7/365 while empowering the security team to focus on what matters most. For example, within a three-month period, Cyber AI Analyst conducted a total of 2,702 total investigations, averaging just 5 minutes 47 seconds to respond to an incident. The solution resolved 2,281of those investigations autonomously, escalating only 421 to analysts.

“I love that if Cyber AI Analyst remediates something, you can go straight to the incident report. And if it stops the threat before it even becomes an incident, the report provides us with in-depth information about the nature of the potential threat and why Darktrace blocked it. That’s powerful.”

A platform that performs. A partner that delivers.

“Easy” also describes how Neier feels about the relationship with Darktrace. Particularly when it comes to cybersecurity, he said his team needs to trust the people behind the technology. “The Darktrace team has been a partner in our success from the very beginning. They let us go at our own pace. They show empathy and understanding. And most importantly, they don’t talk at us – they work with us.”

Growing with Darktrace

Looking ahead, Cologix plans to continue evolving its use of Darktrace while streamlining its security stack. “We’re still consolidating. If along the way I find a new cyber security requirement, we will look at Darktrace first.,” said Neier, and added that he’s confident Cologix’s modern cybersecurity infrastructure will scale with the business. “We won’t need to overhaul our systems to grow – we’ll optimize the modern infrastructure we now have in place.”

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*Metrics are based on Cologix data and sourced from its monthly Cyber AI Insights reporting