Financial Services

While security and risk management have long been a priority for financial services organizations, the sector continues to consider cyber security as a critical area for transformation, as the frequency and sophistication of threats grow.

The industry is in transition from the legacy model of security, focused on preventing external threat, to an adaptive model that is capable of dealing with the uncertainty and unpredictability implicit in large and complex infrastructures.

Dealing with insider threat, as well as ‘hackers’ and ‘malware’, is a critical objective in this new model. Financial services rely on large, international workforces, including contractors, suppliers and remote workers. It is unrealistic to expect all of those people to take the right decision, every time – whether malicious or not, insider risk must be managed pragmatically, but effectively.

Darktrace delivers this next generation of cyber defense capability through its unique ability to self-learn and identify abnormal behaviors, even when they bypass all other security tools. Working with some of the largest financial institutions in the world, Darktrace gives its customers in this sector unprecedented visibility into all their digital activity, and the critical ability to detect and investigate suspicious activity – before damage is inflicted to operations, reputation or the bottom line.

Energy & Utilities

The energy and utility sector has long faced some of the most advanced attackers, from industrial espionage to state-sponsored attacks. As part of national critical infrastructure, the importance of defending these organizations in this new era of threats cannot be underestimated.

It is not just a case of protecting the corporate network either. Industrial Control Systems, such as SCADA, are increasingly being targeted in highly sophisticated attacks that threaten safety and personal security, as well as the long-term future of major infrastructure providers.

As IT and Operational Technology environments continue to converge – and the traditional air gap is undermined – it is critical to attain coverage and monitoring across all networks, so that emerging threats may be detected wherever they are moving.

Darktrace’s ICS capability, with the Industrial Immune System, complements its core Enterprise Immune System technology, making it the only threat detection and investigation tool that addresses both IT and OT environments.

Whether an employee shortcutting security policies, a skilled hacktivist with a grudge to bear, or a stealthy state actor biding time within your network, Darktrace catches the subtle signs of abnormality and identifies threats in their early stages.

Government & Defense

Governments and the defense sector face some of the most pernicious cyber-attackers, including state-sponsored ones. The stakes are high and governments are continually confronted with new, unseen threat methodologies that change quickly, move subtly, and are very difficult to detect.

Despite the best perimeter defenses, advanced attackers continue to challenge this sector, and the insider threat is persistent. Edward Snowden proved that even the most stringently defended organizations in the world are vulnerable. The reality is that you cannot rely on staff or contractors to make the right decision, every time. Non-malicious, legitimate network users can also be dangerous.

Darktrace works with governments and the defense sector to deliver the best-in-class, most resilient defense against today’s attackers and tomorrow’s threats. It assists governments in achieving oversight and visibility of their myriad of network and users, and increases their confidence in being able to catch in-progress threats, before they do damage.

With our unique heritage in government intelligence – our experts have decades of experience in cyber defense for national security, working in high-risk environments in the US, Canada and the UK – Darktrace is uniquely placed to help protect critical assets and national infrastructures. Darktrace fights back at the same level of sophistication and speed as the adversary, whoever or whatever they are.

Manufacturing & Supply

Manufacturing companies face significant challenges in an age of increasing digitization, where corporate IT networks are coming to share more functions with traditional operational technologies. Protecting IT and OT environments, as well as ensuring that the supply chain is secure, means that manufacturing companies face cyber-threats from multiple angles.

Manufacturers depend on availability and reliability – machinery must be available to operate, and trusted to deliver. An undetected cyber attack could undermine the production process and cause substantial damage to finances and reputation. Insider threat poses a significant problem too – insiders could be well-placed to access critical systems to deliberately disrupt vital services, but also inadvertent mistakes could allow cyber-attackers to access operational technologies by using the corporate network as a through route. Manufacturing executives are increasingly aware of the greater risk of cyber-attack, and are taking steps to improve on existing security practises.

By working with leading manufacturing companies around the world, Darktrace is helping to defend against cyber-attacks and ensure organizations can operate without disruption. Darktrace’s self-learning technology is uniquely capable of learning a ‘pattern of life’ across both corporate IT networks and operational technologies, enabling it to detect anomalous activity in real time. Darktrace also provides total network visibility, aiding the investigative ability of security teams and providing boardroom executives with greater business oversight.

Healthcare & Pharma

With the digitization of healthcare records and medical processes, and the premium that is paid on the dark web for medical records, the healthcare industry is an attractive target for cyber attackers across the world.

The healthcare sector has also experienced a number of ransomware attacks in particular, where hackers encrypt a computer network’s data to hold it hostage. Healthcare organizations are often considered an easy target, as many lack the resilience to defend themselves effectively, and place a high value on their data.

Beyond immediate concerns around privacy, these breaches inflict major reputational damage, and threaten long-term confidence in the system. A major concern is not simply the threat of data being stolen or ‘held’ illegitimately, but the possibility that data can be changed, without the organization recognizing it. What happens when a patient’s blood type is changed, without your knowledge?

Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System offers the industry the means to stay ahead of emerging threat actors that jeopardize the entire sector. We work with hospitals and healthcare providers to deliver real-time awareness and visibility of all digital interactions, and automatically flag emerging behaviors that require investigation. Darktrace achieves this before ransomware spreads, before insiders cause irrevocable damage, and before criminals jeopardize data integrity.

Legal & HR

Cyber security is a major concern for law firms and the legal sector at large, as it handles substantial amounts of sensitive client data. From details relating to protected witnesses, patent applications, mergers and acquisitions, to financial negotiations and pending litigations, it is this rich data that makes these firms such a target for cyber-attackers. Law firms are also targeted in order for hackers to perform reconnaissance, or to side-step into a client’s network.

Your employees and staff are entrusted with highly sensitive data, but how do you properly vet them and their interactions? Can you guarantee that they will not expose data inadvertently, or deliberately contravene correct process? What if they themselves are targeted? Insider threat is impossible to fully predict, and will remain a problem that only automated and intelligent oversight can address.

Reputational damage to a law firm leads to a loss in trust that jeopardizes client relationships and harms customer acquisition. In the light of high-trust position that law firms operate in, cyber security has quickly become a critical issue.

Many law firms across the world, including Magic Circle and AmLaw 100 firms, are turning to Darktrace to provide them with the defense capability necessary to pre-empt emerging threats. It enables them to get ahead of issues that may be bubbling beneath the surface of their busy networks which would otherwise go undetected. Investment in innovative technology and machine learning has allowed law firms to demonstrate a serious cyber security strategy in line with client expectations, and increases confidence in their resilience and ability to defend against both insider and external threats.

Transportation

Protecting increasingly interconnected critical infrastructure from new cyber threats is a significant challenge faced by the transportation sector. Damage to critical infrastructure has the potential to cause major knock-on effects for business reputation and customer satisfaction. Striking the balance between functionality and security is of vital importance for transportation companies as they provide critical services.

Cyber-attackers may target transportation companies not only to gain access to customer databases or other confidential data that may be monetized, but also to deliberately disrupt critical services, whether for political or ideological reasons. By interrupting the operational technologies managing transport infrastructures, cyber-threats can irreparably damage company reputations and pose a real threat to passenger safety.

Darktrace works with some of the world’s leading transportation companies, from airport groups to train companies, to provide defense against some of the most difficult and subtle threats within their networks.

The unique ability of Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System to learn the normal behavior of each user, device and network, enables it to spot deviations from the norm and calculate the probability that those deviations represent genuine problems that require investigation. Darktrace detects threats as they emerge, providing total network visibility and ensuring that critical infrastructure can function reliably and safely, without interruption.

Media & Entertainment

Intellectual property is vital for media and entertainment companies in maintaining their competitive edge. Consumer demand for media is highly digitized, with content readily available on multiple platforms. In an age of advanced cyber-threat, media and entertainment companies must balance this availability of digital content with the security of their intellectual property, avoiding damaging leaks that could severely harm their reputation.

Due to the financial and reputational damage that cyber-attacks cause, the problem of cyber security has now become a board-level issue. Executives no longer see cyber security as a problem of technology, but rather as a business issue. This changing attitude means that media and entertainment companies are more aware of the potential damage security breaches can cause, and also ensures that networks are better protected from advanced cyber-threats.

Some of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies use Darktrace to protect against the sophisticated threats of today. Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System technology enables these organizations to detect and defend against cyber threats in real time, protecting the key assets and important intellectual property. Darktrace also provides total network visibility, allowing an awareness of all routes a potential threat could take and the ability to monitor and track those suspicious activities. With early visibility and continuous monitoring of network activity, media and entertainment companies can effectively safeguard data and interconnected systems, whilst remaining dynamic and innovative.

Technology & Telecoms

Cyber-attacks targeting innovative technology firms tend to be aimed at sensitive customer data and intellectual property. Indeed, a significant data breach could cost a technology firm dearly in terms of immediate loss of revenue, and subsequent reputational damage.

Technology firms that provide digital services and manage valuable customer data are particularly at risk, as demonstrated in the Uber breach that exposed the personal information of more than 25 million users. Regulations around personal data, such as GDPR, will require technology firms to adopt a robust cyber defense strategy that can detect cyber-threats at an early stage.

Cyber-attacks aimed at technology firms with valuable IP to protect have also become increasingly common, and are often perpetrated by nation-state actors with advanced capabilities. These firms rely on their intellectual property to maintain their competitive edge, and in these circumstances, the cost of a data breach from an external attack, or of a covert leak by an insider, could be immense.

Technology companies are at the forefront of innovation in today’s digital economy, but they will need to prioritize their cyber defense strategy in order to remain competitive and protect sensitive customer data.

Non-Profit

Not-for-profit organizations suffer the same cyber security concerns as their profit-making counterparts. However, the nature of their work sometimes makes them particularly susceptible to certain types of attackers, whether it is people who disagree with their cause, or groups that want to damage their reputation and ability to operate.

Given the ideological threat of hacktivists, the charity sector requires robust defense. This is not easy however, given their reliance on remote workers and volunteers, and the importance of digital outreach, making their networks hard to govern and protect. They can be seen as easy targets.

Darktrace works with leading charities and non-profit organizations to protect, addressing this challenge of protecting highly-distributed networks and information, while enabling dynamic working environments and digital activities. Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System technology is easy to use for all levels of these organizations, from IT, and not just the IT or security team, identifying potential threats while there is still time to act, and safeguard the reputations and futures of these special interest organizations.

Retail & e-Commerce

The retail sector relies on ease-of-purchase and a fluid customer experience in an increasingly competitive market, as e-commerce continues to grow. Amid this race to digitization, retailers must also ensure that customer data is secure and trust is maintained. This is not always an easy balance to strike.

After repeated cyber-attacks hitting the headlines in recent years, retailers are anxious to safeguard their brand reputation in the future, as attackers become increasingly sophisticated. They are embracing the Enterprise Immune System approach because it delivers visibility of all their digital platforms, and allows for effective defense, while enabling the business to move at the speed that it needs to in today’s online marketplace.