Cooling is imperative to keeping critical systems like data centers and reactors safe, efficient and operational. Overheated servers, machinery, and energy systems can lead to crashes, equipment breakdown, pressure buildup, or even hazardous conditions. Behind the scenes, EVAPCO, Inc. is ensuring this doesn’t happen by engineering the innovative cooling technologies that power everything from small office buildings to massive industrial facilities worldwide.

Headquartered in Maryland, EVAPCO is a global leader in HVAC and refrigeration with a strong reputation for engineering excellence. But with operations spanning dozens of facilities, hundreds of offices around the world, and a major R&D center, the company also faces a complex set of cybersecurity challenges that comes with protecting a worldwide footprint.

Growing operations have widened EVAPCO’s attack surface, putting pressure on its cybersecurity team to protect diverse environments across time zones and regulatory landscapes. “Being a global company means we can’t be everywhere 24/7 – not me, not my team,” said Jarrod Stebick, Assistant Manager, Cybersecurity. “That makes it difficult to monitor network and email threats consistently, and adversaries look for those gaps.”

Protecting an ever-expanding network

EVAPCO must protect its expanding digital infrastructure – not only laptops and servers, but any device on the network – while also extending coverage to interconnected cloud infrastructure. With critical services and workloads increasingly shifting to Exchange Online, Azure, and AWS, the company required visibility into both on-premises activity and cloud traffic to ensure comprehensive protection.

Email security at scale without compromise

Email is a business-critical function for the sales-driven organization where employees are constantly engaging with customers, vendors, and partners across the globe. “Email is the number one attack vector,” says Stebick. “But we can’t just block everything – we have to accommodate all levels of security without slowing down the business.”

From false positives to focused protection

The security team was spending up to two hours each day manually reviewing quarantined emails. False positives were common, and each email required additional context-checking. “You must understand who they’re trying to reach, what the context is, and whether it’s legitimate. That process was time-consuming and draining,” said Stebick.

Meeting customer expectations – today and tomorrow

Security is a prerequisite for doing business. But cybersecurity challenges will only increase as EVAPCO’s IT and OT eventually converge, with embedded controllers and programmable logic controllers increasingly requiring internet connectivity.

EVAPCO’s criteria for a cybersecurity partner extended well beyond traditional endpoint or network protection. As a global manufacturer with a unique footprint, the company needed a solution that could adapt to its mix of office employees, manufacturing teams, and OT technologies.

“We wanted something that could cover the full spectrum of our environment – not just laptops and servers, but any device connected to our network, as well as cloud infrastructure like Exchange Online, Azure, and AWS,” said Stebick. “Email and network fall into that bucket, and Darktrace covers it for us.”

Partnership at the core

The security team reevaluates all vendors during annual renewals to ensure ongoing fit. Strong vendor relationships are a key factor. “First and foremost, we want a solution partner that is supportive, responsive and invested in our ongoing success. We continue to have that with Darktrace,” said Stebick.

Smarter protection, deeper integration

Darktrace / EMAIL’s™ differentiators continue to stand out for EVAPCO. The platform’s ability to sanitize malicious content and integrate tightly with Microsoft Office 365 gives Stebick confidence it can stop advanced phishing attempts in real time. “It’s not just detonating a suspicious link – it’s also looking for spoofed Microsoft portals where someone tried to log in and then taking action on both.”

Streamlined security operations

The solution’s speed and usability are significant factors behind EVAPCO’s decision to continue investing in Darktrace. Security analysts appreciate the ability to correlate phishing activity quickly and take sweeping actions with just a few clicks. “When we’re going in to release messages or hunting for something, Darktrace is fast, intuitive, and easy to work with,” said Stebick. “We can delete everything from a sender or filter based on confidence level – all in a single dashboard. That makes a big difference.”

Always-on AI defense  

The continuous learning and autonomous response capabilities of Darktrace’s AI give EVAPCO the assurance that email- and network-related threats will be addressed immediately. “Darktrace does the work of an entire team. It is always watching, always responding, and always learning,” said Stebick.

Since deploying Darktrace / EMAIL and Darktrace / NETWORK, EVAPCO has seen measurable improvements in both security operations and day-to-day user experience.

From network alerts to action in seconds

Reflecting on EVAPCO’s network security improvements, Stebick says, “Darktrace / NETWORK has significantly increased the speed of response to potential alerts, allowing us to handle a larger workload with less people.” Over a period of nine months, Darktrace Cyber AI Analyst conducted15,484 total investigations and resolved 93% of those autonomously – averaging a 12.7-second autonomous response rate.

The efficiencies achieved with Darktrace Autonomous Response have been equally impactful, saving 819 analyst hours on investigations within a single month – totaling $28,665 in analyst resources saved. “Darktrace allows our team to focus on what’s really important instead of being overwhelmed with a flood of alerts. That keeps them more engaged and effective,” Stebick says.

Minimizing inbox risk, maximizing analyst efficiency

Darktrace / EMAIL has dramatically reduced the clutter and threats in employee inboxes, particularly for executives who are frequent targets of spam, gray mail, and phishing attempts. And by taking over mundane tasks that once consumed hours of analysts’ time, Darktrace has significantly improved efficiency, enabling analysts to focus on higher-priority work.

“The amount of data Darktrace can process far exceeds what a team of analysts could do on their own. That’s where the efficiency really comes in,” notes Stebick. AI-driven automation works around the clock, escalating only what requires human oversight and freeing EVAPCO’s security team to focus on higher-value work.

Protecting the business and user productivity

With Darktrace / EMAIL, security no longer means an all-or-nothing choice between inbox and quarantine. Instead of blocking entire messages, Darktrace neutralizes only the risky elements – disabling malicious links, attachments, or spoofed addresses while still delivering the email. Unlike other platforms that restrict notifications to once or twice daily, Darktrace enables Stebick’s team to update users every hour, so they always know what’s been actioned in their inbox, which is vital to their productivity.

This precision has been a game-changer for EVAPCO’s workforce, particularly sales and marketing teams who depend on rapid communication with customers and partners. “They want everything, and they want it fast – that’s what sells,” Stebick says. “Our job is to get them the emails they need, but in a safe, controlled manner. Darktrace allows us to do both.”

Securing today, preparing for tomorrow

For EVAPCO, innovation doesn’t stop at cooling technologies – it extends to how the company protects its business and its customers. As it pioneers more efficient and sustainable solutions, cybersecurity will remain inseparable from that mission. “We’re constantly trying out new ways to deliver solutions ahead of demand,” said Stebick. “And part of that is making sure we can shine a light on every corner of our environment, so nothing slips through unseen.”

By pairing world-class engineering with AI-powered resilience, EVAPCO is not only securing today’s operations – it’s preparing for tomorrow’s challenges, ensuring that trust, performance, and innovation remain at the core of everything it delivers.