Hylant Protects Against Cyber Risk with MDR

Hylant, an insurance brokerage company, understands risk. For more than 85 years, the company has been working to insure businesses and individuals against unexpected risks that threaten or expose them to harm. Today, that includes cyber risk. Hylant employees talk every day with policyholders about cyber risk, so they understand the need to take precautions to minimize that risk for their own employees, policyholders, and vendors and to set an example for policyholders on how to handle cybersecurity challenges to stay safe from an attack.

The Challenge

With the growing number of cyber threats, Hylant’s security team members identified three key needs as part of their cybersecurity road map to maturity: endpoint detection and response (EDR), network detection and response (NDR), and SIEM/ log aggregation. The team lacked the specific skill set needed to effectively administer and monitor cyberattacks using those specific tools. The team members preferred to have those tools managed by a trusted security vendor that also could cover them outside normal business hours. This situation led the Hylant team to Pondurance’s managed detection and response (MDR) solution.

The company employs 1,000 individuals and is headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, with offices in eight states. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many employees started working remotely. That’s when it became apparent that the endpoint protection Hylant used was antiquated. The company needed a more mature solution to protect against the increasing vulnerabilities of a remote workforce.

As an insurance brokerage company, Hylant was well aware of the financial, operational, and reputational hardships that can come from having an inadequate cybersecurity program. Even an insurance brokerage company needs the proper solutions in place to qualify for cyber insurance. Hylant needed to proactively protect against threats.

The Solution

The company did its homework and wanted all the services that modern MDR offered, including SIEM, EDR, NDR, and a 24/7 security operations center (SOC).

“With MDR, all those items get captured in one project, and they’re becoming the baseline need for businesses,” said Brent Brinkman, IT Operations and Security Operations Leader at Hylant. The company interviewed a selection of MDR providers and chose Pondurance as the best provider to manage and administer a security solution.

Hylant uses Pondurance’s full MDR platform including EDR, network sensor for NDR, and SIEM/log aggregation from network sensors, servers, cloud tenants, firewalls, network devices, and more — all monitored by Pondurance’s 24/7 SOC with security analysts, threat hunters, and incident responders. Looking ahead, Hylant team members plan to further partner with Pondurance to enhance their vulnerability management program with increased penetration testing and scanning and to refine the policies and procedures of the existing cybersecurity program with Pondurance’s professional services.

The Result

Hylant is now deployed and is relieved that no serious vulnerabilities were discovered in the cyber environment. The team members feel confident partnering with Pondurance to protect their valuable data against a cyber threat.

“I think what I like most about Pondurance is they’re not deploying their own internally developed solutions; they’re deploying industry-best solutions,” said Brinkman. “And they’re managing it for us and alerting us. I don’t have to train our staff or get expertise in each one of the products. I can rely on Pondurance.”

Pondurance monitors Hylant’s system 24/7 and proactively detects and responds to threats. Best of all, Pondurance’s expertise helps the Hylant team members sleep at night, knowing there’s a security solution in place to protect their data, policyholders, and vendors.

All the people in leadership I’ve met here [at Pondurance] have had profound industry experience in previous roles. I think they’re the right fit for Hylant, as well as potentially becoming a partner with Hylant for some of our customers.

Brent Brinkman, IT Operations and Security Operations Leader, Hylant

Hylant Quick Profile:

Founded: 1935
Location: Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, with offices in eight states
Employees: 1,000
Size: One of the largest privately held insurance firms in the U.S., with $170 million in annual brokerage revenue
Products: Comprehensive risk management consultation, alternative risk financing services, business insurance brokerage, employee benefits brokerage and consultation, small business insurance solutions, and personal insurance services

About Pondurance

Pondurance delivers world-class MDR services to industries facing today’s most pressing and dynamic cybersecurity challenges including ransomware, complex compliance requirements, and digital transformation accelerated by a distributed workforce. By combining our advanced platform with our experienced team of analysts, we continuously hunt, investigate, validate, and contain threats so your own team can focus on what matters most.

Pondurance experts include seasoned security operations analysts, digital forensics and incident response professionals, and compliance and security strategists who provide always- on services to clients seeking broader visibility, faster response and containment, and more unified risk management for their organizations.

For more information, call 1-888-385-1702 or email us at info@pondurance.com.

Case Study

Hylant Protects Against Cyber Risk with MDR Services