MSSP Case Study: AKATI Sekurity Bolsters Government Agency's Cyber Defences
Case Study At A Glance
Challenge: Fragmented security in a complex hybrid environment (AWS, Azure, on-prem) for a key government agency.
Solution: Full-spectrum 24/7 MSSP by Akati Sekurity, unifying SIEM/XDR, and providing proactive threat intelligence.
Outcome: Unified security visibility, strengthened defences, and enhanced operational efficiency.
An agency recently completed a significant enhancement of its cybersecurity posture by partnering with AKATI Sekurity for full-spectrum Managed Security Services (MSSP).
Achieved within a remarkably short timeframe, the engagement saw AKATI Sekurity onboard the organization's complex hybrid environment, which includes extensive cloud infrastructure, on-premises assets, and multi-vendor platforms. This initiative has established unified security visibility across a substantial number of servers, numerous web applications, and various cloud services, delivering continuous 24/7 protection and proactive threat intelligence. Consequently, the organization has notably strengthened its defences, allowing for a greater focus on its core strategic objectives.
The Challenge: Addressing Evolving Threats Amidst Digital Expansion
As a key agency, the organization faced considerable pressure to maintain exemplary cybersecurity standards. This necessity stemmed not only from compliance obligations but also from the imperative to uphold significant public and stakeholder trust. The accelerated digital reliance in recent years, coupled with heightened scrutiny, revealed certain limitations in its existing, somewhat fragmented, security measures.
The organization’s expanding digital footprint encompassed diverse cloud environments, including AWS and Azure, coexisting with established on-premises systems. While this infrastructure generated vast amounts of telemetry, the absence of fully centralized correlation, contextual analysis, and streamlined escalation protocols presented challenges to comprehensive visibility. The internal team, despite its dedication, found its resources stretched in effectively monitoring, detecting, and responding to sophisticated threats in real-time across this extensive and varied infrastructure. This scenario presented potential risks, including the possibility of undetected security breaches, disruptions to essential services, or the compromise of sensitive data. The organization identified a need to bolster its operational capacity to manage these evolving risks.
The Selection of AKATI Sekurity: A Focus on Partnership and Proactive Defence
The organization determined that its requirements extended beyond a simple technology vendor, seeking instead a collaborative security partner. Key criteria included a full-service MSSP capable of operating a 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) with certified experts, normalizing and analyzing telemetry from all assets for unified visibility, and responding to threats under documented Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with clear escalation playbooks. Furthermore, the ability to deliver actionable, board-ready reports translating complex security data into business risk insights, alongside proactive threat intelligence from open, deep, and dark web sources, was paramount.
AKATI Sekurity was selected based on its established regional experience with complex hybrid environments, a transparent and efficient integration methodology, and a demonstrated capacity to rapidly operationalize comprehensive threat detection and response. The specialized threat intelligence capabilities of AKATI's Blackhawk Intelligence division were also a significant consideration in the decision-making process. The organization sought a partner that could quickly provide an operational SOC and understand the unique security needs of a large, multifaceted entity.
The Delivered Solution: A Comprehensive Security Transformation
Over a period of mere months, AKATI Sekurity implemented a comprehensive Managed Security Service, significantly transforming the organization's cybersecurity framework:
Unified Hybrid Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) & Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Onboarding:
A considerable number of assets, including numerous servers, multiple firewalls, a wide array of web applications, several cloud Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), and various cloud services such as Azure Event Hub, Microsoft 365, AWS CloudTrail, and GuardDuty, were seamlessly integrated into AKATI’s SOC. This consolidation eliminated previous data silos, providing a unified view through the Stellar Cyber Open XDR platform for holistic threat monitoring.
24/7 Real-Time Threat Monitoring & Response:
AKATI's SOC, staffed by certified analysts, initiated continuous monitoring. Leveraging the Stellar Cyber platform, this encompassed:
Detection of security issues mapped against established cybersecurity frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and the Cyber Kill Chain. A recent quarterly SOC report indicated a substantial number of such security issues were identified and processed.
Proactive identification of Attack Surface Management (ASM) vulnerabilities. The same quarterly report noted a significant number of ASM-related tickets raised, highlighting issues such as outdated SSL/TLS protocols.
Monitoring for web application availability, with multiple instances of downtime identified and reported in a recent quarter.
Proactive Threat Intelligence & Brand Protection:
AKATI's Blackhawk Intelligence team delivered regular threat intelligence reports. These included:
Continuous surveillance of open, deep, and dark web channels for any indication of compromised corporate or customer credentials linked to the organization. Recent monitoring for a specific month found no compromised credentials related to the organization's owned applications and/or domains.
Brand protection monitoring across social media and domains to detect potential impersonation attempts. No such entities related to the organization were observed during that same month's monitoring period.
Analysis of global and regional risk landscapes, providing insights into compromised credential statistics by industry and discussions within underground forums.
Documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Playbooks & Reporting:
A comprehensive Security Operations Runbook, detailing deployment architecture, log collection methods, alert analysis workflows, a RACI matrix, and escalation procedures, was established. The organization now receives detailed monthly and quarterly reports, offering clear visibility into ticket categories, severity, status, and breakdowns of security issues, thereby supporting informed governance and oversight.
Key Outcomes: Enhanced Resilience and Operational Effectiveness
The strategic engagement with AKATI Sekurity has produced significant and tangible benefits for the organization:
Comprehensive Threat Visibility: Continuous 24/7 monitoring now extends across the organization’s entire hybrid environment, encompassing cloud and on-premises systems. This is supported by the wide array of data sources integrated into the SOC, covering an extensive digital infrastructure.
Proactive Threat Management:
In a recent representative quarter, a high volume of tickets were escalated and managed, addressing security issues, ASM vulnerabilities, and web application monitoring events.
Security issues were systematically categorized by severity—with a number of critical and high-priority issues identified—and by their stage in the attack lifecycle, such as Persistent Foothold and Initial Attempts, enabling a prioritized response strategy.
The SOC team actively identified and escalated various specific threats, including multiple instances of "Uncommon Process Anomaly", and vulnerabilities like outdated SSL/TLS protocols.
Informed Decision-Making: Detailed monthly threat intelligence and quarterly SOC reports furnish the organization’s leadership with actionable insights into its risk posture and the potential business impact of security events, translating complex data into strategic considerations.
Improved Operational Efficiency: By engaging AKATI Sekurity for 24/7 security operations and advanced threat intelligence, the organization's internal IT team has been able to redirect its efforts from continuous alert monitoring towards core strategic programs. This approach also precluded the substantial investment typically required for disparate tools, specialized internal teams, and the development of an equivalent in-house 24/7 SOC.
The Path Forward: Sustaining Cyber Resilience
Cybersecurity is recognized as an ongoing discipline rather than a singular objective. The organization's collaboration with AKATI Sekurity represents a significant operational enhancement, embedding robust MSSP capabilities and proactive threat intelligence within its core IT strategy. This has resulted in a demonstrably more resilient posture, better preparing the organization to defend against, detect, and respond to an ever-evolving threat landscape.
AKATI Sekurity continues its partnership with the organization, adapting protective measures to new threats, providing regular threat intelligence updates, and supporting its evolving cybersecurity requirements. This engagement serves as an example of how a strategic partnership can empower major organizations to navigate the complexities of the digital age with enhanced security and confidence. For other entities undertaking significant digital transformation, this experience highlights that achieving robust cyber resilience is often best realized through a dedicated, expert partnership.
About AKATI Sekurity
AKATI Sekurity is a global Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) trusted by public and private sector organisations across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. With deep expertise in hybrid environments, we deliver 24/7 threat detection, response, and advisory—tailored to each client’s risk profile and operational priorities.
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