Cynergy Cybersecurity: Case Studies
Welcome to a collection of five case studies that showcase the expertise and impact of Cynergy's solution.
Through these in-depth examinations, discover how Cynergy has helped organizations of all sizes navigate the ever-evolving landscape of digital threats and safeguard their most valuable assets.
CUSTOMER STORY / LARGE FOOD MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISE
Overview
A large enterprise in the food manufacturing industry faced a significant security threat that was successfully mitigated by Cynergy.app’s proactive measures. This case study explores how Cynergy.app played a crucial role in identifying and resolving a critical vulnerability, thereby protecting the company from potential financial and repetitional damage.
Challenges
The enterprise’s IT infrastructure included a database backup file left in the root directory of their website. Cynergy’s deep scan discovered the backup file location, which contained sensitive information of 13 million clients, including personally identifiable information (PII) and passwords. As an EU-based organization, the potential data leak could have resulted in fines up to $1.9 billion under GDPR regulations.
Solutions
Deep Vulnerability Scan
Cynergy’s deep scan identified the misplaced database backup file.
Immediate Action
The client was promptly informed, leading to immediate removal of the backup file from the root folder and modification of backup default paths.
Results
Prevention of Data Leak
The prompt action prevented the potential exposure of sensitive client information.
Regulatory Compliance
By addressing the vulnerability, the company avoided potential GDPR fines and maintained compliance.
Enhanced Security Posture
The incident led to improved security practices, safeguarding the company from future threats.
Highlights
Identification of Critical Vulnerability:
Cynergy’s proactive scanning capabilities effectively identified a significant security threat.
Timely Mitigation:
The client’s swift response and corrective actions prevented potential financial and repetitional damage.
Regulatory Compliance:
Addressing the issue ensured compliance with GDPR regulations, avoiding hefty fines.
CUSTOMER STORY / LARGE BANKING ENTERPRISE
Overview
A large enterprise in the banking industry faced a severe security threat involving stolen credentials. This case study explores how Cynergy's proactive measures helped identify and mitigate this risk, preventing potential financial and repetitional damage.
Challenges
The enterprise’s IT department experienced a credential theft incident where an employee’s credentials were stolen using an Infostealer. Cynergy’s employee scan discovered these stolen credentials, which could have been used to authenticate with various internal and external systems, including Office 365 and other IT providers.
Solutions
Employee Scan and Credential Validation:
Cynergy.app’s employee scan identified the stolen credentials. The Password Spraying algorithm was then used to validate these credentials.
Immediate Notification and Remediation:
The client was promptly notified, and the compromised passwords were modified by the bank’s IT department. Additionally, the employee updated their credentials for ShadowIT services.
Results
Prevention of Unauthorized Access
The timely discovery and remediation prevented potential unauthorized access by threat actors.
Protection Against Ransomware and Data Loss
By addressing the stolen credentials, the bank safeguarded itself from potential ransomware attacks and significant information loss.
Enhanced Security Practices
The incident led to improved security measures, including regular credential audits and enhanced employee awareness programs.
Highlights
Identification of Stolen Credentials
Cynergy’s proactive employee scan effectively identified the stolen credentials.
Timely Mitigation
Swift response and corrective actions prevented potential financial and operational damage.
Strengthened Security Posture
Addressing the issue reinforced the bank’s security measures, protecting against future threats.
CUSTOMER STORY / MEDIUM-SIZED FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION IN THE BILLING INDUSTRY
Overview
A medium-sized financial organization in the billing industry faced a critical security threat involving exposed server logs. This case study explores how Cynergy’s proactive measures helped identify and mitigate the risk, thereby protecting the organization from potential repetitional and financial damage.
Challenges
The Cynergy Data Leak scan discovered a URL that returned a live log of the web application server’s activity. The log included connection strings to S3 buckets containing sensitive billing information and invoices of many clients. An attacker could have easily copied these strings to download various sensitive files such as invoices, price quotes, and other billing-related information.
Solutions
Data Leak Scan and Vulnerability Identification
Cynergy׳s Data Leak scan identified the exposed URL and the sensitive information within the server logs.
Immediate Remediation
The client was informed, and the company promptly disabled access to the log, preventing any potential information extraction by attackers.
Legal and Compliance Assurance
The incident led to improved security practices, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations and avoiding potential lawsuits.
Results
Prevention of Data Exposure
The quick action prevented the exposure of sensitive client information, including price lists, client details, and bank information.
Avoidance of Repetitional Damage
By addressing the vulnerability, the organization avoided potential repetitional damage and maintained trust with its clients.
Highlights
Identification of Sensitive Data Exposure
Cynergy’s proactive scanning capabilities effectively identified a critical vulnerability.
Timely Mitigation
The client’s swift response and corrective actions prevented potential financial and repetitional damage.
Enhanced Security Posture
Addressing the issue reinforced the organization’s security measures, protecting against future threats.
CUSTOMER STORY / LARGE NAVAL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY
Overview
A large enterprise in the naval transportation industry faced a phishing threat involving a typosquatted domain. This case study explores how Cynergy’s proactive measures helped identify and mitigate this risk, protecting the company and its clients from potential phishing attacks.
Challenges
As part of Cynergy’s Insights capability, a newly registered domain with a typosquatted name mimicking the naval company’s domain was discovered. The similarity score for this new domain was 100%, indicating that it either belonged to the company or was a phishing website. Upon disclosing this information to the client, the client verified that it was indeed a phishing website.
Solutions
Domain Monitoring and Threat Detection
Cynergy’s Insights capability detected the typosquatted domain, alerting the client to the potential phishing threat.
Immediate Action and Reporting
The client, together with Cynergy, reported the domain, leading to its prompt takedown.
Results
Prevention of Phishing Attacks
The swift identification and reporting of the phishing domain prevented potential phishing attacks on the company’s clients.
Protection of Client Credentials
By taking down the phishing website, the company safeguarded its clients from credential theft and other cyber threats.
Reinforced Trust and Security
Addressing the issue enhanced the company’s security posture and maintained trust with its clients.
Highlights
Identification of Phishing Threat
Cynergy’s proactive monitoring effectively identified a critical phishing threat.
Timely Mitigation
The client’s quick response and collaboration with Cynergy prevented potential financial and repetitional damage.
Enhanced Security Posture
Addressing the issue reinforced the company’s security measures, protecting against future threats.
CUSTOMER STORY / LARGE AUTOMOTIVE ENTERPRISE
Overview
A large enterprise in the automotive industry faced a significant security threat from a well-known Threat Actor group, APT41. This case study explores how Cynergy’s proactive measures helped identify and mitigate this risk, thereby protecting the company from potential financial and operational damage.
Challenges
Cynergy’s Insights module highlighted the likelihood of an imminent attack by the Threat Actor group APT41. The group was expected to use specific Tools, Tactics, and Practices (TTPs) to breach the enterprise. The security team took this insight into consideration and initiated a Threat Hunting activity focusing on the TTPs identified by Cynergy. After a week of investigation, an IP address used by APT41 was identified as accessing the organization, leading to the discovery of a breach.
Immediate Action and Remediation
The Threat Actor group was identified, and additional safeguards were implemented to prevent further breaches.
Solutions
Threat Intelligence and Monitoring
Cynergy's Insights module provided early warning about the potential attack, identifying the TTPs used by APT41.
Proactive Threat Hunting
The security team conducted a focused Threat Hunting activity, which led to the identification of an IP address associated with APT41 and the discovery of a breach.
Results
Prevention of Operational Disruption
The timely identification and mitigation of the threat prevented a full disruption of production, which could have cost the company $10 million USD per day.
Enhanced Security Measures
The incident led to the implementation of additional security safeguards, strengthening the company’s defense against future threats.
Improved Threat Detection
The proactive approach and use of Cynergy’s Insights module enhanced the company’s ability to detect and respond to sophisticated cyber threats.
Highlights
Early Warning and Threat Detection
Cynergy.app’s proactive Insights capability provided an early warning about the potential attack.
Timely Mitigation
The client’s swift response and corrective actions prevented significant financial and operational damage.
Strengthened Security Posture
Addressing the issue reinforced the company’s security measures, protecting against future threats.
Customer Story / Mass Media Company
Overview
One of the largest Mass Media Companies faced a significant security threat that was successfully mitigated by Cynergy's proactive measures. This case study explores how Cynergy played a crucial role in identifying and resolving a critical vulnerability, thereby protecting the integrity of the publication and preventing potential market manipulation.
Challenges
Cynergy's Hijack scanner, which is run upon every discovery scan, identified that one of the organization's subdomains could have been hijacked by a threat actor. An attacker could have taken over the subdomain and publicized fake news on behalf of one of the world's most trusted online newspapers.
Solutions
Hijack Scanner and Vulnerability Identification
Cynergy’s Hijack scanner identified the vulnerable subdomain.
Immediate Action and Mitigation
Cynergy took proactive measures and, using its automated mitigation, took over the subdomain to prevent threat actors from doing so. The client was informed, and the misconfiguration was fixed by deleting the misconfigured DNS entry.
Results
Prevention of Fake News Publication
The prompt action prevented the potential publication of fake news and protected the integrity of the newspaper.
Avoidance of Market Manipulation and Disinformation
By addressing the vulnerability, Cynergy prevented potential market manipulation and large-scale disinformation attempts.
Enhanced Security Posture
The incident led to improved security practices, safeguarding the publication from future threats.
Highlights
Identification of Critical Vulnerability
Cynergy’s proactive Hijack scanner effectively identified a significant security threat.
Timely Mitigation
The client’s swift response and corrective actions prevented potential financial and repetitional damage.
Strengthened Security Measures
Addressing the issue reinforced the publication’s security measures, protecting against future threats.
