Nixu’s SOC helps COWI to discover and remediate cybersecurity threats 24/7

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Eetu Simpanen

Eetu Simpanen

Business Manager

COWI A/S is an international consulting group specializing in engineering, environmental science, and architecture. Headquartered in Denmark, the company employs 8,500 people across multiple continents.

COWI and Nixu have been cooperating for years and have been side-by-side to witness technologies emerge, evolve, and mature. As COWI wanted to replace its existing Security Operations Center (SOC) with a modern solution, it decided to kick off a project with Nixu to get a new system up and running.

 Bigger cybersecurity muscles

COWI has invested heavily in ensuring the company has world-class cybersecurity capabilities. However, they acknowledge that their in-house security department needs support to cover all possible vulnerabilities worldwide and ensure that tools and skills are always up to date.

Nixu’s Security Operations Center (SOC) is there to monitor, prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to cyber threats around the clock. “Having 24/7 service is crucial for us. We also wanted a partner that is both professional and flexible. Nixu offered all that and was able to demonstrate they can excel in the new technology landscape”, says Claus Winther Adelørn, Digital Architect for Group Supporting Services at COWI.  

COWI headquarters in Denmark
COWI headquarters in Lyngby, Denmark


Where technology and top professionals meet

Nixu’s solution for COWI is a 24/7 SOC based on a modern Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform. The setup works with COWI’s current IT Service Management system, making tracking triggers and reacting to alerts much easier. In addition to a managed SIEM, the current SOC setup includes managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Advanced Threat Hunting with Extended Detection and Response (XDR) extension capabilities.

“Having a 24/7 service is crucial for us. We also wanted a partner that is both professional and flexible. Nixu offered all that and was able to demonstrate they can excel in the new technology landscape.” Claus Winther Adelørn, Digital Architect, Group Supporting Services, COWI

 

Today’s cybersecurity technologies are phenomenal but only part of a successful protection recipe. As it is of utmost importance to decide what to prioritize, Nixu’s SIEM specialists tweak the rules regularly to make sense of sometimes hundreds of events per second.

”For a SOC to operate at the optimal level, it’s essential to have dedicated teams on both sides“, says Winther Adelørn.

Improved visibility and valuable insights

Increased visibility is one of the benefits Nixu SOC offers. Network activity monitoring, potential threat identification, and gathering intelligence on attackers are done with a variety of tools, technologies, and extensive human expertise.

In addition to responding to threats, Nixu’s SOC team provides valuable insights into COWI’s security posture. By analyzing the data collected, the SOC team can identify patterns and areas of strengths and weaknesses and recommend changes.

Both COWI and Nixu consider the cooperation a partnership based on trust, open dialog, and continuous improvement. ”Nixu is a truly customer-focused company. If they can stay up to date, run the SOC the way they do it now, and challenge COWI constructively, I can see our partnership having a great future“, says Winther Adelørn.

“We value our partnership with COWI greatly”, says Cathrine Gullestrup, Security Business Manager at Nixu, and continues: “Our communication is straightforward, making operations smooth for both parties.”

More information

  • Eetu Simpanen

    Eetu Simpanen

    Business Manager