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Arctic Wolf Helps Howard, LLP Strengthen Its Security Posture Amid Growing Cyberthreats in the Accounting Industry
Technology Category
- Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security
- Cybersecurity & Privacy - Endpoint Security
- Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security
Applicable Industries
- Finance & Insurance
- Professional Service
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Intrusion Detection Systems
- Remote Asset Management
- Remote Control
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Cybersecurity Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Despite billions invested annually in cybersecurity products to reduce business threats, data breaches still occur far too often. Since 2014, data breaches reported by CPA firms increased by more than 80 percent, as the cost of outside counsel for litigation can run as high as $300,000. Factoring in additional costs for state and federal monitoring after a breach, firms like Howard have made cybersecurity a high priority. With growth on the horizon, Howard knew it would take on increased cybersecurity risk. Professionals at the firm routinely worked from their own devices, which led to a BYOD culture with more devices to secure. Email communications were particularly risky—to both Howard and the thousands of clients it serves. Howard has an IT team of less than five full-time employees. The firm had logs that recorded security threats, but the limited staff had little time to monitor threats, and staff members were suffering from alert fatigue. Thankfully, no significant threat had occurred at Howard, but the firm knew it was just a matter of time. Howard’s Chief Technology Officer Chris Barnes set out to evaluate the various cybersecurity offerings on the market to strengthen the firm’s security posture. He wanted a solution that provided greater visibility into the firm’s network, along with 24x7 monitoring and the ability to quickly identify and respond to security threats—all without requiring additional in-house IT staff or an astronomical financial investment.
About The Customer
Howard, LLP is a Dallas, Texas-based financial consulting firm that provides audit, assurance, and tax services to individuals and businesses across multiple industries in all 50 U.S. states and around the world. With more than 100 employees between Howard, LLP and its affiliated firms, and several thousand clients, Howard takes pride in helping its clients achieve their financial goals and brings peace of mind by resolving their toughest, most complex financial issues. In business for 40 years, Howard follows the mantra “more than just CPAs,” as Howard professionals strive to be attentive listeners, straight talkers, and creative thinkers.
The Solution
Barnes spent more than a year evaluating security solutions, including Secureworks, Carbon Black, Rapid7, eSentire, and Arctic Wolf’s cloud-native platform and Concierge Security® Team. Barnes discovered eSentire came at a high cost, and Rapid7 would require five to seven full-time IT employees to support the tools. Initially, Secureworks was used before switching a year later. Ultimately, the solution that stood out as the offering that would provide a high level of protection and the best value was Arctic Wolf® Managed Detection and Response (MDR). The MDR solution provides 24x7 monitoring of network, endpoints, and cloud environments to detect, respond, and recover from cyberattacks. Compared to other security solutions that have limited visibility, MDR is vendor-neutral—enabling broad visibility. It eliminates alert fatigue and false positives to promote a faster response with detection and response capabilities tailored to the specific needs of Howard. It also works with existing technology stacks, so Howard didn’t have to invest in new servers. In addition, the MDR solution seamlessly connected to Howard’s cloud applications, including Box and Microsoft 365. Approximately 85 percent of the firm’s applications are cloud based. “Our biggest blind spots are in the cloud, and Arctic Wolf’s ability to connect to cloud apps is its highest value,” said Barnes.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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