Expel Case Studies Make-a-Wish Foundation Enhances Cloud Security with Expel

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	Make-a-Wish Foundation Enhances Cloud Security with Expel Expel

Make-a-Wish Foundation Enhances Cloud Security with Expel

Expel

Technology Category	Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Hybrid Cloud
Applicable Industries	Construction & Infrastructure National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions	Maintenance
Use Cases	Construction Management Tamper Detection
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services Cybersecurity Services
Challenge	In 2019, the Make-a-Wish Foundation was planning an IT transformation with a move to cloud infrastructure and SaaS applications. The organization had been using on-premises hardware and software to connect about 2,500 employees. However, the pandemic forced the nonprofit to shift to remote work, accelerating their cloud transformation by moving to Microsoft Azure. This rapid transition presented new security challenges. The foundation had to protect private data such as names, contact info, donation history, and medical records of wish recipients. The IT security team had to sort through thousands of alerts, identifying false positives from its on-prem environment and SaaS apps, and which required responses. The team also had to deal with the threat of business email compromise (BEC), a key attack vector for the organization. Read More
About Customer	The Make-a-Wish Foundation of America is a nonprofit organization that fulfills the wishes of children from 2½ to 18 years old suffering from a critical illness. The nonprofit has 59 independent chapters in the United States and Puerto Rico, and 39 international affiliates in nearly 50 other countries around the world. Founded in 1980, Make-a-Wish has granted hundreds of thousands of wishes to critically ill children, improving the quality of life for children and their families by promoting resilience and increasing well-being. The organization has about 2,500 employees, including those in regional chapters that the IT team provides with technology assistance. Read More
Solution	To address these challenges, the Make-a-Wish Foundation selected Expel Managed Detection and Response (MDR) for cloud infrastructure and SaaS apps. The solution provided 24×7 support and helped the team focus on the most urgent threats, instead of spending hours and days assessing noisy alerts. Expel MDR custom workflows and automations analyze and compare alerts in minutes, allowing the team to take action only when necessary. The solution integrates with Azure and apps like Office 365, providing granular details about critical issues. Expel unearths and highlights potential threats that the team alone wouldn’t have spotted, allowing them to quickly investigate and address threats. Expel’s centralized dashboards provide real-time visibility into threats, alerts, and actions taken, and also give the team a head start in remediating threats. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Hybrid Cloud

Applicable Industries

Construction & Infrastructure

National Security & Defense

Applicable Functions

Maintenance

Use Cases

Construction Management

Tamper Detection

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Cybersecurity Services

Challenge

In 2019, the Make-a-Wish Foundation was planning an IT transformation with a move to cloud infrastructure and SaaS applications. The organization had been using on-premises hardware and software to connect about 2,500 employees. However, the pandemic forced the nonprofit to shift to remote work, accelerating their cloud transformation by moving to Microsoft Azure. This rapid transition presented new security challenges. The foundation had to protect private data such as names, contact info, donation history, and medical records of wish recipients. The IT security team had to sort through thousands of alerts, identifying false positives from its on-prem environment and SaaS apps, and which required responses. The team also had to deal with the threat of business email compromise (BEC), a key attack vector for the organization.

About Customer

The Make-a-Wish Foundation of America is a nonprofit organization that fulfills the wishes of children from 2½ to 18 years old suffering from a critical illness. The nonprofit has 59 independent chapters in the United States and Puerto Rico, and 39 international affiliates in nearly 50 other countries around the world. Founded in 1980, Make-a-Wish has granted hundreds of thousands of wishes to critically ill children, improving the quality of life for children and their families by promoting resilience and increasing well-being. The organization has about 2,500 employees, including those in regional chapters that the IT team provides with technology assistance.

Solution

To address these challenges, the Make-a-Wish Foundation selected Expel Managed Detection and Response (MDR) for cloud infrastructure and SaaS apps. The solution provided 24×7 support and helped the team focus on the most urgent threats, instead of spending hours and days assessing noisy alerts. Expel MDR custom workflows and automations analyze and compare alerts in minutes, allowing the team to take action only when necessary. The solution integrates with Azure and apps like Office 365, providing granular details about critical issues. Expel unearths and highlights potential threats that the team alone wouldn’t have spotted, allowing them to quickly investigate and address threats. Expel’s centralized dashboards provide real-time visibility into threats, alerts, and actions taken, and also give the team a head start in remediating threats.

Impact #1	With Expel, Make-a-Wish has been able to securely transition to a remote work model. The solution provides another set of “eyes and hands” for the security team, enabling them to do more. The team can now respond to potential business email compromise (BEC) attacks in just minutes, and Expel’s automated remediation capabilities help stop these attacks in their tracks. In the event of a security incident, teams have full visibility within Expel Workbench™. They have access to detailed descriptions of what’s occurring, what’s being done (while it’s being done), and how similar events can be avoided in the future. This has significantly improved the organization's ability to respond to threats and maintain the security of their data.

Impact #1

With Expel, Make-a-Wish has been able to securely transition to a remote work model. The solution provides another set of “eyes and hands” for the security team, enabling them to do more. The team can now respond to potential business email compromise (BEC) attacks in just minutes, and Expel’s automated remediation capabilities help stop these attacks in their tracks. In the event of a security incident, teams have full visibility within Expel Workbench™. They have access to detailed descriptions of what’s occurring, what’s being done (while it’s being done), and how similar events can be avoided in the future. This has significantly improved the organization's ability to respond to threats and maintain the security of their data.

Benefit #1	Expel saves Make-a-Wish hours per incident by taking the first step to investigate the issue and identify the potential threat.
Benefit #2	Expel allows Make-a-Wish to keep the security team at its current size, saving an annual cost of about $180,000.
Benefit #3	Expel shortens the alert-to-fix timeline from days to just minutes.

Benefit #1

Expel saves Make-a-Wish hours per incident by taking the first step to investigate the issue and identify the potential threat.

Benefit #2

Expel allows Make-a-Wish to keep the security team at its current size, saving an annual cost of about $180,000.

Benefit #3

Expel shortens the alert-to-fix timeline from days to just minutes.

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Overview

Make-a-Wish Foundation Enhances Cloud Security with Expel

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit