Kingspan: From noise to signal and intelligence
Industry
Challenge
Solution
Results
Meet Kingspan Insulated Panels Division
Kingspan Group is a global leader in high-performance insulation and building envelope solutions. The Insulated Panels Division, headquartered in Holywell, North Wales, is the largest division, contributing 58% to the group's €8.3 billion turnover. John Gaskell, Director of IT for the Insulated Panels EAA (Europe, Africa, Asia) Division, oversees a complex IT environment spanning 65 sites across several continents, serving ~3,000 users. With manufacturing operations running 24/7 across multiple time zones, maintaining security and operational uptime is paramount.
Challenges
Drowning in Data, Starved for Insight
Before implementing SenseOn, Kingspan's IT team, managed by Chris Jackson (Infrastructure, Cyber-Security & Network Teams Manager), faced significant hurdles in securing their sprawling estate.
"One of the biggest challenges that we had was visibility across the whole estate," explains Chris Jackson. Disparate monitoring tools were used across different locations, meaning Kingspan "never had a full picture of anything that was going on."
Alert Overload & Prioritisation Issues
The incumbent tools generated high volumes of alerts, making it difficult for the team to distinguish critical threats from noise. "We couldn't see the wood for the trees," notes Chris. This led to difficulties in prioritising responses and the risk of missing genuine threats.
Inefficiency and Resource Strain
Sifting through masses of data from multiple sources was time-consuming. John Gaskell adds they lacked a tool to truly "detect any unusual activity" across the network efficiently, and were conscious that adding new tools often meant adding more staff overhead.
Solution
SenseOn Intelligence Cloud & 24/7 SOC Partnership
Kingspan needed a solution that could provide comprehensive visibility, intelligently filter threats, and integrate seamlessly with their existing team without adding significant overhead. They chose SenseOn's Intelligence Cloud, augmented by their 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) service.
Key aspects of the solution include:
Root Cause Triangulation
SenseOn's platform ingests vast amounts of data from across Kingspan's network using AI to correlate and consolidate billions of data points into to a small number of high-fidelity, actionable alerts.
Single Pane of Glass
Kingspan gets the unified view it desperately needed across all 65 sites via a user-friendly interface.
Real-time Alerting & Investigation Tools
Timely alerts are delivered directly to the team, while hunting tools enable Kingspan to go deep into the data across any timeframe required.
Instant SOC Communication
A live chat feature allows Kingspan's team to interact with SenseOn analysts right from the product in seconds for any support or assistance with security alerts
One of the biggest challenges that we had was visibility across the whole estate. Disparate monitoring tools were used across different locations, meaning Kingspan never had a full picture of anything that was going on.
Results
Enhanced Security, Efficiency, and Demonstrable Value
Drastically Reduced Alert Noise
"SenseOn is very clever...it will take billions of individual bits of data and consolidate them down to a few key, actionable pieces of information," says Chris Jackson - allowing his team to focus on what matters.
Improved Efficiency & Faster Response
The SOC team handles initial triage 24/7. "When we come in in the morning...the 24/7 support team has already looked at any alerts and updated us," explains Sam Inglis. This saves the internal team significant time, allowing them to focus on proactive security measures like patching and compliance.
Enhanced Visibility & Control
Kingspan now has the complete, real-time overview of their security posture they previously lacked.
Strong Collaboration
"The SOC team is very helpful and very personal as well; it's kind of an extension of our team," notes Sam Inglis. Lewis Ashley adds, "I love the live chat...the response from the team is so fast."
Value for Money
Crucially for John Gaskell, SenseOn enabled Kingspan to scale its capabilities without increasing headcount. "For me, it's cost with value," he states. "The value to me was the AI...and the fact that we could use the solution without having to increase our staff."
Conclusion
By leveraging SenseOn's AI-powered Intelligence Cloud and expert 24/7 SOC service, Kingspan Insulated Panels Division successfully overcame the challenges of securing a complex, global IT estate. They gained unified visibility, reduced alert fatigue, improved response times, and increased overall team efficiency, all while achieving significant value for their investment. SenseOn provides Kingspan with the confidence and capability to effectively manage cyber risk across their critical 24/7 operations.
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