A Recent Interview Uncovers How Berlitz Corporation Reduced Critical Alerts by 86% and Saved 100K with CyCognito

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, a robust exposure management strategy is critical to safeguarding a company’s assets. I recently sat down with Daniel Schlegel, the Global Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Security Officer, and Chief Privacy Officer of Berlitz Corporation, a global leader in language training and cultural education, to hear about their transformative experience using CyCognito to gain global external attack surface visibility, reduce costs, and enhance their security posture. 

With a rich history spanning 145 years, Berlitz faced challenges stemming from the complexity of its digital infrastructure and the decentralized nature of its operations. The organization relied heavily on manual processes, which provided limited visibility and security gaps. This decentralized approach added a substantial operational load on Daniel’s team, spiraling resource costs as they continually increased headcount to keep pace with their expanding external attack surface.

“Our organization has been around for 145 years, and until recently, a lot of operational functions were decentralized and regionally operated. At that time, anyone with a little budget could authorize a public-facing resource.”

Traditional security measures were no longer sufficient in identifying and assessing risks across a vast network of diverse systems and applications. Standardizing functions globally was crucial for Berlitz. They needed a comprehensive exposure management solution that could bring all their external facing assets under one umbrella, manage risks more efficiently, and streamline operations.

“We were looking for a platform to automate tasks such as ongoing scanning and proactive assessment of our external attack surface. We wanted to keep abreast of general vulnerabilities and whether they potentially impacted the business,” Daniel noted.

Automation and Proactive Risk Management

Berlitz sought a proactive solution that could automate the risk and vulnerability discovery. After evaluating potential partners, CyCognito stood out to Daniel because of their proactive approach and mutual interest in our success. The collaboration has been immensely positive, and Daniel is confident that CyCognito continues to monitor and address vulnerabilities and potential threats before they are exploited. 

“We felt comfortable relatively early on with CyCognito, they showed genuine interest in our success as a customer. They discovered assets that we were generally unaware of, giving us confidence that this was the right solution for us.” 

Figure 1: Identifying risk on organization’s known vs discovered unknown assets

‘Aha’ Moments: The Discovery of Hidden Assets

CyCognito’s continuous automated discovery and monitoring of digital assets uncovered hidden and exposed assets has been a game-changer.  

“There was an ‘aha’ moment on a somewhat regular basis; there were findings initially that came out of it. We really did not necessarily know the level of detail at this point, and we developed an understanding of what assets and threats may be out there that perhaps we weren’t aware of.”

Daniel recalls another high-stakes discovery of an unknown orphan payment gateway used in the early stages of an e-commerce project many years ago. They were able to track down the gateway and shut it down through the vendor that was hosting it.

100K in Cost Savings and Risk Reduction

CyCognito also led to substantial cost savings by identifying and eliminating unnecessary services, resulting in $100K in savings over three years. 

“When we started shutting things down, we saved several thousands of dollars on a monthly recurring basis; over a number of years, you quickly get into six-digit savings.”   

Enhanced Visibility and Exploit Intelligence

For the first time, Daniel had comprehensive visibility into Berlitz’s external attack surface. The intuitive dashboard and detailed reports provided actionable insights, enabling the team to identify and remediate critical risks efficiently.

Figure 2: Issue Alert

“First, we have the visibility, and then the prioritization, so we know week-over-week where we need to focus our time,” Daniel explained.

CyCognito’s Exploit Intelligence provided the latest data on how vulnerabilities are exploited and how they map to Berlitz’s security landscape.

“The biggest thing for us is the built-in Exploit Intelligence and the Attack Surface Management; these two key aspects are what emphasize the most.” 

Critical Alerts Reduced by 86% Over Three Years

In the first full year running the platform, CyCognito alerted Berlitz to 140 critical items that needed to be prioritized and remediated. Over three years, Daniel saw an 86% reduction in critical alerts, from 140 to just 20.

“I’m pretty sure out of those 140 items, we would have only come across a fraction doing it ourselves manually. There was a large number of items to manage at the start, but now that those items are resolved, the number is much smaller. The platform’s value keeps increasing; it validates our efforts- the smaller the number, the better everything works, and that’s key to us.”

Unlocks Operational Efficiency

Figure 3: Critical Alerts 

The automation built into the platform has freed up his team to focus their efforts based on actual risk exposure to their most critical assets and remediate faster.  

“CyCognito was a force multiplier for our small team, allowing us to do more. The automation that is built into the platform means we don’t need to exponentially increase our headcount just to manage our assets.”

“CyCognito enables us to bring all our external assets under one umbrella, to look at this more holistically and centrally manage what’s happening.”

Seamless Integration and Accountability

When vulnerable assets need patching, the platform seamlessly integrates with Berlitz’s support ticketing system, Jira, ensuring timely resolution. This integration has brought accountability and centralized visibility to their assets, giving Daniel peace of mind they’ll be resolved in a timely way.

“The efficiency gains were substantial, particularly in remediating vulnerabilities. CyCognito brought accountability and centralized visibility to our assets, enhancing governance.”

Daniel’s journey with CyCognito has not only transformed Berlitz’s security posture but also set a benchmark for how organizations can achieve comprehensive visibility, fortify their defenses, and reduce costs with a robust exposure management solution. 

Figure 4: Workflow and Automation

Looking ahead

Berlitz is now well-equipped to face the future with confidence and resilience. Berlitz and CyCognito’s partnership highlights the importance of proactive risk management, continuous improvement, and mutual trust.

Ready to see CyCognito in action? Book some time to talk with us here.