Wise CISOaaS™ – Success Story at HomeServe

HomeServe takes security very seriously. It aims to offer a completely secure and reliable cyber environment

HomeServe decided to bolster its cybersecurity. It contacted Wise Security Global, which implemented the following actions: Net Alarm; Boost Teaming Network activity, and Wise CISOaaS™ model.

Knows the whole process.

INTRO

The British group HomeServe is the international leader in comprehensive home, business and community repair and maintenance solutions. It operates in five countries with a portfolio of over 8.4 million customers worldwide, and with 25 years of experience in the industry. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 250) and it has agreements with over 500 water, gas and electricity utility companies worldwide.

In Spain, it has a team of 1,000 employees, plus a network of 2,600 independent repair technicians across 20 associations who carry out around 850,000 repairs a year.

HomeServe offers utility companies and other sectors added-value solutions to retain customers and improve their experience, with over one million customers in Spain. In addition, its specialised comprehensive repair, installation and maintenance helpline handles and resolves the claims with the main insurance companies and collaborates with Real Estate companies by refurbishing their properties.

Service management is fully digital, through a mobile app and user web portal, amongst others. This means that all customer and supplier sensitive information is kept online.

HomeServe takes security very seriously. For this purpose, it aims to offer a completely secure and reliable cyber environment for its users and continual protection against potential threats. It endeavours to ensure its systems are continually available and resilient.

Assets which need protecting

HomeServe is clearly committed to development and maturity in terms of cybersecurity, guiding its efforts towards protecting the cyber-resilience of its main information assets. The company also went a step further, by implementing industry best practices based on ISO 27001 with regards to Information Security Management Systems. One of the steps taken in this direction was to define the most important cybersecurity services to monitor and dissuade: this includes detecting cyberattacks and vulnerabilities associated with its ICT assets.

Against this backdrop, Wise Security Global became its cybersecurity supplier to push forward HomeServe’s plan.

HomeServe has a hybrid environment with high-availability on premise services and services in different clouds such as Azure, Oracle and Salesforce.

HomeServe provides its customers with different next-generation integration technologies to be a market leader in professional insurer services. It covers mobile devices of any kind through to complex solutions, so its services are handled in the most agile, secure and simple way for its customers, always with a security mindset, based on information confidentiality, integrity and availability.

The role of Wise Security Global

In 2016, HomeServe decided to bolster its cybersecurity. It contacted Wise Security Global, which implemented the following actions:

– Net Alarm: Improve the early warning network through a more powerful tool which changes in line with HomeServe’s needs.

– Boost Teaming Network activity to continually test and fortify HomeServe’s systems.

– Promote a Wise CISOaaS model which matures within the company until it becomes a permanent component.

Sara Martín led this project from the outset, initially at Wise and then moving to become part of the team as Security Manager at HomeServe Spain.

Achievements

With the installation of the Net Alarm solution, Wise can comprehensively monitor all of HomeServe’s main systems. It does this through a more developed version of its Net Alarm, with more powerful hardware. With this, traffic is analysed, and all vulnerabilities scanned, as well as an advanced SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution.

“This new Wise alarm provides the customer with a SIEM solution able to change in line with its needs. Its control panel helps automatically categorise and provide an improved overview of alerts which are being reported not just by the IDS, but any other source of cybersecurity, such as a firewall…” explains Luis Bravo, Service and Technical Manager MCSS, and Laura Martínez, Service and Technical Manager CCSA at Wise. This solution solves one of the main problems with SIEM solutions: their profitability or the perceived returns on this investment. With the Wise alarm, the customer invests in information security only where necessary and depending on their capacities.

Wise also provides HomeServe with Ethical Hacking & Vulnerability Assessment services. Through a continual Teaming Network, HomeServe has an external pentesting team which works on internal assets, published online, or which are in the cloud. And through its CISOaaS service, it continues to provide a monitoring and strategic consultancy service.

STAR BENEFIT: CREDIBILITY

HomeServe has proven its credibility as a secure provider. And this is very important to continue winning the trust of its customers, who greatly value trusted suppliers. It is crucial that the HomeServe IT platform is kept cybersecure on all fronts to be able to confidently manage sensitive and personal information from these major companies. As a partner, Wise helps not only to keep up with increasingly strict legal requirements, but also to create secure and reliable cyber environments for and with its customers. And this, without a doubt, provides HomeServe with a clear competitive advantage which helps it stand out from the crowd. What Wise Security Global does:

• Provides support to the entire HomeServe technological infrastructure

• 24/7 continuous service from its own CSOC

• Early warning system