AmeriCo. Group Gains Expertise, Cost Savings, and Peace of Mind with CYE

Industry

Apparel Mfg. & Wholesale

Headquarters

USA

Countries

65+

Customer

Americo. Group

About the Company

AmeriCo. Group is committed to creating high-quality, sustainable, branded products. Responsible for many of today’s leading brands, it ensures that every product and every design adapts to the lifestyles, body types, performance levels and needs of all consumers. 

For nearly three decades, the company kept its focus on creating high-quality products that live up to their brand names. Its product portfolio stretches into an array of markets, brought forth with marketing, manufacturing, and distribution expertise.  

The Challenge: Increased Security for Rapidly Growing Company  

As a leading apparel manufacturer, AmeriCo. Group was growing its operations fast and multiplying the number of employees in the company, as well as its technologies, systems, servers, and services. A larger operation introduced many new potential vulnerabilities and cyber gaps, resulting in the need for a larger and more diverse security team to ensure the company was fully protected.  

“As we grew, we became more exposed to the outside world, with more integrations and more services that we used,” explained Paul Arking, AmeriCo. Group’s Chief Information Officer.  

Arking had heard that CYE could offer the breadth of cybersecurity expertise and knowledge that his company required. In addition, working with CYE would provide the company with a team of experts whose job it was to stay current and updated about the changing threat landscape.  

“We decided to go with a consultancy because if we wanted someone who was a network, Microsoft, Linux, Azure, or cloud specialist, we would need to hire many people. With CYE, we have an entire team working with us, leveraging the knowledge of an entire team of experts.”   

Paul Arking, Chief Information Officer, AmeriCo. Group 

The Solution: A Tailor-Made, Adaptable Approach to Cybersecurity 

CYE’s team of seasoned security professionals performed a comprehensive assessment of AmeriCo. Group’s environments and domains both in North America and globally. The team then made long- and short-term suggestions for improving AmeriCo. Group’s security posture. 

Following a baseline assessment, CYE identified the most urgent fixes required to quickly achieve a stronger security posture. AmeriCo. Group already had important security building blocks in place, like firewalls and patching plans; however, it was missing certain, more obscure, strategic nuances that could make a big difference. CYE suggested new password policies, changes to active directory settings, and tightening access to servers.  

AmeriCo. Group appreciated the assistance CYE offered with implementing the security fixes and recommended mitigation plans. 

“We addressed all the typical security issues alone, those that everyone knows to address, but there were certain small, but not insignificant, changes that CYE made us aware of, which, if untreated and exploited, can wreak havoc on your systems.”

Paul Arking, Chief Information Officer, AmeriCo. Group

Once CYE gave recommendations for improving the company’s security maturity, AmeriCo. Group’s security team focused on implementation. CYE was flexible and adapted its service to the rate of implementation, as well as to the changing security needs of the company. While there were certain activities scheduled such as security assessments and penetration testing, those schedules were subject to change if needed.  

Additionally, when working with consulting firms, nickel-and-diming is often a concern for clients. Being billed for every question and every hour spent can often deter companies from choosing this route. This is especially true if the bills have to be justified to management. CYE’s approach of setting goals in terms of improved security, rather than time tracking, was a nice surprise and a welcome relief to AmeriCo. Group. 

“We’ve seen periods of heightened activity and other times of less activity, but when there’s been a lot of activity, CYE never billed us extra for the additional efforts,” said Arking. “I’m thankful and grateful for this approach, and it’s a pleasure doing business this way.”

The Value: A One-Stop Shop for Ongoing Cybersecurity Needs

With CYE’s help and guidance and through AmeriCo. Group’s commitment to implementing CYE’s recommendations and making good use of the service, the company improved its cybersecurity maturity across the board.

CYE also provided AmeriCo. Group’s security team with essential charts and documentation, including screenshots from Hyver, CYE’s cybersecurity optimization platform. These documents were valuable for presenting and explaining security expenses to the company’s executives.

In addition, said Arking, CYE ultimately helped save AmeriCo. Group money. “Any kind of attack is always going to be costly in terms of time and money,” he said. “So having a strong cybersecurity partner like CYE means that we are always going to be ahead of the game.”

“CYE gives us a broad and general sense of security. Because the CYE team helps us address all our security issues across the board, it’s a one-stop-shop for all our security needs and has really helped beef up of our defenses and make us feel fully assured.”

Paul Arking, Chief Information Officer, AmeriCo. Group