Dubai-based logisticscompanyTristar Transport is defending its critical systems against advanced attacks with AI security solutions from Darktrace. “I sleep a little easier at night knowing that if there was a threat emerging it would be spotted before it was too late,” says Yassim Elfassi, the new Group Chief Information Officer at Tristar Group.
Operating in 18 countries, Tristar Transport LLC is a globally renowned logistics provider, catering to the needs of the petroleum and chemical industries. In just 20 years, the Dubai-based company has built a global network throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Far East and Central America.
By providing dedicated facilities for transport, warehousing and fuel supply operations, Tristar is a crucial link in the energy sector’s global supply chain, and the partner of choice for major multinationals like Shell, BP and Total.
Challenge
As Tristar continues to expand its network across an international portfolio of clients, defending its critical systems against advanced attacks has become an increasing challenge. As an essential link in the complex, global supply chains underpinning the energy sector, Tristar recognised that a severe cyberattack could have far-reaching consequences.
Finances and reputation were not the only assets at stake, as a successful attack could potentially cause physical and environmental damage as well.
Given the heightened cyber-risks associated with the energy sector, Tristar sought to reinforce its existing security stack with a solution capable of detecting and responding to zero-day, supply chain and insider threats.
From devices that monitor driver fatigue, through to warehouse bots, Tristar uses a range of innovative technologies to support its digitised solutions and services. However, due to the company’s growth, available resources were at a premium – making it tougher to secure its growing infrastructure against advanced attacks.
Lacking visibility into its cloud and IoT systems in particular, Tristar’s security team needed a cyberdefence solution that could autonomously detect and respond to cyberthreats across an increasingly diverse digital infrastructure.
Solution Tristar decided to deploy Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System to protect its sensitive customer data and operational systems, given the technology’s unique ability to learn normally on the job and adapt to the increasing complexity, diversity and scale of Tristar’s sprawling global network.
After a swift installation, Darktrace’s cyberdefence AI immediately started learning the normal ‘pattern of life’ for every user and device in the business. Rather than depend on manual input or pre-set rules and signatures, its evolving ‘sense of self’ allows Darktrace to detect the hidden vulnerabilities and novel threats that other tools miss.
Tristar also deployed Darktrace’s autonomous response solution, Darktrace Antigena. Antigena functions like a digital antibody, taking precise, surgical actions to contain in-progress threats within seconds. For Tristar, dealing with highly valuable and highly dangerous materials means that even the slightest compromise could have severe consequences.
Antigena can defend against even the most sophisticated, machine-speed attacks which would make an impact well before humans have time to respond. Darktrace’s autonomous response technology not only contains emerging cyberthreats but does so without interruption.
Antigena AI detects anomalous activity and then responds by enforcing the normal ‘pattern of life’ for a given user or device – allowing the business to operate as usual and giving human responders the time needed to catch up and investigate and remediate as needed.
Deployed across its cloud, IoT and physical networks, Darktrace AI also allows Tristar to correlate and analyse rich insights across its diverse digital infrastructure. Darktrace’s Threat Visualizer interface provides the security team with complete visibility of all traffic on its systems in a single pane of glass, while surfacing intuitive and graphical insights for deep, context-based threat investigations.
Benefits
“We deployed Darktrace’s AI and have not looked back. The Enterprise Immune System does the legwork for us, spotting genuine threats in real time and Antigena responds before they can escalate,” said Yassim Elfassi, Group Chief Information Officer at Tristar Group.
Darktrace’s cyber AI gives the advantage back to the defenders, not only working 24/7 to detect and contain attacks, but also filtering each threat by its level of criticality, allowing security teams to optimise their resources.
“For a small security team, Darktrace’s AI is a game changer. It immediately starts learning and identifying threats, no matter where they are on our systems, without the need for any prior configuration,” said Elfassi. Darktrace has given Tristar’s security team the time needed to focus on adding value to the business.
With its data protected by cyber AI, and every device on its systems visualised and monitored, the company can modernise its IT systems and pursue the latest advances in technology, improving efficiency and cutting costs. Darktrace is the cornerstone of the company’s award-winning Digital Transformation project, which includes smart sensors, automation and Blockchain ledgers overseeing the supply chain.
As Elfassi said: “Darktrace gives us the confidence to innovate, which makes all the difference in a competitive market.”
Darktrace AI has given Tristar meaningful control over its digital infrastructure as it expands beyond physical networks and into interconnected, virtual systems. Even as its systems grow more complex, Darktrace’s self-learning technology will continue to adapt, learn and react, so that Tristar can always remain one step ahead in the face of a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
“I’ve not seen anything else that can compare to Darktrace,” said Elfassi, “It has changed how we think about our key systems and services.”
We asked Yassim Elfassi, the new Group Chief Information Officer at Tristar Group, further questions about the solutions.
Can you outline why you needed to gain visibility of your infrastructure, ahead of selecting the Darktrace solution?
Innovation is central to our ethos – we have implemented devices that monitor driver fatigue across our vehicles and our warehouses have been transformed by automation. But the advent of IoT has fundamentally changed the game of securing our organisation from cyberattacks.
For all their convenience and appeal, IoT has fundamentally changed the game of securing our digital infrastructure from cyberattacks. These connected devices were not created with security in mind and can provide attackers with more places to hide in the pursuit of compromising sensitive systems or equipment. If successful, we are not just risking reputational damage or financial loss but serious effects on the safety of our staff as well as the environment due to the materials that we work with.
Why did you select Darktrace?
Most of the innovations we have adopted are in their infancy which means that traditional tools, that rely on knowledge of how devices have been hacked in the past, are useless for defence.
The beauty of AI is that is has no rules for how to defend a particular device, so it can work anywhere on any bit of technology – regardless of whether that’s corporate IT or a robot in our warehouse. As well as being a compelling solution at the right price, Darktrace is like an extra pair of hands – spotting even the most sophisticated threats before they do damage.
How was the implementation – did you encounter any challenges and if so, how were these resolved?
The implementation process was quick and simple. It was installed on our infrastructure in under an hour and provided visibility immediately. It was quite surprising to see that after such a short period of time, the platform was showing us our entire digital business from cloud to IoT.
How far has the system future-proofed your business?
Cybersecurity is not a solvable problem and, frankly 100% security is not possible. With AI in tow, I sleep a little easier at night knowing that if there was a threat emerging it would be spotted before it was too late. We know that AI attacks are on the horizon that will be extremely difficult for humans alone to spot so Darktrace is no longer just a nice-to-have but a must-have in this new era of cyberthreat.
