COVER STORY nd-user
ACHIEVING A UNIFIED APPROACH TO DEFEND AGAINST CYBERTHREATS WITH STRONG NETWORK SECURITY
Flex , a leader in the manufacturing industry , recognised the need for next-generation cybersecurity capabilities and worked to achieve secure remote access for 20,000 people in seven days , as COVID-19 meant its workers had to do so remotely . Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access Secure Access Service Edge ( SASE ), Cortex XSOAR security orchestration and automated response provided the solution and enabled the company to achieve its goal seamlessly . Friedrich Wetschnig , Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President of Enterprise IT at Flex , tells us more . lex is the
F manufacturing partner of choice that helps a diverse customer base design and build products that improve the world . Through the collective strength of a global workforce across 30 countries and responsible , sustainable operations , Flex delivers technology innovation , supply chain and manufacturing solutions to diverse industries and end markets .
Providing manufacturing services for diverse companies across many industries , Flex required advanced cybersecurity not only to protect its own digital assets , but also to segment and secure network resources associated with its customers whose products Flex manufactures . The company deployed the Palo Alto Networks network security platform in answer to these requirements .
The company also needed to modernise remote access for its global locations accessing regional data centres and cloud services . When the demand for secure remote access became urgent during the global COVID-19 pandemic , Flex enlisted assistance from Palo Alto
Networks Diamond Innovator partner , Armature Systems , and rolled out Prisma Access worldwide in seven days , enabling 20,000 employees to securely work from home and support critical business operations without disruption . With Prisma Access , Flex applies consistent security policies across its network and global workforce , preventing malware from spreading either from home users to the network or laterally across the network . This has been crucial for enabling Flex to maintain essential manufacturing services during the pandemic , including retooling factories to make ventilators .
More sophisticated cyberthreats demand more advanced security
For more than 50 years , Flex has provided innovative manufacturing solutions for companies of all sizes , across many diverse industries . While Flex may not be a household name , the company manufactures many of the brand-name products recognised around the world — from consumer and lifestyle products to medical devices , and automotive components to technology infrastructure , for enterprise and industry applications . Flexibility is designed into the Flex business model and it
Friedrich Wetschnig , CISO and VP of Enterprise IT at Flex extends to the company ’ s manufacturing operations in every corner of the world .
Cybersecurity is especially important for Flex in order to safeguard the data and intellectual property of its diverse customers as well as its own digital assets . For years , Flex relied on traditional firewalls for network security . As cyberthreats became more sophisticated , however , the company recognised the need for next-generation cybersecurity capabilities . This led Flex to Palo Alto Networks .
Flex already had an established relationship with the company as a manufacturer of Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls . Having a mix of point products for intrusion detection , URL filtering and sandboxing , Flex saw www . intelligentciso . com
51