Real-World XDR
Case Studies

Case Study 1:

Mansfield Independent
School District

Background and Challenges

Mansfield Independent School District (MISD) is a large organization encompassing 49 campuses, with nearly 5000 staff members serving 35,700 students. Faced with the challenge of securing 110,000 computing devices and 134,000 endpoints, the district needed a robust security solution that could scale across administrative and student users, and strengthen data protections without impeding operations or learning. To accomplish this, Chief Technology Officer Shawntee Cowan and her team sought to integrate their various security tools into a single platform to streamline operations and enhance visibility.

Solution and Implementation

Cowan wanted to integrate MISD’s security tools into a single XDR solution to achieve greater visibility using a unified dashboard. After seeing a demo of Cisco XDR Premier, Cowan realized that she found what her team needed and MISD adopted it. With these managed services, MISD now has 24/7 security monitoring – a crucial component that allowed the district to manage alerts and mitigate threats around-the-clock.

“In a world of increasing cyberthreats, having that holistic visibility of our security environment in a single pane of glass and the capability of regular reporting has given me and everyone here that precious peace of mind. We feel more in control of keeping our environment safe.”

Shawntee Cowan –
Chief Technology Officer, MISD

Case Study 1:

Mansfield Independent
School District

Outcomes and Benefits

“The initial implementation was fairly easy,” remarked Cowan. “The managed services team guided us to complete the initial deployment by explaining the steps. It wasn’t too long before the XDR platform was populated with telemetry data. We were excited about how fast that happened. Cisco XDR greatly reduced the number of logins across various tools and was easy for members of our security team to use.”

“We can open tickets and request additional information and that’s a big advantage of having managed services,” says Jeremy Jameson, Director of Infrastructure and Cybersecurity.

Cowan adds, “Cisco XDR managed services has streamlined our security operations. In addition to alerting us, XDR gives us additional insights and even fixes some of the issues. Having that extra level of support where we’re not having to be up day and night worried about things is huge for our district.

“Cisco XDR improved our security management workflow so we're not bouncing around between multiple applications as often. It has given us a broader perspective of threat reporting and how we adapt and address those threats, along with more oversight in general of what we face.”

Jeremy Jameson –
Director of Infrastructure and Cybersecurity, MISD

Case Study 2:

Cisco XDR Implementation at B&M Retail

Background and Challenges

B&M Retail, a leading UK-based discount retailer with over 700 stores throughout England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and France, faced significant cybersecurity challenges after they acquired two new businesses. As a fast-growing retailer with a vast logistics network and numerous assets, B&M needed to secure its operations against increasing cyber threats.

Rupert Topp, Head of Information Security, identified that the company had been using over thirty disparate security tools. This fragmented approach led to inefficiencies and potential vulnerabilities, prompting B&M to seek a more integrated and robust cybersecurity solution.

Solution and Implementation

Partnering with Cisco and CAE Technology Services, B&M embarked on a mission to streamline and enhance their cybersecurity posture. The solution centered on deploying the Cisco XDR solution, integrated with Cisco Secure Endpoint, Cisco Umbrella, Cisco AnyConnect, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Cisco Duo. This implementation provided a unified security architecture, reducing the number of security tools and improving overall visibility and control. The deployment was rapid, with Cisco and their managing partner CAE meeting the ambitious five-week timeline.

Case Study 2:

Cisco XDR Implementation
at B&M Retail

Outcomes and Benefits

The integration of Cisco XDR resulted in immediate improvements in B&M's cybersecurity operations. With the help of Cisco XDR, B&M was able to automate threat detection and response, which significantly reduced the time needed to identify and mitigate security incidents. For example, a phishing incident that may have previously taken half a day for B&M’s security teams to manage, was contained and resolved within minutes using Cisco XDR. Overall, incident response time, system uptime, and security coverage all saw substantial improvements. This not only bolstered B&M’s defense against cyber threats but also ensured business continuity and protected customer data.

Additionally, the managed service fronted by CAE's Security and Network Operations Center (SNOC), helping B&M bridge the gap between internal capabilities and delivering round-the-clock security. This has enabled B&M to pursue other advancements, including a move towards zero trust architecture with Cisco Identity Intelligence, while ensuring long-term resilience and innovation in their cybersecurity strategy.

“The alert was picked up straight away…that was fed into XDR (and) we were able to communicate out within five minutes…across all three businesses. So probably less than 60 seconds. We did exactly the same things that would have taken us probably half a day.”

Rupert Topp –
Head of Information and Security, B&M