Shield Prevents Aerospace Company from Partnering with Sanctioned Entity: Case Study

Background

In today’s complex global business and political landscape, companies need to be vigilant to prevent potential risks to their operations. This is especially true when matters of national security and regulation compliance need to be considered. 

Implementing Shield

A recent example of this comes from a global aerospace firm. This firm had recently implemented one of Strider’s products, Shield, into their email security protocol. Shield is a dynamic collection of data that flags communications directed at your organization from known state-sponsored actors. Shield can integrate into both an existing security information and event management (SIEM) and user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) platform.

Shield flags an email

In 2022, Shield alerted the firm’s security team that an employee received and replied to an email from a sanctioned organization connected to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). 

The security team swiftly collaborated with Strider to gain additional insights into the situation. The additional information revealed that the organization in question was a subsidiary of a larger organization that had been restricted by the U.S. government due to its close ties to the PLA’s defense program. Sanctioned entities use subsidiaries to skirt sanctions for a number of reasons, including increased access to patented and proprietary technology.

The security team opened an internal investigation, discovering that the sanctioned entity was offering a compelling proposal to be one of the company’s main suppliers, and that the company was seriously considering the proposal. During the investigation, the email chain grew to include three additional employees. 

Avoiding a compliance infraction

The security team alerted the employees in correspondence of their findings, and they promptly severed the relationship with the sanctioned organization. Because of this, the company avoided a compliance infraction, which could have resulted in a potential fine, reputational damage, and loss of business. 

Conclusion

Proactively identifying and quickly addressing potential risks is key to protecting a company’s operations, reputation, and bottom line in today’s increasingly interconnected world. Learn more about Shield and book a demo to see the data in action today.