Oslo Taxi is more than just taxis. As the country's largest platform provider for the taxi industry, the company develops advanced solutions for booking, payment handling, and logistics. Through their systems, a large number of transactions are processed each year, amounting to significant sums. In an industry with increasing digital competition from global players like Uber and Bolt, Oslo Taxi must both innovate and protect its premium brand.
– We are a technology company, says Stein Waalen, IT Director at Oslo Taxi. – We work with AI, large amounts of data, and have strict privacy requirements. This also means we must have a security strategy that gives us full control.
But how do you secure a complex ecosystem with hundreds of taxi owners, drivers without IT backgrounds, and critical systems that must be up 24/7?
When Waalen started at Oslo Taxi, it was clear that the company needed a more holistic approach to IT security. He evaluated several solutions but often found two extreme options: either heavy, expensive SOC services or simple pentesting without further follow-up.
– I received many bad proposals, Waalen says. – Either they wanted to sell me a gigantic security center, or I got a one-time report and was left to fend for myself. I needed something in between – a solution where someone actually monitors.
When he saw that Sicra had partnered with River Security, it piqued his interest. He reached out, and the rest is history.
Sicra and River Security delivered a two-step security solution for Oslo Taxi:
Digital Footprint – Mapped Oslo Taxi's digital exposure and uncovered potential vulnerabilities.
Active Focus – A continuous monitoring service that identifies threats before they become a problem.
– The difference was that River Security didn't just do a pentest and move on, says Waalen. – They followed up. If they found a vulnerability, they actively worked with us to fix it. No "here's the report, good luck!".
One of the first tests uncovered a Log4J vulnerability in an externally managed system. It could have been difficult to detect from the inside, but River Security quickly caught it.
– They even send me critical reports on Friday evenings because they know it's urgent. That's the kind of proactive partners we need, says Waalen.
For Oslo Taxi, security is not just about technology but also about predictability and peace of mind in everyday life.
– I don't have to think about this all the time, says Waalen. – If we have a vulnerability, we fix it. If I need a new test, I get it without paying extra. I know someone is monitoring, and that is worth a lot.
At a time when more and more companies are considering security as a service, Waalen believes that Oslo Taxi has found a model that works.
– Sicra is reliable, River Security is reliable, and they deliver exactly what I expected – maybe even a little more.
For Oslo Taxi, this means one thing: They can focus on building the transportation solutions of the future without worrying about security.
What sets Sicra apart from many other providers is that they actually follow up. They don’t just deliver a report and disappear – they ensure that things get resolved.