Sicra lands IT security agreement with 28 municipalities

– The agreement marks a breakthrough for our strategy to sell composite, world-leading IT security solutions as a service. This means that the municipalities subscribe to a Security Operations Center (SOC), a kind of security department. The SOC consists of IT security experts who work around the clock to monitor and protect an organization against cyberattacks, says Stig Valderhaug, CEO of Sicra.

The agreement is the largest service agreement Sicra has landed. It has been entered into with IKT Nordhordland, IKT Nordfjord, and SYSIKT and includes a total of 28 municipalities in Vestland county, including the municipalities of Aurland, Austrheim, Austevoll, Fedje, Gulen, Masfjorden, Modalen, Osterøy, Samnanger, Sveio, and Vaksdal.

The service is delivered in collaboration with the world-leading IT security company Arctic Wolf.

IT attacks every day

– The municipalities' IT solutions are attempted to be attacked many times every single day. With the security services from Sicra, we have the assurance that both data and systems are monitored and incidents are responded to 24/7, says Thomas Rønn-Aar, CEO of Ikt Nordhordland.

IT security is becoming increasingly important for both the public and private sectors. Cyber threats are increasing, the actors are becoming more professional, and the consequences of digital breaches more serious.

The threats come from nations, mafia, criminal groups, and individuals. For the municipalities, it is important that sensitive personal data does not go astray. At the same time, the IT systems that ensure municipal services are delivered must always be available.

Challenging to find IT security expertise

– We could have entered into the agreement directly with Arctic Wolf, but chose Sicra because of their comprehensive IT security expertise. We are extremely satisfied with that. Early in the project, Sicra proposed measures that further strengthened the security in our environment, says Rønn-Aar.

Rønn-Aar adds that even with 28 collaborating municipalities, there are not enough resources and expertise to handle such security platforms on their own.

– We depend on suppliers like Sicra and their security service. With Sicra on the team, the municipalities do not have to make large investments in security systems and equipment, or hire more security personnel. Sicra has many customers and thus gains experience in dealing with many types of IT attacks. That kind of expertise is difficult for us to acquire, continues Rønn-Aar.

Robust security platform

With Sicra SOC, the municipalities get a robust security solution. The service includes data collection and integrations with over 3,500 applications, systems, and network equipment. Sicra analyzes security incidents in real-time and quickly takes measures to protect critical data and systems.

– According to the security company Fortinet, cybercrime is now larger than drug crime measured in global turnover, says Valderhaug in Sicra.

– Cybercrime is a bit like the Cold War, with a threat side and a defense side, where those with the most resources win. This makes it very challenging for even relatively large companies to secure their digital infrastructure against attacks over time, continues Valderhaug.

He believes this is the main reason why more and more companies have started to demand IT security as a service.

Read what the media says (Norwegian only):

Read the article «Eneste rasjonelle måten å kjøpe på» in Finansavisen here.

Read the article «Landet kontrakt med 28 vestlandskommuner» in Computerworld here.