Background: Navigating Industrial Complexities and Cyber Threats
Today’s industrial landscape demands robust cybersecurity. Coşkunöz Holding, a major industrial conglomerate in Türkiye with 12 companies, 7 sectors, and 3,000 employees, faced the critical challenge of securing its vast and intricate network. Their diverse operations, from advanced manufacturing to logistics, span complex IT, OT, and IoT environments. This extensive infrastructure, while vital for efficiency, also presented a wide attack surface for cyber threats.
Facing the Digital Frontier: Coşkunöz Holding’s Pressing Cyber Obstacles
To maintain a competitive edge and ensure operational resilience, Coşkunöz Holding identified several key cybersecurity challenges:
- Diverse Network Infrastructure: Securing a mix of traditional IT, sensitive industrial OT, and a rapidly expanding array of IoT devices required tailored approaches without disrupting critical operations.
- Limited Visibility and Control: A lack of comprehensive insight into all connected devices—known and unknown—hindered effective vulnerability identification and mitigation, complicating policy enforcement and risk management.
- Vulnerability Management: The proliferation of devices, including critical IP cameras and legacy systems, led to constant battles against outdated firmware, unpatched software, and misconfigurations, all potential entry points for attackers.
- Operational Continuity: Implementing new security measures without causing downtime or disrupting precise industrial processes was a delicate balance. Solutions needed to integrate seamlessly and non-disruptively.
These challenges highlighted the urgent need for an intelligent, adaptable network security solution that could provide unparalleled visibility, enforce dynamic access policies, and proactively secure critical assets against evolving threats. Coşkunöz Holding sought a partner capable of delivering a future-proof defense for large-scale industrial operations.
Solution: From Foundational NAC to Seamless Universal ZTNA
Coşkunöz Holding found its strategic cybersecurity partner in Genians, discovering their leading Network Access Control (NAC) and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solutions through RenovaBT, Genians’ trusted sales partner in Türkiye. Genians’ approach offered a transformative path, starting with foundational NAC capabilities and providing a seamless upgrade to a comprehensive Universal ZTNA architecture. This evolution ensures secure access across all network segments—from campus to cloud, for all users and devices.
Genian NAC: The Robust Foundation for Network Security Coşkunöz Holding initially deployed Genian NAC to secure its extensive campus and branch networks, gaining immediate, impactful benefits:
- Non-Disruptive Network Sensing: Genian NAC provided unparalleled, non-invasive visibility into every IT, OT, and IoT asset, including critical IP cameras. This deep insight was vital for operational integrity in industrial environments.
- Device Platform Intelligence: Accurate device identification and profiling enabled highly contextual and adaptive security policies.
- Contextual Network Access & Multi-layered Enforcement: Coşkunöz Holding gained dynamic access policy enforcement, ensuring only authorized, compliant devices and users accessed specific network resources, crucial for segmenting and protecting sensitive OT systems.
- Rapid Vulnerability Identification & Mitigation: Real-time insights allowed swift identification and isolation of non-compliant or compromised devices, significantly reducing the attack surface.
Seamless Upgrade to Genian Universal ZTNA: Expanding Zero Trust Capabilities
Building on the robust Genian NAC foundation, Coşkunöz Holding seamlessly elevated its security architecture with Genian Universal ZTNA. This strategic evolution was made possible by Genians’ integrated platform design, where Genian ZTNA inherently includes and extends all core NAC functionalities. This provides a unified policy enforcement engine across diverse access scenarios.
With Genian Universal ZTNA, Coşkunöz Holding gained enhanced capabilities for:
- Remote Access Security: Securely connecting remote users and devices to corporate resources, regardless of their location.
- Application Security: Granular, identity-centric access control to specific applications, minimizing lateral movement risks.
- Cloud Security: Extending Zero Trust principles to cloud-based resources and multi-cloud environments for consistent policy enforcement.
This upgrade allowed Coşkunöz Holding to embrace a true Universal ZTNA model, as recognized by Gartner. This holistic approach applies Zero Trust principles—”never trust, always verify”—consistently across all access scenarios: on-premises (campus, branch), remote, and cloud. By leveraging their existing NAC investment, Coşkunöz achieved a comprehensive, consistent security posture without operational disruption, streamlining cybersecurity management and amplifying defenses.
Summary: A Secure, Efficient, and Compliant Industrial Future with Universal Zero Trust
By strategically adopting and evolving with Genians’ solutions, Coşkunöz Holding transformed its cybersecurity posture. Their journey from robust Genian NAC to a comprehensive Genian Universal ZTNA architecture sets a benchmark for secure and efficient industrial operations.
Key Outcomes for Coşkunöz Holding:
- Unified Visibility & Control: Gained unprecedented insight and granular control across their entire IT, OT, IoT, remote, and cloud environments.
- Seamless Transition & Scalability: Achieved a smooth, non-disruptive upgrade from NAC to Universal ZTNA, leveraging existing investments while expanding security capabilities.
- Comprehensive Zero Trust Enforcement: Implemented a true Universal ZTNA framework, integrating NAC capabilities for consistent “never trust, always verify” policies.
- Proactive Threat Mitigation: Reduced vulnerabilities and minimized exposure to cyber threats through continuous monitoring and dynamic policy enforcement.
- Optimized Operational Resilience: Ensured a secure and compliant operational environment without compromising the efficiency and continuity of diverse industrial processes.
Coşkunöz Holding’s success story powerfully demonstrates Genians’ integrated and adaptive cybersecurity solutions. Their ability to fortify networks and establish a secure operational environment through Universal ZTNA positions them for resilient growth. This strategic partnership with Genians, facilitated by RenovaBT, offers a compelling model for global cybersecurity and network security professionals.
