Fast-moving businesses can find themselves especially vulnerable to attack. But food and hospitality company WSH now has the prime ingredients for a robust cyber security strategy. 

Established in 2000, WSH is a family of 14 foodservice and hospitality brands that include Baxter Storey, Meyers and Portico.

Together, these businesses employ over 26,000 people across the UK, Ireland and Europe in more than 3,000 locations. They serve around 2.6 million customers every day in client restaurants, coffee shops, school lunch halls, hospitality suites and champagne bars.

WSH’s business is founded on the simple principle of using fresh, seasonal, local produce and an ethical supply chain. Like other companies in the sector, it’s faced pressures around labour shortages and inflationary cost increases. But the group has turned in a strong performance while delivering on its ethical goals. For example, it’s cut food waste by 24%, pushed forward with renewable energy and focused on sourcing eggs from RSPCA Assured farms.

WSH recognised that any disruption from cyber-attacks could drastically impact its fast-paced, finely-tuned business. The cyber threat landscape was getting more sophisticated – and the group’s security stance needed strengthening. 

However, WSH’s security budget was limited. It didn’t have the inhouse resources to manage potential vulnerabilities 24/7 across multiple locations.

That’s where Bytes found an answer.    

Bytes identified gaps in WSH’s security controls but found a way to boost security cost effectively. First, Bytes’ specialists looked at the budget available from WSH’s existing toolsets. Then the team assessed the market and negotiated hard with vendors for additional controls and significant cost savings. Bytes also negotiated deferred payment terms to ease cash-flow.

Put simply, the Bytes team consolidated vendors and increased security controls – all within a restricted budget.

“Our (Bytes) account manager, Kyle (Milton), has been instrumental in this transformation. Kyle's expertise and dedication have helped us identify significant cost savings and maximise our budget, allowing us to enhance our security infrastructure comprehensively.”

WSH’s 5,000 IT users are now covered by Sophos security with Managed Detection and Response. This provides proactive 24/7 threat monitoring, investigation, and response from expert analysts, as well as importing firewall log to extend the Detection and Response coverage beyond the user device to the wider organisation.

“This upgrade has significantly improved our ability to detect and respond to threats in real-time,” explains Jack Mersey.

Meanwhile, vulnerability management is provided by Rapid7 across all users and devices. This solution dynamically identifies and examines assets as soon as they join WSH’s network, with PCI scanning against IP ranges. As a result, WSH gets a complete view of risk across its externally-facing, Internet-connected assets.

“This proactive approach to identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities has been invaluable in protecting our assets and ensuring compliance with industry standards,” adds Jack Mersey.

WSH has achieved its key goal – finding the most cost-effective way to protect its successful brands in a world of fast-changing threats.

Consolidating technologies has created a simpler picture of security, enabling WSH to keep its strategy up to date. By opting for the Rapid7 vulnerability managed service, the group can stay ahead of the latest threats without having to keep upskilling or recruiting new staff. Meanwhile, Sophos incident response experts stand ready to help if WSH experiences any security incidents.

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