The client
Liaison Group is passionate about changing the global health economy. They’re a trusted partner to the NHS, specialising in recovering cash for reinvestment and freeing up time to deliver more care. They have achieved savings to date exceeding £1.3billion, reinvesting these funds into health and social care, thereby driving system enhancements. Their Senior Leadership team is a collective of executives with diverse backgrounds in healthcare, finance, and HR, all dedicated to fostering excellence within the global health sector.
The challenge
Liaison Group started their vulnerability management journey initially using AppCheck for their web applications. While receiving vulnerability notifications and tackling them for their web apps, Liaison were not tracking their own assets in detail – relying generally on Windows and iOS updates and patching through their central monitoring tool – DATTO.
Upon engaging with Cognisys for the first time in 2020, our partnership with Liaison Group began with a comprehensive scan of their IT infrastructure, as part of their preparation for their Cyber Essentials Plus certification. This marked the beginning of a three-year contract for penetration testing and estate scanning to meet Cyber Essentials Plus requirements. They became aware of the scans highlighting numerous vulnerabilities, challenging Liaison and their IT Support partner as they attempted to manage and prioritise them effectively. Originally intending to rely solely on submitting 40 assets for scanning, to progress their Cyber Essentials Plus, they soon realised the downsides of this approach, given the potential risk posed by the remaining 400 endpoints within their organisation.
In June 2023, Cognisys introduced Liaison to a trial of SmartScan, our vulnerability management service, which marked a significant turning point. As Matthew Willman, their Chief Technology Officer, observed after the initial scan, “we had more moles than we could deal with.” By June 2023, they found themselves grappling with a multitude of vulnerabilities, particularly with assets urgently requiring updates. It became evident that they were embarking on a challenging journey ahead.
The solution
Guided by Cognisys, they directed their efforts towards addressing exploitable vulnerabilities, recognising them as the most critical threats to their organisation’s security. Since June 2023, Liaison Group has achieved a significant reduction in their vulnerabilities, due to their utilisation of SmartScan.
Utilising our SmartScan service, Liaison now conducts weekly monitoring and scanning of their entire IT infrastructure. This approach provides them with essential insights to prioritise remediation efforts, categorising vulnerabilities into high, medium, and low severities. Through seamless collaboration between Cognisys, Liaison Group, and Impact IT (their MSP), they’ve established a comprehensive framework for effective vulnerability management.
Knowing that vulnerability management involves continuous refinement, Liaison Group has fully embraced the commitment required for sustained improvement. They understand that it’s an ongoing process, but take comfort in knowing that they’ve made significant strides in mitigating vulnerabilities. By implementing SmartScan, they’ve streamlined their processes for identifying and patching exploitable vulnerabilities in a timely manner, demonstrating discipline in addressing critical risks.
SmartScan has provided Liaison Group with full visibility over their IT estate, presenting their vulnerabilities in one-pane-of-glass. With their vulnerability count drastically reduced and their proactive approach firmly in place, they’ve successfully maintained control over their security posture since implementing SmartScan.
WE ASKED LIAISON GROUP TO DESCRIBE US IN THREE WORDS
COMPETENT
“Skills to provide the service”
COLLABORATIVE
“Work in partnership.”
CREATIVE
“We work together to find solutions”
Watch the testimonial from Liaison Group
At our vulnerability management event in Leeds in October 2023, Matthew Willman, CTO of Liaison Group, explained how SmartScan has become crucial for them. It helps them spot vulnerabilities, prioritise them, and figure out what to remediate next.
Matthew explains:
“This is part of a solution that helps us manage our estate and our endpoints and our virtual machines and Microsoft, better!
Let’s make things happen
Fill in the form and one of our team will be in touch for a no-obligation discussion or quote regarding your requirements.
info@cognisys.co.uk
Leeds office
5 Park Place
Leeds
LS1 2RU
