Macquarie Cloud Services protects Cafs’ sensitive data with Microsoft Azure

Attacks without protection

Macquarie Cloud Services, part of ASX-listed Macquarie Technology Group, is Australia’s most recommended cloud service provider. For close to 20 years, the local team has provided cloud-managed services to Australian businesses. Macquarie Cloud Services stands out due to its commitment to providing sovereign cloud solutions, ensuring that data is stored and managed.

Cafs delivers more than 50 services to people when they need it the most—including housing and homelessness services, family violence intervention programs, and early childhood support.

Since Cafs manages highly sensitive information, a secure solution was needed to ensure this data remains confidential.

“Given the nature of what Cafs does, much of the information we store is very sensitive,” Chris Hunter, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Specialist at Cafs said. “People trust us with that information, and a breach could have very serious consequences for individuals and families. For Cafs, it would mean a significant loss of trust and reputation in the community, and we simply can’t afford that.”

Macquarie Cloud Services realized this and turned to Microsoft Azure due to its ongoing partnership. It’s also Australia’s only Azure dedicated public cloud practice.

Building protection

Cafs accelerated its existing strategic digital transformation agenda with the onset of COVID. While the move towards a more consolidated systems architecture and infrastructure was already underway as part of a multi-year strategic plan, when 2020 arrived everything suddenly became urgent.

Macquarie Cloud Services understood it had to move quickly to build its solution. Together with Microsoft Azure, Macquarie Cloud Services leveraged Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Sentinel, and Power BI to ensure Cafs would be fully protected from potential threats.

Microsoft Sentinel is also designed with the capability to secure non-native Microsoft endpoints, providing flexibility to utilize and monitor alternative technology as Cafs modernized its infrastructure footprint to Azure without changing the security monitoring solution.

These services also provided Cafs commercial benefits when it comes to log ingestion and storage of logs, which typically make up the majority of the costs with alternative solutions that were evaluated.

Secure migration

Macquarie Cloud Services developed its Managed Detection and Response solution. This solution uses advanced technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and respond to potential threats in real-time. It also provides an incident response plan and a team of experts who can investigate and resolve security incidents as they occur. The security information and event management (SIEM) built on Microsoft Sentinel (within the Cafs tenancy), allowed Macquarie Cloud Services analysts to monitor, detect, notify, and respond to potential security threats on a 24/7 basis.

“Being cyber resilient to protect people today is one of our key strategic items, but it’s also about leveraging the opportunity of technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI) down the track,” Hunter said. “We know these technologies can make service delivery better and easier - but you need to have the right foundations to support all the data, and they need to be secure.”

Embarking on the cloud journey

Since adopting the Managed Detection and Response solution, Cafs’ now has:

• A cutting-edge Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) platform, equipped with extensive real-time threat detection capabilities.
• Robust operational and executive dashboards offering complete, real-time access to event and monitoring data.
• Implementation of Microsoft Sentinel following best practices, complete with an extensive repository of analytical rules and supporting automation playbooks.
• Round-the-clock availability of security analysts for mission-critical detection and response and continuous governance and strategic support.
• Valuable guidance and policy recommendations to enhance cost-effectiveness and overall value proposition.
• Tools to leverage the full potential of Microsoft’s Extended Detection and Response (XDR) capabilities unlocking the inherent synergies with Microsoft Sentinel.

“For NFPs, the Microsoft ecosystem offers a lot of value and capability for the right price,” Hunter said. “We were so impressed by Macquarie Cloud Services’ relationship with Microsoft.”

Now Australia's vulnerable population can trust that Cafs has the proper procedures in place to fight off potential attacks.

“Microsoft is the largest security provider in the world, and the Defender ecosystem of tools and services deliver more signals than any other capability. What’s more, when configured correctly, there is a genuine ‘better together’ end-state position that’s worth striving for as it relates to Defender, Microsoft Sentinel, and the controls available to Australian businesses under management on the Azure platform,” Naran McClung, Head of Azure & Consulting at Macquarie Cloud Services, said.

Stronger together

Macquarie Cloud Services is committed to innovation and the continuous improvement of its customers.

“Macquarie will always lean into these battle-hardened native capabilities where possible, with further gains enjoyed through automation and consistent programmatic methods that we can depend upon as a service provider,” McClung said. 

Cafs is not only highly secure, but it also unlocked a level of agility and flexibility, as well as freeing up their focus as an IT team to do what they do best.

“Most importantly, the team at Macquarie Cloud Services were willing to be really flexible in the commercial arrangements, helping us to make the business case with key stakeholders and get the investment over the line,” Hunter said.