Due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter, this case study has been anonymised at the request of the organisation involved. If you’d like to hear more about the experiences of other satisfied clients, we’re happy to arrange verbal references to help you feel confident in your decision to partner with Kaon Security.

Incident Response Optimisation

About

A Melbourne-based organisation in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFI) sector with approximately 350 users. They operate in a hybrid IT environment with 20 on-premises servers, 5 legacy servers, and an expanding cloud infrastructure. Staff use a mix of laptops and mobile devices, with line-of-business applications spread across both on-prem and cloud platforms. The organisation works in a highly regulated sector where secure and responsive IT operations are essential to maintaining service continuity, client trust, and compliance obligations.

Background

A recent cyber incident brought the organisation’s lack of a formalised incident response (IR) plan to light. Without a clear framework in place the response was delayed and inconsistent, resulting in missed steps such as identifying the initial point of compromise, accurately assessing data exposure, and properly managing communications both internally and externally.

The experience underscored the need for a structured IR plan that could reduce impact, ensure compliance, and support confident decision-making during future incidents.

Challenges

“We quickly realised that building a comprehensive IR plan internally would be difficult due to limited resources, time constraints, and lack of specialist expertise.” – Comments the IT Manager

“There were also concerns about internal bias - making assumptions or overlooking weaknesses due to familiarity with systems and processes. To accelerate progress we sought a trusted external partner who could provide expert insights, supporting artefacts, and proven playbooks - removing the need to start from scratch and ensuring an independent and objective perspective.”

Solution

The organisation engaged Kaon Security to support the development of a robust and actionable Incident Response Plan.

Kaon’s Incident Response Optimisation service provided a structured, fast-tracked approach that eliminated the need to start from scratch and ensured the plan was tailored to the organisation’s unique environment and specific risk profile.

The engagement included:

• Expert-led workshops and an independent review of the current response processes
• Pre-built templates, checklists, and playbooks aligned with industry best practices
• Practical team training, including tabletop simulations to reinforce roles, responsibilities, and real-world readiness

This external perspective enabled the organisation to quickly identify gaps, validate its approach, and gain confidence in its ability to respond effectively to future incidents.

Benefits

The engagement with Kaon Security delivered significant benefits:

• Creation of a clear roadmap for continuous improvement
• Defined roles and responsibilities across the IR team
• Ready-to-use templates and response guidelines
• Valuable insights that extended beyond IT - highlighting improvements needed across communications, executive management, and business units

The IT Manager comments – “Kaon Security’s expertise and guidance throughout the entire process was invaluable. They not only helped us identify the gaps, but also provided the tools, structure, and confidence to move forward. It felt like we had a true partner helping us build a more resilient response capability.”

By establishing clear expectations and documented processes, the organisation is now better prepared to manage incidents efficiently and in alignment with legal, reputational, and operational obligations.

Leadership

To embed the new IR framework, the cyber security IR team is now formally aligned to the expectations of the Executive Management Team. This connection supports stronger governance, faster decision-making, and clearer communication when incidents occur - further strengthening the organisation’s resilience.