A UK-based Managing General Underwriter operating within the insurance sector needed to strengthen its cybersecurity posture. As a business handling sensitive underwriting, financial and client data, the organisation operates under intense regulatory scrutiny and must meet the security expectations of the FCA, insurer partners and institutional stakeholders.
While preventative security controls were in place, Support Tree advised that the organisation faced material exposure due to the absence of continuous detection and response capability. This exposure existed regardless of whether a cyber incident had yet occurred.
The Challenge
Regulatory, insurance, and business interruption exposure
The insurance sector has become a prime target for ransomware groups, phishing campaigns and advanced persistent threats. The organisation faced several critical challenges:
- Escalating Threat Landscape: Increasingly sophisticated attacks targeting financial and insurance firms.
- Limited Security Visibility: Existing monitoring did not provide real-time insight across endpoints, cloud services or Microsoft 365.
- Cyber insurance and payment exposure
The organisation could struggle to evidence reasonable monitoring and response measures in the event of a claim involving business interruption or ransomware. - Regulatory and board accountability risk
FCA scrutiny following an incident would focus on what detection and response capabilities were reasonably in place, not on intent or effort. - Material Business Risk: A single breach could result in financial loss, reputational damage and regulatory penalties.
The organisation needed to transition from a reactive security approach to an offensive, detection-led cyber defence strategy capable of identifying and stopping threats in real-time.
Our Solution
A Managed Detection & Response programme aligned to risk and accountability
Support Tree designed and implemented a Managed Detection & Response capability focused on evidencing reasonable steps, reducing business interruption risk, and supporting regulatory and insurance scrutiny.
Rather than deploying tools in isolation, each component was selected to address a specific exposure.
1. SIEM – Security Information & Event Management
- Deployed centralised log collection across servers, endpoints, network devices and Microsoft 365.
- Correlated events from multiple sources to detect suspicious behaviour and anomalies in real time.
Outcome: The organisation gained consolidated visibility and an evidential trail demonstrating continuous monitoring, not retrospective guesswork.
2. Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)
- Installed next-generation endpoint agents with behavioural analysis and threat intelligence.
- Enabled automated containment to isolate compromised devices instantly.
- Continuous monitoring to detect ransomware, zero-day attacks and advanced malware.
Outcome: Threats stopped at the endpoint before they could spread or cause damage.
3. Microsoft 365 Managed Detection & Response
- Extended protection across Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive.
- Applied AI-driven detection and global threat intelligence to cloud collaboration tools.
- Protected sensitive underwriting and client data from account compromise and data exfiltration.
Outcome: Microsoft 365 became a monitored, defended environment, not a blind spot.
4. 24×7 Security Operations Centre (SOC)
- Round-the-clock monitoring by experienced cybersecurity analysts.
- Alert triage, investigation and incident response handled in real time.
- Regular reporting provided clear evidence for FCA and partner assurance.
Outcome: The business gained provable, auditable detection and response coverage at all times, including out of hours.
The Results
Reduced exposure, improved defensibility, and stronger assurance
- 24×7 Threat Protection: Continuous monitoring and rapid response capability established.
- Improved Visibility: Centralised SIEM dashboard covering endpoints, cloud and Microsoft 365.
- Regulatory Assurance: FCA-aligned monitoring and incident response processes in place.
- Reduced Risk Exposure: EDR contained potential threats before escalation.
- Increased Client Confidence: Demonstrable investment in cybersecurity strengthened trust with insurer partners and stakeholders.
The business moved from assumed resilience to demonstrable operational resilience.
Why does this matter?
No breach was required for this decision to be justified.
The value delivered was the reduction of uncertainty, exposure, and post-incident defensibility risk. The organisation now operates with security oversight that would withstand scrutiny from regulators, insurers, and partners if an incident were to occur.
Ready to move from reactive to proactive cybersecurity?
If your organisation needs real-time threat detection, FCA-aligned monitoring and 24×7 incident response, Support Tree can help you build a security operation that stays ahead of attackers.
Let’s put your cyber defence on the front foot.
FAQ
Why isn’t traditional antivirus and firewall protection enough anymore?
Modern attacks often bypass traditional defences using stolen credentials, phishing and “living off the land” techniques. Managed Detection & Response focuses on behaviour and activity, not just known malware, enabling threats to be detected even when no signature exists.
What does a 24×7 SOC actually do for our organisation?
A 24×7 Security Operations Centre continuously monitors alerts, investigates suspicious activity and responds to incidents in real time, day or night. This ensures threats are contained quickly, even outside business hours.
How does SIEM improve visibility compared to standard logging?
SIEM centralises logs from endpoints, servers, networks and cloud services into a single platform. It correlates events across systems to detect patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed, providing a complete, real-time security picture.
What role does EDR play in stopping ransomware?
EDR monitors endpoint behaviour to identify suspicious activity such as encryption attempts, privilege escalation or command-and-control communication. When detected, EDR can automatically isolate the device to prevent ransomware from spreading.
Why is Microsoft 365 monitoring critical for regulated businesses?
Email and collaboration platforms are common attack entry points. Microsoft 365 MDR monitors Exchange, SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive to detect account compromise, data exfiltration and malicious activity that traditional endpoint tools miss.
How does this approach support FCA expectations?
The FCA expects firms to demonstrate continuous monitoring, incident response capability and operational resilience. A managed detection and response service provides documented oversight, response processes and audit-ready reporting.
Will this generate too many alerts for our internal team?
No. Alerts are triaged and investigated by SOC analysts first. Only confirmed incidents or high-risk events are escalated, reducing alert fatigue and protecting internal teams from being overwhelmed.
How quickly can threats be detected and responded to?
Detection occurs in real time, with SOC analysts investigating immediately. Many threats are contained automatically within minutes, significantly reducing dwell time and potential damage.
Does this replace our internal IT team or security controls?
No. It complements existing teams by providing specialist security monitoring and response capabilities. Internal IT can remain focused on operations while security experts handle threats.
Is Managed Detection & Response scalable as our business grows?
Yes. SIEM, EDR and Microsoft 365 MDR scale easily as users, devices and cloud services increase, ensuring security coverage keeps pace with organisational growth and changing risk profiles.
How does this help with cyber insurance?
Insurers increasingly expect evidence of monitoring, response capability, and reduced business interruption risk. MDR and SOC services help support those expectations.
