How Global Retail Giant Secures Rapidly Expanding Infrastructure

TL;DR

A global luxury goods manufacturer's rapid growth through acquisitions created a complex IT environment with thousands of critical vulnerabilities and no way to prioritize them. XM Cyber identified the handful of fixes that actually blocked attack paths to critical assets. Security and IT teams now collaborate on targeted patches because both sides can see which vulnerabilities pose real risk. The same visibility made it easier to engage leadership and secure budget for ongoing initiatives.

“We’ve never had this level of visibility, with XM Cyber, we can act quickly, remediate effectively, and make smarter decisions about our security posture.”

Ilaria Buonagurio, Head of Corporate Information Security Prevention Offices

The Challenge

As a global luxury goods manufacturer, security was a top priority. But their rapid global growth, fueled by frequent acquisitions, created a highly diverse and complex IT environment. The security team relied on multiple tools, yet struggled to standardize security measures and prioritize risks effectively. This led to paralysis by volume; as Ilaria Buonagurio, Head of Corporate Information Security Prevention Offices, notes, “We had thousands of critical vulnerabilities but no way to know which ones truly mattered.” 

Without prioritization, everything appeared urgent, which created friction with IT teams who resisted changes that might disrupt the business. Compounding the challenge, integrating newly acquired companies introduced unknown vulnerabilities into the environment. Furthermore, the security team struggled to show tangible evidence of risk reduction to senior leadership, making it challenging to secure continued investment. The retailer needed an integrated view of its security posture that could clearly identify which vulnerabilities posed a real attack risk and provide tangible evidence of security improvements.

The Solution

The company selected XM Cyber for its unique ability to interconnect exposures across the diverse attack surface and prioritize them based on real-world attack paths. Following a successful proof-of-concept, XM Cyber was deployed enterprise-wide, immediately transforming the team’s focus. XM Cyber helped the team reduce the number of critical vulnerabilities requiring immediate action from thousands to just 10-15. “XM Cyber helped us focus on what really matters. With targeted fixes, we saw a reduction in our attack exposure from 98% to just 2%” explains Ilaria. 

“XM Cyber helped us focus on what really matters. With targeted fixes, we saw a reduction in our attack exposure from 98% to just 2%.”

Ilaria Buonagurio, Head of Corporate Information Security Prevention Offices

The solution was particularly impactful during mergers, allowing the team to assess cybersecurity risks before merging infrastructure and proactively addressing exposures. 

By delivering clear, visual evidence of security improvements, XM Cyber also strengthened engagement with leadership, which helped secure funding for ongoing initiatives. The deployment process was smooth, with XM Cyber integrating seamlessly into the company’s existing security stack, and the collaboration between IT and security teams improved significantly as IT now understood the true impact of vulnerabilities and was more willing to apply targeted patches.

Benefits & Outcomes

The retailer achieved tangible, measurable results and significantly improved internal collaboration after deploying XM Cyber. One of the clearest examples of XM Cyber’s value came following a security incident in a specific country. Post-incident analysis revealed thousands of vulnerabilities, yet using XM Cyber, Ilaria’s team identified just two critical fixes that reduced the number of exploitable machines to less than 1%. “That was a turning point,” Ilaria shares. 

“The local IT team saw the results and immediately requested to keep using XM Cyber.”

Ilaria Buonagurio, Head of Corporate Information Security Prevention Offices

The company now leverages XM Cyber across its operations to maintain a low-risk environment, making security efforts more efficient, strengthening leadership support, and minimizing acquisition risks. “We’ve never had this level of visibility, with XM Cyber, we can act quickly, remediate effectively, and make smarter decisions about our security posture,”  says Ilaria. 

Key Takeaways

• Rapid growth through acquisitions created a complex IT environment with thousands of critical vulnerabilities and no way to prioritize them.
• XM Cyber reduced critical vulnerabilities requiring action from thousands to 10-15, and cut attack exposure from 98% to 2%. 
• After a security incident, two targeted fixes reduced exploitable machines to less than 1% - a turning point that convinced local IT teams of the platform’s value. 
• The platform proved especially valuable during mergers, allowing the team to assess cybersecurity risks before merging infrastructure. 
• XM Cyber became a strategic partner across teams, with security and IT now collaborating on remediation. The platform's visibility secured leadership buy-in and funding for the company's next phase of security initiatives.