Case Study: Major International Manufacturing Organization achieves unified security posture and dramatically increased alert visibility with Critical Start

Manufacturer Unifies Security Posture, Dramatically Increases Alert Visibility Through CRITICALSTART MDR Services and Palo Alto Cortex XDR™

Major International Manufacturing Organization, a global manufacturer with 20 offices and many acquired brands, faced fragmented security after multiple divested IT teams used different antivirus tools and lacked centralized visibility. When a ransomware outbreak began spreading across databases, VMware and file servers — compounded by a rapid shift to 85–90% remote work — the company engaged Critical Start and its MDR services alongside Palo Alto Cortex XDR to rapidly respond and unify security across divisions.

Critical Start acted as an extension of the team, fully containing the breach so the company was back to shipping by Monday, then deployed a SOC-based MDR program, consolidated multiple Palo Alto Cortex XDR accounts, and reached ~70–75% agent saturation before going live with full monitoring. Using Critical Start’s Zero Trust Analytics Platform (ZTAP) and a Trusted Behavioral Registry (TBT) to surface true threats, the vendor improved alert visibility (CRITICALSTART SOC data: 1% critical, 4% high, 26% medium, 69% low) and enabled analysts to move past roughly 99.94% false positives, delivering faster detection, containment and peace of mind.