Victorinox Strengthened Network Security with Akamai

An international brand, Victorinox offers quality products across four categories in over 120 countries: Swiss Army Knives, household and professional knives, watches, and travel gear. For this family-run business, innovation and precision run deep — and that commitment extends to its IT infrastructure. When Victorinox needed to enhance its cybersecurity posture to guard against internal network threats, it deployed Akamai Guardicore Segmentation.

With operations spanning the globe, Victorinox faced challenges in enforcing consistent cybersecurity policies across all locations. While the company had network firewalls in place, they weren’t enough to give a clear view into what was happening within the network.

“We needed more than just firewalls — they don’t prevent lateral movement across the network. We couldn’t even see which machines were communicating with each other,” explained Stefan Epp, Head of IT Infrastructure. This lack of visibility left Victorinox unsure about the real security risks across its network.

While earning a graduate degree in cybersecurity, Epp encountered a classmate who had run a proof of concept (PoC) of Illumio, a Zero Trust segmentation solution. “It was the visibility we were missing,” he said. Motivated by this, Epp decided to test out both Illumio and Akamai Guardicore Segmentation.

“It was clear right away that Akamai Guardicore Segmentation made it easier to define and implement policies. The console interface, with its labels, was straightforward and offered better process visibility than Illumio. I saw it was what we needed to elevate our security,” Epp recalled.

Using Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, Victorinox was able to quickly segment its network using pre-built policy templates, starting with Active Directory. From there, Epp’s team expanded segmentation to cover network services and critical applications. Originally, its 260 servers were divided into three different zones. Now, these zones are much more granular, thanks to microsegmentation.

Epp explained, “Akamai’s predefined policies gave us a solid security baseline and reduced the number of firewall rules we had to manage. It was both a time-saver and a security upgrade.”

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation didn’t just solve network visibility issues — it also empowered Victorinox to enforce more precise access control policies. “We used the solution to restrict unsanctioned remote access and more effectively define user-based segmentation. The granular client-based segmentation really unlocked new possibilities for controlling access,” said Epp.

With Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, Victorinox gained the comprehensive network visibility it had long been missing. “Now, we can see communication paths and potential security risks that were previously invisible. Our attack surface has been significantly reduced,” Epp noted.

For example, one of the company’s engineers in a subsidiary had inadvertently created policies that allowed firewalls to connect to Active Directory — something that went against company policy. “Without Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, we wouldn’t have noticed this issue until it was too late,” Epp explained.

Network-wide visibility also helped Victorinox reduce troubleshooting time by making it easier to root out network and application problems. Epp described a situation where he deployed a ransomware breach test, and one of his engineers was able to quickly isolate the compromised machine.

“Our engineer identified the rogue machine in record time using the Akamai solution. Other security tools had flagged the breach, but only Akamai Guardicore Segmentation provided the details needed to isolate the problem,” he said. “This quick response was critical because it prevented the breach from spreading, demonstrating how much more effective our security posture has become,” Epp concluded.

The origins of Victorinox date back to 1884, when Karl Elsener opened a knifemaking workshop in a village in central Switzerland. Elsener delivered his first soldier’s knife to the Swiss Army in 1891. Six years later, he created the Swiss Officer’s and Sports Knife – now known as the original Swiss Army Knife – which would lay the foundation for a thriving global company. Victorinox is now a fourth-generation family business operating in over 120 countries. In addition to its iconic pocket knives, Victorinox produces premium household and professional knives, watches, and travel gear. Victorinox products embody the brand and ensure consumers are best prepared for everyday challenges by offering smart and masterful solutions. The enterprising spirit of the founder and a commitment to strong, values-based corporate governance live on until today.