Northwave & Dudok Wonen

Case Study

Northwave helps Dudok Wonen to mitigate their Cyber Security risks:‘To be prepared is half the victory’

(On the photo, from left to right: Bart Hillenaar and Jesper Kuppen)

The housing corporation field is a dynamic and challenging one, and Dudok Wonen has navigated it with its own distinct and authentic character for more than 100 years. Dudok Wonen provides a place they can call home in ‘t Gooi in the Netherlands for more than 8,000 households. Additionally, they maintain and renovate an additional 100+ units, such as schools, offices, and care centres.

‘Risk management is very important to us as a housing corporation. We need to mitigate our risks and threats on the digital frontier to the best of our abilities,’ explains Bart Hillenaar, Business Consultant Information Management & Security Officer at Dudok Wonen.

Bart continues: ‘Together with our managed service provider, we especially look at the challenges around “managing and protecting” our data and IT. How can we ensure that when we come to work every morning the digital infrastructure works as it should? How can we prepare ourselves as much as possible to best cope with a potential hack? And this is where Northwave entered the picture. During an event, Northwave Benelux General Manager Pim Takkenberg gave a presentation about ransomware and how companies can prepare themselves for a cyber-attack by performing hack and cyber crisis simulation exercises.

‘This story really resonated with our company. It was the perfect inspiration to get more tangible input for my cyber crisis plan. In further discussions about this with Northwave, they really showed proactiveness by listening to our specific needs and wishes instead of just presenting us with the most expensive solution.’

‘We call this Intelligent Security Operations,’ says Northwave Cyber Resilience Consultant and Project Leader Jesper Kuppen. ‘We use our in-depth knowledge about cyberattacks and the client’s security risks to create a risk-based exercise. In that way, they are adequately trained to react in the event of a real cyberattack. We believe this is one of the best ways to add value and support our clients.’

"Northwave really showed proactiveness and listened to our specific needs."

Bart Hillenaar: ‘The simulation was organised down to the last detail by Northwave. The focus was on getting as close to a real cyberattack as possible by involving the people and stakeholders that would be involved in a real crisis. Northwave demonstrated an impressive understanding of the field of cyber security. We received great input from our simulation, with tangible results, and it created meaningful awareness throughout the whole organization.

‘Next time we can take those improvements a step further by gaining a clearer image on what Dudok Wonen’s crisis team members’ exact internal roles and responsibilities are and perhaps getting a better grasp on what we can expect from a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) if we have been hacked. So, there’s enough room to further train and build on our partnership even more!’