Avarn Security Ensures Security of Their Organization’s Identity and Encryption Systems with PKI Solutions

Several months ago we worked with one of our customers, Avarn Security, headquartered in Oslo, Norway, to design and implement a PKI environment with cloud-based Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). Avarn Security is the leading security group delivering first-class security solutions to corporate and public sector customers throughout Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. They provide security solutions for mission-critical systems used by corporate, government, public section, and major transportation customers — including security for all the airports in Norway. Ensuring the security of their organization and the integrity of their PKI environment is very important. So, no pressure, right?

On the surface, it would seem like it would be a straightforward process. We helped Avarn Security with the assessment of HSM options in the market and recommended a cloud HSM from Entrust that would be the best solution for their organization. Yet, because of the travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their multiple operations throughout the Nordic region, it was not one of our run-of-the-mill projects. We needed to implement processes to securely deploy and secure the solution without the ability to gather everyone physically. Another challenge was the fact that Avarn Security’s IT infrastructure is managed by Cognizant, a leading information technology services and consulting company, and their network is managed by Orange Telecom. Throughout the project, trouble-shooting an issue – like optimizing the connectivity of the HSMs — required us to coordinate with Avarn Security, Cognizant, Orange, and Entrust on the same call to discuss how to ensure the best solution.

Like many challenging projects that many of you reading this can relate to, we juggled deadlines, time zones, and multiple vendors – all while keeping our eyes on the prize of building out a solid PKI environment that they can count on both now and in the future. My team and I worked with Fredrik Perlerot, CTO of Avarn Security’s IT Infrastructure and Operations, and his team for several months during COVID-19. Did our customer think all the effort was worth it?

Definitely. After the project (and with no arm-twisting from us), Fredrik said, “Your organization’s PKI is like a foundation for all of your security – it’s the foundational building block that you build everything else on so you really need to make sure your PKI is solid. Now, after working with the team at PKI Solutions, I believe that our PKI is monitoring and protecting all of our company’s data in a very secure environment.” Thanks Fredrik!

You can read more about this customer case study here and request a demo at pkispotlight.com