FEATURE: CYBERSECURITY
Tangible, measurable results
Holambra investment has delivered both technical and business benefits:
Holambra Agroindustrial Cooperative: 80 % of grain, cotton and fruit production is exported to the USA and China
Fast Facts: Holambra Agroindustrial Cooperative and SonicWall
• Reduced travel and support costs: Monthly on-site technical visits have dropped by 97.5 %, from 40 to occasionally one per week
• Increased accuracy: A 35 % reduction in false positives allows IT to focus on real threats
• Standardized policies: Uniform security settings across all sites reduce vulnerabilities
• Stronger endpoint security: Remote and mobile employees operate under the same protections as those on-site
• Agribusiness giant sells foods such as soybeans, wheat and corn and has 170 cooperative companies in the interior of the State of São Paulo
• The use of SonicWall firewalls as a service and the SonicWall Capture Client endpoint protection solution facilitated management standardization and alignment of various plants with security policies
• False positives were reduced by 35 %
• The need to move professionals to work in remote sites dropped from 40 per month to, occasionally, one per week
• Organization complements the excellence of the technical team and intelligence of security solutions with communication programs
• Strong community buy-in to these initiatives ensures users are prepared to collaborate with the company’ s cyber-resilience
These programs have made technical rollouts smoother. When SonicWall Capture Client was deployed, users were already familiar with cybersecurity best practices and less likely to be concerned about changes in device behavior.“ With the help of our communication programs, the transition was smooth,” Brito said.
Securing agribusiness in the modern era
The agricultural sector is increasingly a target for cybercriminals. Farms, cooperatives and exporters are digitizing everything from planting schedules to freight tracking, creating more attack surfaces. For organizations like Holambra, a successful cyberattack could delay shipments, cause financial losses and damage hard-earned reputations in the global market.
OUR OPERATIONS ARE EMBEDDED IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE TOWNS WE SERVE. ANY INTERRUPTION WOULD RIPPLE OUTWARD, AFFECTING FAMILIES, SUPPLY CHAINS AND EVEN MUNICIPAL REVENUES.
Holambra’ s approach – combining advanced tools, expert partnerships and strong community engagement – is said to provide a blueprint for others in the sector. It demonstrates that cybersecurity is not just a technical necessity but a competitive advantage.
Brito summed it up:“ Our mission is not just to grow crops and sell commodities. We are here to protect a way of life. The investments we make in technology – in partnership with SonicWall and Informo – are investments in the stability and prosperity of our entire community.”
With its advanced security infrastructure, trusted partners and a workforce committed to resilience, Holambra Agroindustrial Cooperative is confident it can show how large-scale agribusiness can thrive in the face of evolving cyberthreats. p
40 INTELLIGENTCIO LATAM www. intelligentcio. com