Coconala Inc. operates the skills marketplace coconala, where skills and knowledge can be bought and sold. The company’s services are used in all kinds of situations, both personal and business, and since its established in January 2012, the company has grown its revenue rapidly. However, while the company had taken steps to protect against the risk of information being leaked, lost, or stolen, there was still room for improvement to achieve an even higher level of security. To address this issue, the company implemented Netskope. By visualizing the flow of data, the company aims to eliminate risk in an efficient and effective manner.
Coconala is a website where you can buy and sell your skills and knowledge. It covers a wide range of genres, from private ones such as consulting and online lessons to business genres such as web design and consulting, and has become very popular, with the number of users reaching 5 million in about 10 years since the service started.
On the other hand, as coconala’s business expanded, security risks became more apparent. Yuta Kawasaki, Head of Information, System Platform Department, recalls the following.
“We went public in March 2021, but at that time we were a so-called ‘one-man IT department.’ We didn’t have many systematic measures for information security, and although we had measures in place to deal with the risk of information being removed, lost, or stolen, we thought there was room for further improvement to achieve a higher level.”
In addition, the lack of security experts in the IT department prevented coconala from taking a planned approach to security, resulting in a reactive, problem-driven response that addressed issues as they arose.
In order to clarify the problems, Kawasaki first broke them down into smaller parts, such as “What is the goal of security?”, “What are the problems?”, etc., and proceeded to sort them out. As a result, they found that measures against unauthorized removal, theft, and loss of information were individually optimized and that there was room for further improvement.
“For example, there were strict internal rules against sending information attached to emails to personal email addresses or uploading internal data to personal Google drives, but there was room for improvement in terms of visualizing and logging removal activities.”
I researched all the SASE solutions that were being talked about at the time. I then selected about six products, including Netskope, and compared them from a variety of perspectives, such as cost, ease of implementation, and case studies from other companies.
To solve the problem, Kawasaki focused on CASB capabilities and SASE products.
“I researched all the SASE solutions that were being talked about at the time. I then selected about six products, including Netskope, and compared them from a variety of perspectives, such as cost, ease of implementation, and case studies from other companies.”
As a result of the comparison and research, Netskope was selected. Kawasaki cited the following three points as the deciding factors:
Although the POC revealed issues such as PCs and networks becoming slower than expected, they were able to resolve each issue one at a time with the help and support provided by Netskope.
“We compared and reviewed the products from around March to April 2022, and selected Netskope in May. We then ran the POC from June to September,” explains Kawasaki.
By combining with EDR, we have been able to implement multi-layered protection against malware. Even if the EDR agent file is not updated, the fact that we can implement multi-layered protection is a great source of security in terms of anti-virus measures.
There was no particular resistance within the company to installing an agent on the device to implement Netskope Private Access (NPA), a remote access product.
Kawasaki explains, “The security solution we had previously deployed was very heavy, so we didn’t mind the weight of Netskope. Also, the fact that it automatically prevents the ‘careless removal of data’ is a big advantage as it allows employees to focus on their work. As a publicly traded company with a lot of responsibility, the management team also agreed that it was imperative to protect customer information”.
coconala has experienced both quantitative and qualitative benefits from the implementation of Netskope.
In terms of specific quantitative benefits, Kawasaki cites “detection and prevention of inappropriate information uploads and downloads. After implementing Netskope, we detected several near misses that we were able to prevent. Netskope detects and alerts us about near misses, so we can conduct individual interviews and take appropriate action, such as giving permission or providing guidance, for each case.”
Kawasaki cites “a sense of safety” as a qualitative effect. “By combining with EDR, we have been able to implement multi-layered protection against malware. Even if the EDR agent file is not updated, the fact that we can implement multi-layered protection is a great source of security in terms of anti-virus measures.
Kawasaki also feels that another major benefit is that “we can gain a lot of insight” through Netskope’s support, as well as by sharing information with other companies that have also implemented Netskope and by participating in user groups.
By quickly following the latest architecture, Netskope allows us to provide our employees with higher-performing PCs. As a result, development productivity increases, and this also strengthens our competitiveness.
At present, coconala has around 5 million users. The company aims for further rapid growth, with the aim of reaching 10 million users in the near future.
“By the time we reach 10 million members, we think the number of employees will have increased accordingly. If that happens, we will have to further strengthen our security measures. I think Netskope is a solution that can be our last line of defense in reliably preventing serious security incidents.”
While placing great trust in Netskope, Kawasaki also mentioned the following two points as things he hopes to see in the future:
“By quickly following the latest architecture, Netskope allows us to provide our employees with higher-performing PCs. As a result, development productivity increases, and this also strengthens our competitiveness,” says Kawasaki. The company will continue to use Netskope to improve the IT convenience of our employees.