Alignment to Essential Eight application control Maturity Level Two
Reduction in malware alerts from the MDR team
Clearer pathway toward Maturity Level Three and future OT protection
Strategy & Architecture
Mining & Resources
PanAust needed to strengthen its cyber security controls across a multinational resources environment, with teams, contractors, and endpoints operating across several geographic regions. The scope covered approximately 2,000 endpoints supporting around 1,700 computer users across a workforce of 4,000.
The organisation wanted to reduce phishing malware risk, align with the Australian Signals Directorate’s Essential Eight application control strategy, and create a stronger foundation for broader frameworks such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001.
A key requirement was finding an application control solution that could support PanAust’s current IT environment while also allowing future expansion into its operational technology environment, which plays a critical role in the organisation’s profit-generating operations.
Sekuro worked closely with PanAust to assess its security requirements, identify the right Essential Eight maturity target, and evaluate suitable application control solutions.
After a comprehensive market evaluation, PanAust selected Airlock Digital as its preferred application control solution. Sekuro then supported the implementation through project planning, deployment workshops, configuration guidance, and ongoing support.
The deployment included installing the Airlock Digital agent, capturing application usage in audit mode, building application control policies, and progressively transitioning sites into enforcement mode over a four-month period, starting with smaller sites before scaling to larger locations. This allowed PanAust to create policies based on real organisational usage while minimising disruption across different teams and environments.
Sekuro also helped PanAust structure policy management workflows across Windows servers, Linux servers, workstations, and specialist application groups, creating a more manageable foundation for long-term application control.
With Sekuro’s support, PanAust aligned its Essential Eight application control mitigation strategy to Maturity Level Two and created a stronger foundation for future compliance maturity.
The implementation helped reduce malware incidents raised by PanAust’s Managed Detection and Response team. According to the case study, PanAust had previously seen malware events every one or two weeks. After implementing Airlock Digital, the organisation had not seen a genuine malware alert for months.
Airlock Digital also helped PanAust control unauthorised browser extensions, reduce unnecessary software risk, and support temporary access needs through features such as One Time Passwords for approved temporary file execution.
The result was a more practical, scalable approach to application control that supported PanAust’s current IT environment while preparing the organisation for future OT deployment.
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