Amphenol chooses penetration testing by CaptureTech

Without knowing it, you probably own a product made by Amphenol. Almost everyone has something of theirs in their homes. Indeed, Amphenol is a large, global manufacturer of connectors, cables and connection systems for (tele)communications, among other things. And practically every electronic device has Amphenol components in it.

About Amphenol

Worldwide, they have about 90,000 employees spread over more than 90 locations. In Europe, a total of about 110 people work at the Amphenol Communications Solutions sales division, including 55 in the Netherlands. From the Houten office, distribution is provided to European customers for the products produced at the global sister companies.

When you’re that big, have so many big customers and make parts that literally everyone uses, safety is an important commodity. In all areas. So their IT must also be protected to ensure that systems, data and people are properly secured.

One way to test how your IT environment is doing in terms of cyber security is through a penetration test (pen test). You can have those performed by your own IT partner, but Amphenol chooses to have it done by CaptureTech’s cyber security specialists. Why they chose it, explains Monique van Houten, Sales Operations & IT Manager at Amphenol Netherlands.

Independent and objective

Amphenol Netherlands is an independent part within the global organization. They make their own choices for their operations, in part to more easily comply with local regulations. They do have regular consultations with headquarters, which advises them on IT, among other things.

“From headquarters we were advised to have a full penetration test done annually, and monthly reports on vulnerabilities,” Monique says. “Of course, we could have had our regular IT partner take care of this, but it seemed like a better idea to have CaptureTech do it. They are completely independent and perform these tests and reports objectively.”

"CaptureTech has listened carefully to what we want and need."

Monique van Houten, Sales Operations & IT Manager

Clear advice and transparent reports

What the pen tests and reports should look like, Amphenol and CaptureTech discussed together: “CaptureTech listened carefully to what we want and need. From Amphenol IT General Control, a so-called self-test is necessary, and CaptureTech thus performs it for us according to our wishes. The same goes for the monthly reports,” said Monique.

“Our servers are on premises, local. So this is all taken care of by an IT partner, and CaptureTech, as it were, controls it. From America, we get security guidelines that we have to comply with, and this can sometimes change. We then pass this on to CaptureTech so that the next reports and tests are adjusted accordingly. That works well, I must say. It ensures that we are (and stay) all keen on what we are doing.”

Whether closer cooperation is in the cards for the future? Monique: “I certainly don’t rule it out. Our regular partner is first choice, but if they can’t provide it, or if we need a second opinion, we know where to find CaptureTech. The contact is there and it runs smoothly, there’s no reason not to ask them then.”