/case_study_thumb_webhelp.webp?width=1136&height=639&name=case_study_thumb_webhelp.webp)
/inc-5000-news-thumbnail.webp?width=600&height=336&name=inc-5000-news-thumbnail.webp)
Company Intro
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services is a leading independent carrier in the global container shipping industry and one of the ten biggest shipping organizations in the world. Founded over 75 years ago, ZIM operates across every part of the globe, providing customers with innovative seaborne transportation and logistics services. ZIM’s position as a digital-oriented global carrier allows them to provide intelligent shipping solutions and unmatched reliability, all with a personalized, customer-centric approach.
The Problem
Phishing attacks targeting shipping companies are on the rise, with cyberattacks increasing by 400% since February 2020¹. The problem has become so widespread that the U.S Coast Guard has started releasing cybersecurity safety alerts for vessels². ZIM was experiencing a steady barrage of increasingly sophisticated and financially motivated spear phishing emails - including attacks that used accurate domain names to impersonate senior staff. These highly complex phishing attacks made it difficult for ZIM employees to determine which emails were phishing and which were genuine. Prior to implementing IRONSCALES, ZIM relied solely on one solution to protect the company against phishing attacks. While the product efficiently blocked spam and malware, it could not detect advanced phishing attacks. The original solution also did not allow employees to report the phishing emails, making it difficult for the ZIM security team to identify, track, and report on phishing attacks.
ZIM required a more advanced email security solution that could not only identify malicious emails, but also easily track, report, and share details about phishing attempts. They needed a solution that was easy to manage, run forensics on, and, crucially, for employees of all technical abilities to understand. ZIM also wanted a solution that leveraged artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify phishing emails that were slipping through existing defenses.
Solution
ZIM started using IRONSCALES’ automated phishing technology in 2015, equipping their team with sophisticated phishing analysis, mitigation, and remediation at the click of a button. The solution also provided employee simulation and training functionality that allowed the security team to improve phishing awareness throughout the company. ZIM was excited that the IRONSCALES solution provided both email protection and security awareness training as a single, integrated solution.
ZIM originally selected IRONSCALES because of the simulated phishing training and awareness functionality. After onboarding the IRONSCALES solution, ZIM quickly recognized that the anti-phishing capabilities included with the IRONSCALES platform could quickly discover more phishing attacks than the other email security solution providers they had tried. As a cloud-based solution, IRONSCALES was simple to implement, with no physical installation or infrastructure needed. This was a major selling point for ZIM, who wanted to prioritize ease of use and set-up.
Outcomes
Since implementing the IRONSCALES solution, ZIM employees have been able to identify and report on incoming phishing attempts instantly and effortlessly, as well as share this information throughout the organization and to the greater IRONSCALES customer base known as the Community. Reporting on suspected or confirmed events was a capability that ZIM did not have before using IRONSCALES and is now one of the most vital aspects of their email security defenses. IRONSCALES’ anti-phishing capabilities provided ZIM with a second layer of security on top of their existing gateway tool. This additional layer of defense helped to significantly reduce the amount of time spent on phishing-related attacks, making the jobs of the CISO and SOC team much easier. Thanks to the IRONSCALES solution, ZIM has lowered its overall security risk exposure across its employee and client base.
ZIM has also benefitted from the IRONSCALES’ Community (Federation), a democratized threat intelligence platform providing ZIM with an early warning system composed of thousands of IRONSCALES customers worldwide. The Community quickly identifies newly detected zero-day attacks in the wild, protecting against these new threats before they can adversely affect anyone.
ZIM uses the IRONSCALES phishing training and educational tools to regularly test their employees and provide them with the awareness needed to recognize advanced phishing attacks. This has allowed the ZIM team to improve employee awareness of phishing, helping both technical and nontechnical staff to recognize and report attacks.
ZIM has found IRONSCALES’ regular security and functionality updates easy to install. The IRONSCALES customer success team is highly responsive in answering questions and fixing issues around the clock, which is critical to keeping ZIM’s global operations secure. ZIM has noted a significant increase in employee productivity and profitability, with employees able to focus on driving the business forward. As the second layer email security tool, IRONSCALES now inspects approximately 7 million emails per week within ZIM’s network, blocking or deleting around 12,000 phishing and spam emails automatically.
![]()
Weekly Improvement
Looking Ahead
ZIM has seen great success thus far with IRONSCALES and the two companies continue to work together closely to identify, design, and deploy new capabilities. By making improvements to the educational capabilities of the solution, IRONSCALES are helping ZIM to constantly upskill employees on phishing identification.
Explore More Articles
Say goodbye to Phishing, BEC, and QR code attacks. Our Adaptive AI automatically learns and evolves to keep your employees safe from email attacks.
