Western Europe faces a demographic timebomb. Populations are aging and so require more care. Many elderly people would prefer to live at home for as long as possible. This seismic change is forcing an urgent rethink of the way care services are delivered. 

Joris Zorg is a regional provider of care services to the elderly. It operates in the suburbs to the west of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. It is one of hundreds of such operators in the Netherlands: local, community focused, and independently minded.

Joris Zorg’s origins go back to 1333, yet it is pioneeringly modern. It is running a project that promises to transform elderly care. Using a network of smart sensors installed at a client’s home, Joris Zorg believes it can extend healthy, independent living. The sensors gather audio, movement, and location data, with AI then processing this data in real time and feeding it back to local care teams. The sensors confirm all is well or where there is an issue, for example, if a client has fallen or is calling for help, and sends an alert to a responder if there is a problem.

“In the Netherlands, we have an increasingly large elderly population, one of the biggest in Europe,” says Paul Verlaek, Information Manager, Joris Zorg. “As a society, we have to work together to figure how best to care for our elderly.”

Joris Zorg already runs smart sensors in five of its residential care homes. It now wants to extend this to private homes. The project must address a number of challenges, not least user acceptance of in-home sensors and the correct level of local care support. It is also a technology challenge.

To work at scale and in a way that is quick to deploy, Joris Zorg needs a network infrastructure that is scalable, secure, and easy to manage. This is a network that runs 24/7, and carries sensitive health, financial, and personal data. To complicate matters further, the sensors are unmanaged endpoints, with no security agent installed.

“We are a care provider, not an IT company,” says Verlaek. “We don’t have the manpower or the technical skills to manage a network with thousands of connections. Also, we see the network as a critical infrastructure, not just water from the tap.”

For Joris Zorg, the transformation of their digital care strategy is being built on the cloud-managed Cisco Meraki platform, secured with Cisco Secure Access and Cisco XDR.

Cisco Secure Access DNS Defense provides Joris Zorg employees with secure access to the internet, allowing the use of cloud applications and powering mobile working. Cisco XDR then makes threat detection and response fast, simple, and effective. Joris Zorg is part of a leading group in the Dutch healthcare sector that approaches cyber resilience in a holistic way by implementing Extended Detection and Response (XDR).

“We believe in the power of the network,” says Arjan Benschop, Co-Owner and Security Consultant of HOB ICT Security, Cisco partner and provider of managed security services to Joris Zorg. “We can ingest all the network data—from the endpoints, the Microsoft environment, into Cisco XDR. Any deviation from the baseline and we’re sent an alert. We then have the threat detail to take decisive action.”

HOB ICT Security can instantly verify threats, contain breaches, and prevent lateral movement through the Joris Zorg environment. Cisco XDR uses AI to accelerate the way threats are identified and prioritized.

This network-led defense is critical in a 24/7, always-on world, he adds: “It is not a question of if you’ll be hacked, it’s when.” 

Joris Zorg knows this from experience. It was hacked on Christmas Eve, 2022, part way through a project to move workloads from on-premises to the cloud. The attack targeted a local server that was still in use during the cloud migration. Hackers gained access to sensitive data and crucial systems. Although key applications, such as the Electronic Client Dossier (ECD) and medication administration registration, were operational again within a day, the attack had significant consequences. 

“In April 2023, we discovered that much of our archive data was on the dark web. That’s something you never want to experience as an organization,” says Paul Verlaek, Information Manager, Joris Zorg.

The hack accelerated efforts to improve network security. With a growing number of smart applications, such as sensors at over 500 clients, protecting the network became crucial. Joris Zorg decided to collaborate with HOB ICT Security and Cisco for a holistic security approach. 

“Thanks to their expertise, we can now detect and address threats more quickly,” Verlaek continues.

“We had to address it forcefully and understand the pain, disruption, and reputational damage this can cause,” says Maik Berkelmans, IT Architect, Joris Zorg. “The challenge becomes even harder when you have so many unmanaged devices on the network. HOB ICT Security and Cisco XDR give us eyes (telemetry) in every corner of the network.”

For the in-house ICT team at Joris Zorg, the application of AI, automated responses, and proactive threat detection ensure a managed service that is effective round the clock, and financially within reach of a regional non-profit. From a network security perspective, streamlined ways of working at HOB ICT Security mean Joris Zorg can scale its smart sensor project from two homes to 2000 with minimum additional investment. A small, regional care provider can act with the same cyber professionalism as a hospital or large national enterprise.

In addition, the Cisco Meraki network means it is simple to deploy managed and unmanaged devices and have them securely connect to the network based on segmentation. In the future there are likely to be smarter, more affordable sensors for a range of uses in a healthcare capacity, with additional BLE functionalities in the access points. 

“Network security is only as strong as the network ecosystem,” Benschop points out. “Cisco Meraki makes it very easy to integrate third-parties, Cisco XDR then makes sense of this additional information. We are looking at the network in totality.”

The result is that Joris Zorg can continue to move at pace, with the confidence that its network security posture is compliant with NIS2 (EU) and NEN 7510 (Netherlands’ healthcare IT) regulations. 

In addition to technical improvements, awareness among employees and the board of directors has also increased. 

“We now have a change advisory board that assesses all digital changes. This ensures that new technologies are deployed safely and effectively,” says Verlaek. “The board now fully understands the importance of the network as a security sensor related to digital resilience.”

Cyber threats will continue to evolve. For Joris Zorg, the engagement with Cisco and the close working relationship with HOB ICT Security provides assurance it’s aligned with industry leaders. 

“We know hackers will be using AI to uncover vulnerabilities,” says Berkelmans. “Our unified network, Cisco Talos’ expertise, and HOB’s understanding of our environment are the best defense.” 

For Verlaek, whose Christmas was interrupted by the 2022 hack, it is the assurance of a peaceful night’s sleep.