Mastronardi Produce, North America’s largest greenhouse produce distributor, has been at the forefront of sustainable agriculture for over 70 years. In that time, being a leader in both agriculture and innovation has come with diverse cybersecurity challenges, including protecting sensitive data, securing against vulnerabilities, and reducing shadow IT risks.
To address them, Mastronardi turned to the AI-powered CrowdStrike Falcon® platform, deploying CrowdStrike Falcon® Data Protection for sensitive data security, CrowdStrike Falcon® Exposure Management for proactive vulnerability management, and CrowdStrike Falcon® Complete Next-Gen MDR to manage endpoint detection and response.
With these solutions, Mastronardi has built a robust cybersecurity strategy that ensures visibility, control, and proactive protection across its operations with the unified Falcon platform.
To learn more about Mastronardi’s cybersecurity journey, download the full case study here. Below, Bill Lucas, Senior Director of Cybersecurity at Mastronardi Produce, shares how his team tackled challenges and secured its innovative operations with CrowdStrike.
Q&A with Bill Lucas
Q: Unauthorized use of AI is a growing concern for today’s businesses. How did Falcon Data Protection help address this issue at Mastronardi?
A: One of the most surprising discoveries we made with Falcon Data Protection was the sheer number of unauthorized AI tools being used across the organization. We had 13 approved solutions, but Falcon Data Protection revealed multiple unapproved tools being accessed. These tools created a significant risk of sensitive data being uploaded to potentially risky external systems.
With Falcon Data Protection, we were able to baseline normal activity and identify where the risks were. Simulation mode lets us monitor without disrupting operations. Once we had a clear picture, we moved to block unauthorized tools while allowing approved ones. This phased approach made it easier to reduce risk without impacting productivity.
Q: How are you using Falcon Data Protection to identify other kinds of risky behavior?
A: Shadow IT is a real challenge, especially when users don’t even realize they’re putting sensitive data at risk. With Falcon Data Protection, we’ve seen examples like employees emailing sensitive files to their personal accounts or using personal cloud drives to store company data. We’ve even seen users uploading proprietary documents to public PDF converters.
The visibility Falcon provides helps us address these risks before they escalate. We can educate users, implement more controls, and ultimately reduce risky behaviors. It’s also been helpful in identifying flight risks. For example, when someone sends out 10 resumes in a month, that’s a sign they might be leaving. The ability to see this activity gives us opportunities to intervene early.
Q: Security needs are always evolving. How have you met those needs with the Falcon platform?
A: Before CrowdStrike, we used Rapid7 for vulnerability management, but we found it gave us a false sense of assurance around patching timelines. Falcon Exposure Management was a game changer. It pinpointed recurring vulnerabilities and highlighted gaps we didn’t know we had.
With Falcon Exposure Management, we get actionable insights. For example, it tells us exactly which servers and patches to address. That makes conversations with our infrastructure team much more efficient. And because it runs on the single Falcon agent, we reduced the number of agents in our environment, improving endpoint performance.
Q: What benefits have you seen from consolidating your security tools into the Falcon platform?
A: Consolidation has been a strategic priority for us. With CrowdStrike, we now manage endpoint, identity, data, and vulnerability protection through one console and one lightweight agent. This has dramatically reduced complexity and improved efficiency.
For example, by deploying exposure management on the Falcon platform, we eliminated the need for a separate vulnerability management agent. Every agent you can eliminate reduces friction for your team and improves performance for your users. Plus, having one source of truth makes it easier to communicate security metrics and progress to executives. It’s no longer about pulling data from five different tools — everything we need is in one place.
Q: What advice do you have for companies looking to mature their security posture?
A: My advice is to start with a framework, document your gaps, and create a roadmap. Security is a journey, not a fire drill. CrowdStrike has been instrumental in helping us move from reacting to planning. The unified Falcon platform and seamless integration of tools have allowed us to address challenges in a phased, manageable way.
Also, don’t underestimate the value of visibility. Whether it’s Falcon Data Protection showing where your data is going or Falcon Exposure Management highlighting overlooked vulnerabilities, that clarity is what enables you to take meaningful action. With a plan and the right tools, you’ll find yourself maturing much faster than you thought possible.
Additional Resources
Leave a Reply