Stake Transforms its Security Culture with Material

Stake is an Australian investing platform that helps people confidently manage and build their wealth. So it’s critical that data is kept safe along the way. 

Before Material Security, Stake–like many organizations–relied heavily on Google Workspace's native security features. While Google Workspace delivered an inherently strong security posture and a suite of security tools, managing and operationalizing those tools effectively–and responding to threats efficiently–proved to be a major drain on resources. 

Joel Larish, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Stake, explained the challenge: "We needed better tooling to handle the workflow and management side of things. We needed to ensure our Google Workspace remained secure, while addressing the biggest challenges in our industry; phishing and data protection." So the hunt for a vendor with the same perspective began.

Shared Philosophy, Unique Approach

Building a system in-house was a non-starter because of the sheer amount of effort required to do so effectively, so the search for a vendor began. But Stake’s search quickly revealed a common problem: "After we began assessing vendors; it was clear that Google Workspace support was often an afterthought for most of them."

Material Security’s strength in Google Workspace stood out from the crowd. "Our first impressions of Material were really, really positive," Joel recalled. "We knew we were in for a treat when we learned this was literally the only vendor which actually used Google products in-house." This deep understanding of the Google ecosystem proved to be a game-changer. 

Material's approach of combining phishing defense and sensitive data protection with identity protection and posture management resonated with Stake's philosophy. They onboarded just before Material rolled out its file data protection features, giving them a front-row seat to the latest cutting edge solution.

"We watched as they took what was working in the market - and then pushed boundaries on product functionality with usability which simply didn’t exist in the space they’re in."

Speeding Phishing Response and Reducing Toil

One of the biggest pain points Material solved was the cumbersome process of responding to phishing reports. "MTTR for phishing reports went from hours to seconds," Joel said, “along with disseminating and notifying colleagues through in-email banners immediately. "

"Material's ability to quickly identify and quarantine phishing messages that slipped past Google's filters was a breath of fresh air.”

Joel recalled one instance where Material’s ability to immediately block a particularly difficult threat. "In one case, we became aware of a campaign from a threat actor exploiting features within a well-known SaaS vendor’s product suite where the threat actor could send email purportedly as the vendor,” said Joel. “No filters anywhere would have caught this, but because one user reported the campaign, we were able to immediately block it across the entire organisation within seconds of receiving it." 

Beyond simply reacting to threats, Material made it easy for Stake to proactively share information through in-email banners, instantly alerting colleagues to potential dangers. This speed and efficiency proved invaluable in containing threats and minimizing their impact. 

Advancing Security Culture with Comprehensive Protection

Material's unique capabilities were only a part of the story.

"The 'aha moment' came when we realized Material Security wasn’t just a technical product, but a cultural one."

“By design it reinforces good security culture and collaboration through its handling of malicious reports, as well as positive feedback when cases are reported or phishing and awareness campaigns are run. It’s clear to us that Material Security isn’t just trying to sell you a product to address one use case, or apply one control really well - they’re a partner who’ll make inroads and help pull the security culture of the entire organisation forward."

In the finance industry, email is a treasure trove of sensitive, regulated data. Stake knew it needed a way to keep its customers' data safe, even if a breach occurred. "Material has locked down years of potentially sensitive data across the organization, while still making it easily accessible through secure MFA for our users," Larish explained. 

Material's comprehensive platform-wide security measures provide peace of mind in a high-risk environment. "Working in the finance industry, we’re still reliant on many partners using email. Material has reduced the potential blast radius, limiting the potential impact if our users ever face a BEC event." 

Containing the impact of potential breaches isn’t the only way Material has helped Stake reduce risk. "Material has done great work to provide visibility into governance, access controls, and how sensitive data is handled across the organisation. It allows us to identify and address risky behaviour before it becomes a problem." This proactive approach to security allows Stake to stay ahead of potential threats and continue to harden its security posture. 

Great UX + Great Support = A Perfect Match

"Working with Material Security was one of those times that the pre-sales support was amazing, but the post-sales support is even better. It’s really impressive to see how responsive, effective, and committed to their customers’ security needs they are. Plus, we’ve never had to send a support email: we use Slack." 

Material's focus on user experience, combined with its powerful security features, makes it a truly unique solution in the market. “The focus on usability from an administrator AND end-user/staff perspective - it’s a no-brainer. The modern case management approach has really made administration of  email — a somewhat unwieldy, thorny, and reluctantly critical technology — possible. The fact that it’s wrapped up in such great UX has made dealing with it nearly hassle-free." 

Material Security has helped Stake move beyond reactive alert-chasing to proactive posture hardening. By combining powerful technology with a focus on user experience and a commitment to customer success, Material has become a trusted partner in Stake's ongoing efforts to build a strong security culture.

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