Protecting voter data at scale with Microsoft security and Quorum Cyber

Robust data protection is a challenge for most industries. When the data is both extremely sensitive and a prime target for cyberattacks—such as electoral and voter data—that challenge is compounded. Organizations handling this kind of data need strong security that is also steady, visible, and designed to respond at any hour.

That’s the kind of protection Quorum Cyber has built its business around. A Microsoft-focused managed security service provider (MSSP) and Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security, Quorum Cyber holds all four Microsoft Security specializations, and their Microsoft partnership credentials include membership in the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association. Leveraging this partnership, including benefits from the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, the company is well-positioned to make sure customers can optimize their Microsoft security solutions.

“We're there as an MSSP to help customers drive every cent of value that they've made with their Microsoft investment, and to bring as much of that functionality and protection to life within those environments whilst wrapping around our expertise,” said Ricky Simpson, Head of Solutions Architecture at Quorum Cyber. Offerings include threat intelligence, security operations center expertise, and incident response capabilities.

Quorum Cyber can also tailor these solutions depending on an organization’s size and threat profile. That makes them a strong partner for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) like Data Trust, a company that specializes in collecting, analyzing, and maintaining high-quality US voter data.

When data protection has no margin for error

Founded in 2011, Data Trust operates in a uniquely sensitive environment. The company manages voter data and related information for organizations that rely on its datasets and modeling to inform targeting strategies. With more than 300 million individuals represented across its datasets and more than 2,500 unique data points per person, protecting confidentiality and integrity is central to its business operations.

Turning Microsoft security tools into an operational defense

As part of the onboarding process, Quorum Cyber conducted a customized threat intelligence exercise. The team interviewed Data Trust stakeholders about the organization’s work, geographies, and data types, then produced a report focused on the threat actors most relevant to the business.

With the threat landscape rigorously diagnosed, Quorum Cyber began work on a platform designed for visibility and rapid response. At the center of the solution was Microsoft Sentinel, the cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) platform that powers the company’s managed detection and response services.

Rather than exporting logs to an external platform, Simpson and his team deployed Microsoft Sentinel directly within Data Trust’s own Azure environment. Using Azure Lighthouse, Quorum Cyber’s security operations team could monitor and manage the environment while ensuring that data remained inside the customer’s tenant.

For its managed detection and response service, pentesting, and an annual cybersecurity audit to support governance, Quorum Cyber deployed their Clarity Extend solution. This included an incident response service that could connect with Quorum Cyber’s security experts day and night, alerting them and triggering a human-led investigation if there was ever a breach of the company’s systems. Simpson described Clarity Extend as “a single pane of glass for anything security incident-related,” one that’s operated by Quorum Cyber within Data Trust’s Azure environment, giving both teams visibility and shared responsibility.

“The in-house incident response capability was a standout feature for us,” O’Rourke said. “We really appreciated that it was included within the service and not hidden behind a paywall.”

At every stage, the solution was tailored to Data Trust’s unique environment, workflows, and risk profile. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” said Simpson. “We don’t just deploy them out of a box of tricks that we have. We start off with a broader detection capability and then tailor those detections based on the individual nuances of any customer environment.”

Greater visibility leads to a deeper security partnership

Once Data Trust could view its security posture in one place, the impact of the solution became clear. The visibility provided by Microsoft Sentinel and Quorum Cyber’s managed services gave the team an overallpicture of activity across their Azure estate and surrounding services. Instead of piecing together signals from different platforms, they could evaluate potential threats within a unified workflow.

In addition, Quorum Cyber’s transparent approach and close collaboration gave the internal teams at Data Trust the opportunity to understand the solution being implemented at every level and further elevate their internal security readiness.

“We try and take customers along on that security journey and not kind of obfuscate it behind a curtain,” said Simpson. “We'll be completely transparent about the things that we're doing …. That allows potential upskilling of our customers as well because they can see the work that is being done by our security professionals.”

In the months that followed, the partnership continued to expand. Data Trust later engaged Quorum Cyber for additional governance, risk, and compliance work aimed at strengthening internal processes and clarifying roles during major incidents. For Quorum Cyber, it was a sign that the relationship had moved beyond the initial deployment and into an ongoing security collaboration.

Simpson is optimistic about opportunities to deepen that work as Microsoft’s security capabilities continue to evolve—particularly regarding AI.

“We’re firmly of the mind that the AI tools being developed are there to supplement human decision-making,” Simpson said. “Our ability to crunch more data, analyze more data, detect things that maybe weren’t detectable before, and join different datasets together would be key as well.”

As cybersecurity threats become more sophisticated and organizations handling sensitive data come under increasing pressure, the partnership with Quorum Cyber equips Data Trust to better meet the challenges that lay ahead—protecting their environment and voter data while continuing to mature their security strategy.