BlueVoyant partners ODEON Cinemas Group on security

BlueVoyant has partnered with ODEON Cinemas Group to overhaul the cinema operator's security operations across eight countries. ODEON is Europe's largest cinema operator.

The agreement includes round-the-clock monitoring from BlueVoyant's UK and Ireland-based Security Operations Centre, incident response support, and oversight of risks linked to third-party suppliers.

ODEON runs more than 280 cinemas in Europe and serves millions of customers each year. It wanted a more joined-up approach to cybersecurity as attacks on ticketing systems, concessions platforms, and customer data become a wider concern across the cinema exhibition sector.

Before the change, ODEON's security estate included nearly 50 log sources and a broad mix of technologies. Its previous provider largely passed on alerts without substantial tuning or ongoing development of detection use cases, leaving internal teams to handle high volumes of low-value notifications.

Security review

To assess the problem, ODEON commissioned a security diagnostic. It identified gaps in alert logic, configuration weaknesses in Microsoft Defender XDR, and the cost burden of a legacy security information and event management platform.

The review led to a migration from the older SIEM system to Microsoft Sentinel. ODEON then moved onto BlueVoyant's managed detection and response service for Microsoft, which works with both Sentinel and its existing Defender XDR setup.

During onboarding, BlueVoyant also identified ways to improve ODEON's Defender configuration to strengthen endpoint protection across the group.

The companies said the operational impact has been significant. According to the figures provided, threat alerts have fallen by 98%, reducing the volume from hundreds of monthly alerts to a much smaller number of tickets for internal teams to review.

Chris Tayler, Head of Information and Cloud Services at ODEON Cinemas Group, described the shift in practical terms.

"BlueVoyant is a key partner in ODEON Cinemas Group's efforts to provide secure environments for all our colleagues and guests. With a balance of advisory, proactive, and reactive services, its input is significant in a constantly changing threat landscape," said Chris Tayler, Head of Information and Cloud Services, ODEON Cinemas Group.

"Moving from hundreds of monthly alerts to just 6-12 tickets has delivered a huge operational benefit to how OCG approaches security," Tayler said.

Supplier risk

A central part of the arrangement is third-party risk management. ODEON has an extensive supplier network, and the monitoring service includes continuous checks, pre-procurement assessments, and remediation work focused on critical vendors.

BlueVoyant said this monitoring has helped ODEON resolve an average of seven critical or high-severity supplier vulnerabilities each month. Its digital forensics and incident response retainer also gives the cinema group access to specialist support for escalation, containment, and assessments when needed.

The emphasis on suppliers reflects a broader trend in corporate security operations: attacks or weaknesses in external partners can expose customer-facing businesses to disruption even when their own systems are closely monitored. For a cinema operator, interruptions to booking, payment, or concessions systems can quickly affect day-to-day trading across multiple sites.

BlueVoyant described the work as a shift from a fragmented setup to a more centralised operation across ODEON's European footprint.

"We have helped transform a previously fragmented, global security operation into a unified security differentiator. By delivering always-on protection and rapid response across more than 280 cinemas, BlueVoyant has provided ODEON Cinemas Group with complete visibility into, and total control over, its security posture," said Holly Steele, SVP, UK and EMEA, BlueVoyant.