Heinz is protecting its workforce with security solutions from
Sophos
Sophos, a world leader in IT security and control, today
announced that global food giant Heinz has deployed its security
solutions across EMEA and APAC, protecting thousands of employees
against malware attacks and unauthorized application use.
As an internationally recognised brand, Heinz has long
understood the importance of maintaining a high level of IT
security to mitigate against cyber crime, both in terms of cost to
its business as well as reputation damage. The company was
previously using Sophos Anti-Virus to protect all desktop computers
against malware. However, Heinz recently introduced a web-based
thin-client for company-wide use, and therefore saw the need to
bolster its gateway security to combat the growing threat of
web-based attacks, including spyware, viruses, Trojans, worms,
adware, and phishing.
"We've always taken an onion skin approach to IT security,
ensuring that each layer of the organisation is sufficiently
guarded against the threat of attack," said Chris Leonard, European
IT security and compliance manager at Heinz. "Given our growing use
of the web, it made sense to look for a dedicated solution that
would reduce our exposure to malicious online content."
The company evaluated several hardware-based web security
products, opting for Sophos's WS1000 Web Security Appliance
because of its proactive approach - stopping new and unknown
threats before they have a chance to execute. Heinz was also
impressed that the WS1000 did not have the false positive problems
suffered by some other solutions, ensuring that employees are not
inconvenienced when accessing non-malicious websites.
"It was vital that we deploy a solution that was able to offer a
high level of accuracy when analysing websites, rather than
restricting access to legitimate websites and stopping our
workforce from doing its job," continued Leonard. "The WS1000 met
these requirements, while also offering peace of mind, thanks to
its ability to block even unknown threats before they have a chance
to hit users' desktops."
Heinz is also benefiting from Sophos Anti-Virus's application control
feature, which allows businesses to restrict the usage of
unauthorized or unwanted applications such as games, instant
messaging, peer-to-peer file sharing or VoIP programs. The new
technology minimises the risk of malware entering the organisation
via backdoors or vulnerabilities in unsecured applications, while
also ensuring that optimal bandwidth is reserved for core business
processes.
In addition, Heinz has signed up to Sophos's premium support services to provide
ongoing advice and consultation on the best ways to minimise the
impact of IT security threats.
"We've been delighted by the high level of dedicated support and
expertise delivered by Sophos, particularly given our need for a
fast implementation," added Leonard. "Sophos was able to meet all
of the tight deadlines we set them, ensuring the roll-out ran
smoothly at all stages, and the support team now play an active
role in delivering our security strategy to keep it up to speed
with the latest online developments."
"Heinz has consistently demonstrated a forward-thinking attitude
to IT security, recognising the latest trends and adjusting its
strategy in light of emerging threats," said Annie Gay,
vice president EMEA at Sophos. "The internet now represents the
easiest way for cyber criminals to break into corporate networks,
particularly for firms with a substantial number of online
operations. Heinz has quickly risen to this new security challenge,
and now has in place a multi-layered, fully integrated IT solution
that can be easily maintained, without impacting upon the company's
core activities."
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.