Port Stephens Council is protecting its computer systems with
solutions from Sophos.
IT security and control firm Sophos has announced that Port
Stephens Council in New South Wales, Australia has completed the
first stage of a major security "sea change" IT project. During the
first stage, the Council deployed Sophos's comprehensive appliance
solutions to protect its web and email gateways from security
threats.
The second stage of the project, now underway, will see the
Council deploy Sophos's Endpoint
Security and Control solution on every PC, server and laptop
used by the organisation, replacing its existing anti-malware
solution.
Brad Tighe, IT Technical Team Leader for Port Stephens Council,
said, "With the Council moving increasingly to online channels, it
is vital we have the most effective security measures in place to
ensure the personal and financial information held on behalf of our
residents and employees is fully protected at all times."
"Protecting our users against identity fraud and malware attacks
hosted by infected websites has emerged as one of the biggest
challenges facing local government organisations in recent times.
We wanted to get ahead of the game by deploying a proxy security
appliance which would help us reduce the level of spam getting
through to our users, while also helping us to control and monitor
web activity," continued Tighe. "After reviewing a number of
competitive products, we decided that Sophos's web and
email security appliances provided us with the best protection
and, importantly, would improve the reliability and performance of
our computer network."
Sophos's WS1000 web security
appliance, which auto-blocks malware hosted by infected websites,
now protects any computer that connects to the internet via the
council's network. This includes all 400 Council employees as well
as members of the local community who use the computers hosted at
local libraries and Council's chambers.
The Council has also deployed Sophos's powerful ES1000
email security appliance solution, to block spam, phish emails,
malware and potentially unwanted applications from entering its
network.
"Once we made the decision to go with Sophos, we had the web and
email security components up and running within one day. And, while
Sophos's technical support team made every effort to be hands-on to
help us with the deployment, we found their system so easy to setup
and configure that we'd completed the project before we had the
chance to take their calls," explained Tighe.
Since deploying Sophos's security appliances, employees at Port
Stephens Council have reported a considerable drop in the number of
spam emails they receive. The Council's IT support team has also
experienced a reduction in the amount of time they were required to
spend on security and internet-related calls from their staff.
According to Tighe, the next stage is to upgrade the Council's
protection on endpoint computers with a comprehensive solution that
can identify and protect against all known and unknown types of
malware, as well as any applications deemed unsuitable by the
Council for use on its networks.
"Given the great success we've had with Sophos, we're now
getting ready to deploy their endpoint solution across our servers,
PCs and laptops, to make sure we have all our bases covered," said
Tighe.
Sophos Endpoint Security and Control will provide additional
protection against viruses, spyware, adware and hackers and enable
the Port Stephens Council's IT staff to enforce
computer security and control policies across all of its
computers from a single console.
"While local government organisations typically manage extensive
volumes of financial and personal information on behalf of their
residents and local businesses, they often face resource challenges
to ensure this information is fully protected at all times," said
Rob Forsyth, Managing Director for Sophos Asia Pacific. "For Port
Stephens Council, the Sophos web and email security appliances
provide a perfect fit. They ensure comprehensive protection around
the clock, while requiring very little management. With the
deployment of Sophos's solutions which require only minimal
oversight, it is clear that the Council is taking a very active
role in ensuring that its stakeholders are fully protected, while
freeing up resources to focus on providing more services to its
local constituents."
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.