Customer Story: Government Agency

Agency leads with security solution

Company Overview:

The Agency provides a critical service within Australia by acting on behalf of the community to ensure that serious crimes are prosecuted.

Challenge:

As a key part of its operations, the Agency needed to transfer a number of very large documents via the web to ensure all parties have access to documents in a timely manner. While undertaking the transfers, the Agency experienced significant latency issues with files taking a long time to transfer via a two-tiered content filtering solution. It was a customer service nightmare.

The nature of the files meant that a cloud solution would not be appropriate. A scalable, highly secure, on-premises solution was needed urgently to meet the agencies project deadline. The Agency needed a solution that would provide the scalability and flexibility to consolidate vendors without compromising the security of their information or organisation. In addition, the new solution needed to be delivered quickly and within budget.

Solution:

Data^#3 leveraged its partnership with Cisco to undertake a proof of concept (POC) to showcase to the Agency how the solution would integrate into their already existing security infrastructure. The POC also highlighted how the new solution would be managed and the improvements to the web experience.

The Agency’s existing Cisco environment which included Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) gateway devices, was a good starting point for the new solution and provided the foundation for a strong, secure and integrated solution.

The new solution also utilised Cisco Web Security Appliances (WSA) with Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) to ensure the Agency’s environment was protected from potentially malicious documents and making it safe to transfer critical information across the organisation and to their customers.

In addition, a physical web security appliance was installed in the primary data centre, and a virtual machine in a second location. The virtual appliance provided the required redundancy the Agency needed while significantly decreasing latency and reducing costs.

Outcome:

Since implementing the new solution, the Agency has seen a significant decrease in challenges with latency, leading to increased customer satisfaction. At the same time, the added protection from Cisco WSA with AMP means the Agency has reduced malware and has an improved web experience. As a result, the Agency has experienced a sharp drop in helpdesk calls from mobile users.

The Data^#3 team considered the value of the Agency’s existing technology investment, and broader business aims, when designing the POC. Integrating the Cisco security solution has increased vendor consolidation at the agency, leading to greater security visibility and simplified how the Agency manages the environment. The agency now has peace of mind knowing that they are covered in the event of a failure at the primary data centre.

Technology:

• Cisco Web Security Appliance
• Advanced Malware Protection
• Cisco ThreatGrid

“The solution had to go beyond increasing latency, also ensuring advanced malware protection and dependable DR without overstretching a tight budget. With the help of Cisco, Data^#3 was able to deliver an outcome beyond the customer’s expectations.”

– Richard Dornhart, National Practice Manager – Security, Data^#3 Limited

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