Insurer to implement new network security system

Insurance group Equitas has chosen supplier Nebulas Security to implement a new network security system.

Equitas wanted a more detailed view of its IT status and advance warning of any potential security breaches.

'Our existing solution was adequate, but required high levels of maintenance to get the best out of it,' said Nilesh Patel, security officer with Serco, Equitas’ outsourced IT management team.

'Reporting was cumbersome and the delay between status updates had become unacceptable. Content filtering was not sufficiently fine-grained, and it was not always clear who was online.'

Nebulas has already implemented a one-month pilot for Equitas, setting up a platform that controls all internet traffic, provides protection from spyware, malicious mobile code, inappropriate web usage, and potential legal liability.

'The pilot ran for a month, but we immediately saw an improvement in overall web performance,' said Patel. 'The reporting capability provided active confirmation that our specified controls and restrictions were operating effectively. And the information I need is now available at all times – not just at intervals.'

Patel says the new system has also lifted pressure on the helpdesk.

'Equitas also saw the elimination of spyware become a reality for the first time, freeing up bandwidth and drastically reducing calls to the helpdesk. Also instead of a mysterious error code, users now see a brief message outlining Equitas’ web -browsing policy and explaining why they are unable to view their chosen site. As a result, calls about the web server being down have dropped to almost nothing.'

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