Racing body cuts internet misuse

Security system helps GRA protect network bandwidth

The Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) is using a new security system to tackle high levels of employee internet misuse and to protect its catering revenue.

The GRA found that on a typical day about 80 per cent of the data being downloaded to its systems was not work related, posing a threat to the business.

Mike Kelly, GRA’s human resources manager, says its Citrix servers were being used to download large multimedia files.

‘It was a massive problem. Most of our applications run on the Citrix system, which runs over ADSL. We had complaints from remote users that they could not access various applications,’ he said.

‘When we looked into it we found the bandwidth was being hammered to death. We investigated further and found the reason it was getting hammered was because people were doing things like watching news sites, downloading MP3s and listening to internet radio.’

The firm also uses the security system from supplier SonicWall, to help secure the £12m annual revenue from restaurants at each of its six tracks.

Kelly says all the restaurants use a pre-pay, bespoke reservation system based in the call centre in Manchester.

‘If we were to lose the reservation system, the exposure to the business would be devastating,’ he said.

‘We take bookings up to a year in advance, and in a lot of different circumstances. If we were suddenly to lose all the bookings for 2006 through an attack on the system we would be up the creek without a paddle.’