Client Story: Global 500 Travel Division.

Today's enterprises are making security a more strategic focus not just for Web and e-Business functions, but throughout the entire organization. With many organizations being exposed to compromise by specially crafted phishing emails, every department, from engineering to research, human resources and even travel, is now vulnerable to malicious email attacks.

The travel division for one of the largest electronics companies in the world is one such department, having been mandated by their corporate office to improve the security for its reservation and personnel information systems. Instead of relying on the internal IT department, the executive team was proactive in partnering with Guardian Digital to obtain a robust, easy to manage, cost effective and secure email solution.

"Guardian Digital makes it very simple," says Karen Brown, senior VP of Operations with the travel division. "The combination of a smooth transition and expert support engineers to help every step of the way was beyond anything we ever expected," continues Brown.

Guardian Digital EnGarde Email Security Gateway provided all the services Brown needed for her organization to securely communicate online and protect them against malicious email attachments, viruses, and unwanted email.

With a regular travel population budget of $60-80 million, the worldwide travel division processes more than 12,000 travel orders and reservations per month through its web site. The division designed an online system so internal travelers could more readily access and arrange their own travel. The database used to process these requests contains detailed, personal travel information for each traveler, including credit card numbers. The sensitive nature of the information, along with the need to have timely itinerary information available around the clock, motivated executives to issue a mandate for improved security measures for the division.

The mandate was not the first time that the travel division became concerned about security. Previously the division suffered a cyber attack, resulting in weeks of downtime and costing the company significant time and financial resources to resolve. With the mandate in tow, no in-house expertise in place and increased exposure to attacks with a growing Internet presence, the travel division set out to quickly find a solution partner who could provide proven security and support.

Guardian Digital was brought in for a system assessment, and was quickly retained to provide a short-term solution to secure the travel Web site from any further possible attacks. Guardian Digital replaced the entire infrastructure on which the travel division web site functioned. The implementation required initial installation and configuration of Guardian Digital's EnGarde Email Security Gateway, along with building a more robust email security policy specifically for the travel division. Guardian Digital provided complete user training and support, with continuous 24/7 monitoring of the infrastructure. The current system includes two main secure email and DNS Servers, all supported with updates and monitoring by Guardian Digital. By deciding to partner with Guardian Digital, travel division saved more than 40% on product cost alone.

Phishing attacks were a significant concern for our CEO prior to Guardian Digital. Guardian Digital's URL Protect keeps our users secure by scrutinizing thousands of characteristics in each email before delivering it to us. I can now rest easy at night."
- Karen Brown, Senior VP of Operations, Fortune 500 Travel Division

During the relationship, the team moved its corporate location and called on Guardian Digital to assist with this time sensitive process. The system had to be rebuilt and reconfigured and fully functioning again within 48-hours. Guardian Digital provided complete support during the move, setting up new systems and checking configuration in order to maintain their uptime and business capabilities.

Today Guardian Digital continues to provide ongoing monitoring that involves a virtual connection to their campus, allowing Guardian Digital to supervise DNS, e-mail, network performance, remote access security and maintenance. The team relies on Guardian Digital for all upgrades, and user support, provided through the Guardian Digital Secure Network.

"With Guardian Digital I'm able to sleep better at night and focus my resources on managing the business and travel needs of corporate travelers," said Karen Brown, senior VP with the travel division. "Upgrading and protecting the corporate infrastructure and business sensitive database of our corporate travelers was a major strategic initiative for us. Guardian Digital's email security solution proactively monitors and updates our Internet security systems, protecting us from hackers and denial of service attacks. Their professional services team was by far one of the most responsive, knowledgeable and accountable teams of IT professionals we've ever worked with."