CheckPoint Software Case Studies Desert Research Institute Enhances Data Security with Check Point Solutions

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	Desert Research Institute Enhances Data Security with Check Point Solutions CheckPoint Software

Desert Research Institute Enhances Data Security with Check Point Solutions

CheckPoint Software

Technology Category	Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Hybrid Cloud Networks & Connectivity - Gateways
Applicable Industries	Glass National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions	Procurement Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Tamper Detection Traffic Monitoring
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services Cybersecurity Services
Challenge	The Desert Research Institute (DRI), a global leader in environmental research, faced significant challenges in protecting sensitive data against email and other attack vectors. The institute's rapid growth led to the addition of new locations, increased network traffic volumes, and a larger attack surface to protect. The institute supports main campuses in Reno and Las Vegas and at three remote locations, employing 550 people who travel globally. DRI conducts research projects funded by governmental agencies and other organizations, which come with specific sets of data protection guidelines. Adhering to these security parameters is critical for retaining long-standing contracts. The small DRI team needed to standardize security across all locations to save time, optimize resources, and simplify management. They conducted an extensive evaluation of security solutions, including Check Point, Cisco, and Fortinet. Read More
About Customer	The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a world leader in investigating environmental changes and their impact. As a nonprofit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education, DRI conducts research projects spanning land, air, and sea. The institute supports main campuses in Reno and Las Vegas and at three remote locations. It employs 550 people who travel globally, involved in projects in most of the world’s countries. A wide range of governmental agencies, such as the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the Navy, and other organizations grant research contracts to DRI. These contracts, which are the primary funding source for DRI, come with specific sets of data protection guidelines. Read More
Solution	DRI deployed a Check Point 15,600 Next Generation firewall at its primary locations and five Check Point 3200 Security firewalls to enable secure VPN connectivity for mobile employees worldwide. These firewalls provide high performance, reliability, and uncompromised security to protect users, traffic, and data from sophisticated Gen V threats. DRI uses the built-in application control, URL filtering, IPS, antivirus, and anti-bot capabilities to defend against multi-vector attackers. The SandBlast Network, built into the firewalls, provides zero-day protection with Threat Emulation and Threat Extraction capabilities. The entire infrastructure—systems, policies, and configurations—is centrally managed from a single pane of glass in the Check Point R80 SmartConsole. This allows the small team to work concurrently from the same rule base without conflict, even with global locations to monitor. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Hybrid Cloud

Networks & Connectivity - Gateways

Applicable Industries

Glass

National Security & Defense

Applicable Functions

Procurement

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Tamper Detection

Traffic Monitoring

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Cybersecurity Services

Challenge

The Desert Research Institute (DRI), a global leader in environmental research, faced significant challenges in protecting sensitive data against email and other attack vectors. The institute's rapid growth led to the addition of new locations, increased network traffic volumes, and a larger attack surface to protect. The institute supports main campuses in Reno and Las Vegas and at three remote locations, employing 550 people who travel globally. DRI conducts research projects funded by governmental agencies and other organizations, which come with specific sets of data protection guidelines. Adhering to these security parameters is critical for retaining long-standing contracts. The small DRI team needed to standardize security across all locations to save time, optimize resources, and simplify management. They conducted an extensive evaluation of security solutions, including Check Point, Cisco, and Fortinet.

About Customer

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a world leader in investigating environmental changes and their impact. As a nonprofit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education, DRI conducts research projects spanning land, air, and sea. The institute supports main campuses in Reno and Las Vegas and at three remote locations. It employs 550 people who travel globally, involved in projects in most of the world’s countries. A wide range of governmental agencies, such as the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the Navy, and other organizations grant research contracts to DRI. These contracts, which are the primary funding source for DRI, come with specific sets of data protection guidelines.

Solution

DRI deployed a Check Point 15,600 Next Generation firewall at its primary locations and five Check Point 3200 Security firewalls to enable secure VPN connectivity for mobile employees worldwide. These firewalls provide high performance, reliability, and uncompromised security to protect users, traffic, and data from sophisticated Gen V threats. DRI uses the built-in application control, URL filtering, IPS, antivirus, and anti-bot capabilities to defend against multi-vector attackers. The SandBlast Network, built into the firewalls, provides zero-day protection with Threat Emulation and Threat Extraction capabilities. The entire infrastructure—systems, policies, and configurations—is centrally managed from a single pane of glass in the Check Point R80 SmartConsole. This allows the small team to work concurrently from the same rule base without conflict, even with global locations to monitor.

Impact #1	The Check Point solutions have significantly improved DRI's defenses against email threats. The SandBlast Network scans the institute’s high volumes of email for malicious attachments, URLs, and other content, preventing threats from reaching users’ mailboxes. The Check Point R80 security management, with its SmartEvent and SmartLog features, allows the team to identify suspicious activity, track trends, and mitigate threats. It also enables the team to make many policy changes each day, manage the gateways, and make rule changes on the fly. The team can visually see segmented traffic and policies in Check Point R80 and manage them properly. The Check Point SandBlast Network has been instrumental in stopping threats from reaching users’ mailboxes by detecting suspicious email attachments and URLs and analyzing them before delivery. The ability for multiple administrators to work in R80 concurrently enables the lean team to continuously adapt policy and address dynamic threat environments.

Impact #1

The Check Point solutions have significantly improved DRI's defenses against email threats. The SandBlast Network scans the institute’s high volumes of email for malicious attachments, URLs, and other content, preventing threats from reaching users’ mailboxes. The Check Point R80 security management, with its SmartEvent and SmartLog features, allows the team to identify suspicious activity, track trends, and mitigate threats. It also enables the team to make many policy changes each day, manage the gateways, and make rule changes on the fly. The team can visually see segmented traffic and policies in Check Point R80 and manage them properly. The Check Point SandBlast Network has been instrumental in stopping threats from reaching users’ mailboxes by detecting suspicious email attachments and URLs and analyzing them before delivery. The ability for multiple administrators to work in R80 concurrently enables the lean team to continuously adapt policy and address dynamic threat environments.

Benefit #1	Prevented advanced unknown attacks daily
Benefit #2	Saved hours of time managing hundreds of policies with automated traffic and log analysis
Benefit #3	Enabled dynamic defenses to keep pace with evolving threats

Benefit #1

Prevented advanced unknown attacks daily

Benefit #2

Saved hours of time managing hundreds of policies with automated traffic and log analysis

Benefit #3

Enabled dynamic defenses to keep pace with evolving threats

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Overview

Desert Research Institute Enhances Data Security with Check Point Solutions

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit