Financial Services Firm Finds PortSys Total Access Control Addresses Risk-based Security for Any Device and Application

Financial Services Firm Finds PortSys Total Access Control Addresses Risk-based Security for Any Device and Application

While all companies are concerned about security, those in the financial services industry are especially so. That’s where the money is, as the saying goes – and money is most definitely what many intruders are after. Consider that the Verizon 2017 Data Breach Report found more than half of all breaches (51%) involved organized crime groups – and you can bet they are after more than bragging rights. So, it’s understandable that a financial services firm, whose financial applications help their customers (serving clients with over $1 trillion in aggregate assets under management) run their investment portfolios, was concerned that its current access security solution wasn’t up to the task.

The company has some 10,000 clients logging in to its software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, which are hosted on Amazon Web Services. Its previous solution didn’t provide the level of risk-based security the firm wanted and was difficult to install and manage day to day. Scalability was also a concern, as the firm was rapidly growing.

“One application provided all the features we needed,” says the Program Director for the firm, who is responsible for its IT infrastructure. “PortSys Total Access Control covered everything.”

While all companies are concerned about security, those in the financial services industry are especially so. That’s where the money is, as the saying goes – and money is most definitely what many intruders are after. Consider that the Verizon 2017 Data Breach Report found more than half of all breaches (51%) involved organized crime groups – and you can bet they are after more than bragging rights. So, it’s understandable that a financial services firm, whose financial applications help their customers (serving clients with over $1 trillion in aggregate assets under management) run their investment portfolios, was concerned that its current access security solution wasn’t up to the task.

The company has some 10,000 clients logging in to its software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, which are hosted on Amazon Web Services. Its previous solution didn’t provide the level of risk-based security the firm wanted and was difficult to install and manage day to day. Scalability was also a concern, as the firm was rapidly growing. “One application provided all the features we needed,” says the Program Director for the firm, who is responsible for its IT infrastructure. “PortSys Total Access Control covered everything.”

"one application provided all the features we needed.
portsys total access control covered everything."

SHORTCOMINGS OF LEGACY SECURITY TOOL

The financial services firm previously used an authentication tool from Barracuda Networks that it found lacking in several areas.

For one, it was “very difficult” to install, the Program Director said. The job required sending an installation package to be installed on each client machine. “Some were 64-bit, some 32-bit, and they used different operating systems,” he said, noting the process could easily take a couple of hours for each client machine.

“We had lots of issues in giving people access,” he said. In some instances, they had to send a support ticket to Barracuda and perhaps hop on a videoconference to resolve the issue.

Another sticking point was the lack of support for location- and device-based security. For example, it couldn’t take into account the geographic location of a device before deciding whether to grant access.

The software was also not supported on mobile devices, thus restricting use to desktop and laptops, the Program Director said. Password resets were also an issue, requiring manual effort by administrators to make any updates.

“Scalability was another thing,” the Program Director said. “Previously we had eight or nine servers, but that’s now doubled. As we scaled the business, we could see the Barracuda solution was becoming cost-prohibitive.”

SHORTCOMINGS OF LEGACY SECURITY TOOL

The financial services firm previously used an authentication tool from Barracuda Networks that it found lacking in several areas.

For one, it was “very difficult” to install, the Program Director said. The job required sending an installation package to be installed on each client machine. “Some were 64-bit, some 32-bit, and they used different operating systems,” he said, noting the process could easily take a couple of hours for each client machine.

“We had lots of issues in giving people access,” he said. In some instances, they had to send a support ticket to Barracuda and perhaps hop on a videoconference to resolve the issue.

Another sticking point was the lack of support for location- and device-based security. For example, it couldn’t take into account the geographic location of a device before deciding whether to grant access.

The software was also not supported on mobile devices, thus restricting use to desktop and laptops, the Program Director said. Password resets were also an issue, requiring manual effort by administrators to make any updates.

“Scalability was another thing,” the Program Director said. “Previously we had eight or nine servers, but that’s now doubled. As we scaled the business, we could see the Barracuda solution was becoming cost-prohibitive.”

PORTSYS TOTAL ACCESS CONTROL RISK-BASED ACCESS PROTECTION AND MORE

In searching for a new security solution, the financial services firm came across PortSys Total Access Control (TAC) and quickly realized it would address each of the shortcomings of its previous tool. For one, when determining whether to grant access, TAC, a Zero Trust Access Management solution, can consider a user’s location as well as the type of device the user is employing. TAC can support any type of desktop, laptop or mobile device. It will check to ensure it meets the firm’s security requirements, examining antivirus status, operating system patch level and much more.

The ability to consider a user’s location is important to the financial services firm largely for its own employees, especially developers. The firm uses two teams of developers, one in India and the other in the U.S. There’s no reason for anyone in any other country to be accessing development files and applications, the Program Director said. TAC enables the firm to deny access from anywhere else.

TAC also supports a simple, secure file-sharing capability, which is important for the financial services firm to share data with clients as well as each other. Rather than send sensitive documents via email, TAC’s file-sharing capability enables a user to instead send a URL that the recipient clicks on to access the file. “Security is built in,” the Program Director says.

That security includes multifactor authentication, a feature the firm previously had only for a single application. “With today’s security threats, we feel like multifactor authentication is a must. User ID and password are not enough,” the Program Director says. “TAC gives us multifactor authentication for all of our apps as well as protection from brute force attacks.”

Protection from brute force attacks, as well as phishing attacks, comes from the fact that TAC is a proxybased, Zero Trust Access Management solution. The TAC gateway sits in front of a company’s application servers. Users log in to the TAC gateway and it applies predefined policies to determine whether the user should be allowed access to the requested application. Allowing only authorized users to connect to an application server prevents brute force attacks, which rely on rapid, repeated log-in attempts to bring down a server.

Finally, the Program Director found TAC could meet its scalability requirements, a crucial consideration in today’s world of digital transformation. “When we increase our infrastructure footprint or our number of customers, TAC scales right along with us,” he says.

PORTSYS TOTAL ACCESS CONTROL RISK-BASED ACCESS PROTECTION AND MORE

In searching for a new security solution, the financial services firm came across PortSys Total Access Control (TAC) and quickly realized it would address each of the shortcomings of its previous tool. For one, when determining whether to grant access, TAC, a Zero Trust Access Management solution, can consider a user’s location as well as the type of device the user is employing. TAC can support any type of desktop, laptop or mobile device. It will check to ensure it meets the firm’s security requirements, examining antivirus status, operating system patch level and much more.

The ability to consider a user’s location is important to the financial services firm largely for its own employees, especially developers. The firm uses two teams of developers, one in India and the other in the U.S. There’s no reason for anyone in any other country to be accessing development files and applications, the Program Director said. TAC enables the firm to deny access from anywhere else.

TAC also supports a simple, secure file-sharing capability, which is important for the financial services firm to share data with clients as well as each other. Rather than send sensitive documents via email, TAC’s file-sharing capability enables a user to instead send a URL that the recipient clicks on to access the file. “Security is built in,” the Program Director says.

That security includes multifactor authentication, a feature the firm previously had only for a single application. “With today’s security threats, we feel like multifactor authentication is a must. User ID and password are not enough,” the Program Director says. “TAC gives us multifactor authentication for all of our apps as well as protection from brute force attacks.”

Protection from brute force attacks, as well as phishing attacks, comes from the fact that TAC is a proxybased, Zero Trust Access Management solution. The TAC gateway sits in front of a company’s application servers. Users log in to the TAC gateway and it applies predefined policies to determine whether the user should be allowed access to the requested application. Allowing only authorized users to connect to an application server prevents brute force attacks, which rely on rapid, repeated log-in attempts to bring down a server.

Finally, the Program Director found TAC could meet its scalability requirements, a crucial consideration in today’s world of digital transformation. “When we increase our infrastructure footprint or our number of customers, TAC scales right along with us,” he says.

SIMPLE INSTALLATION, SUPERIOR SUPPORT

Even with the myriad features it provides, the financial services firm found TAC was simple to deploy.

“Implementation was very easy, even though ours was the first in the AWS environment,” the program director says. The PortSys support team was helpful during installation and in providing ongoing support since.

“We’ve had just a couple of issues in the past two years. The PortSys team jumped on them and immediately provided builds that addressed the issues,” he says. The same goes for an enhancement the company requested. “They added it immediately.” Generally, the company is able to administer TAC on its own, with minimal guidance aside from online tutorials that PortSys provides. “They are very helpful,” the director says. “We have all the information we need.”

SIMPLE INSTALLATION, SUPERIOR SUPPORT

Even with the myriad features it provides, the financial services firm found TAC was simple to deploy.

“Implementation was very easy, even though ours was the first in the AWS environment,” the program director says. The PortSys support team was helpful during installation and in providing ongoing support since.

“We’ve had just a couple of issues in the past two years. The PortSys team jumped on them and immediately provided builds that addressed the issues,” he says. The same goes for an enhancement the company requested. “They added it immediately.” Generally, the company is able to administer TAC on its own, with minimal guidance aside from online tutorials that PortSys provides. “They are very helpful,” the director says. “We have all the information we need.”

"OUR INTERACTION AND ENGAGEMENT WITH PORTSYS HAS BEEN VERY GOOD.
WE ARE A 10 OUT OF 10 ON THE HAPPINESS SCALE."

IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY, COST SAVINGS

Overall, the Program Director says TAC has provided all the benefits he expected, and perhaps some unexpected ones – such as improved productivity.

That goes for both his internal IT team, which now spends virtually no time helping users install TAC as opposed to the two-hour installs with Barracuda. “If I want to give someone access to an application, within 5 minutes they’ll have access,” he says.

The file sharing capability is also far easier to use, with just a URL to click on. Along with the easier installation, that translates to productivity savings for end users, as well.

Password resets are now also a breeze, as users can complete the task on their own – without involving IT administrators, another productivity gain for both groups.

The financial services company hasn’t done an in-depth total cost of ownership analysis of TAC vs. its previous solution. But, the Program Director says, “TAC is definitely saving us money,” when he considers the cost of TAC as compared to the previous offering on top of the productivity benefits it delivers.

IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY, COST SAVINGS

Overall, the Program Director says TAC has provided all the benefits he expected, and perhaps some unexpected ones – such as improved productivity.

That goes for both his internal IT team, which now spends virtually no time helping users install TAC as opposed to the two-hour installs with Barracuda. “If I want to give someone access to an application, within 5 minutes they’ll have access,” he says.

The file sharing capability is also far easier to use, with just a URL to click on. Along with the easier installation, that translates to productivity savings for end users, as well.

Password resets are now also a breeze, as users can complete the task on their own – without involving IT administrators, another productivity gain for both groups.

The financial services company hasn’t done an in-depth total cost of ownership analysis of TAC vs. its previous solution. But, the Program Director says, “TAC is definitely saving us money,” when he considers the cost of TAC as compared to the previous offering on top of the productivity benefits it delivers.

Financial Services Firm Finds PortSys Total Access Control Addresses Risk-Based Security For Any Device And Application

data sheet

Financial Services Firm Finds PortSys Total Access Control
Addresses Risk-Based Security For Any Device And Application

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