4-page Case Study - Posted 4/26/2007

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Australian Customs Service

Customs Service Improves Reporting with Simplified, Integrated Antivirus Solution

The Australian Customs Service (Customs) is a government agency that employs high-tech methods to protect Australia’s borders from illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and other security threats. To support its efforts, the organization uses a comprehensive IT infrastructure to manage thousands of computers and mobile devices. In early 2007, Customs began implementing a new security solution based on Microsoft® Forefront™ Client Security to help protect its systems against viruses, spyware, and other security threats. The agency will be able to better secure its IT environment with a fully integrated solution that automates tasks and reduces administration time. Forefront Client Security also provides reporting features that will allow the agency to comply with government reporting rules.

Situation

We needed a system that offers top-level protection. Forefront Client Security and Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption combined will really make us more secure than ever before.  John Rodgers Director of Technical Infrastructure Support Australian Customs Service

The agency has more than 5,000 employees who work in 94 offices in Australia and around the world. The Australia-based workforce relies heavily on technology to enforce border security. For example, computer-based analysis and other high-tech tactics are used to identify high-risk vessels and aircraft or potentially dangerous cargo, postal items, and passengers. Some of these high-tech techniques are even shown on TV in the reality program Border Security, which highlights Customs employees as they fight illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and other threats.

The IT infrastructure that supports these efforts is made up of 5,800 computers, including 600 notebook computers and hundreds of mobile devices, all of which run 50 core applications. The protection of this infrastructure is a key component of the agency’s directive to properly secure the border. “To have an IT environment that isn’t properly protected against viruses and malware would jeopardize all of those areas, so it’s important to Australia’s security as a whole,” says John Rodgers, Director of Technical Infrastructure Support, Australian Customs Service.

In addition to worrying about spam, viruses, and other threats, Customs is concerned about other potential security problems. “Our operations run 24 hours a day each day of the week, so we can’t afford to have the network go down because we need to fix a security issue,” says Rodgers. “Another concern is theft of employee notebook computers, which may contain highly confidential data.”

For the past several years, Customs had been protecting its computers and servers with a third-party security software tool. A major issue was that many of the computers and mobile devices being used by field employees were not standardized on one operating system. As such, systems management was not easy. “From a security standpoint, that was hard because we lacked control over the environment,” says Rodgers. “It was hard for us to know what was installed on each computer, and what vulnerabilities might be in place. We basically had multiple antivirus solutions and different security service packs being installed at any given time.”

Solution

In January 2006, representatives from Customs attended a presentation about the new Windows Vista™ operating system. During that event, Rodgers and several others learned about Microsoft® Forefront™ Client Security, a security software solution that guards client computers and server operating systems from spyware, malicious software, and other modern security threats. Forefront Client Security also includes centralized management features and allows for easy integration into existing Windows®-based IT infrastructures.

In early February 2007, the agency began rolling out Windows Vista to its computers throughout Australia, with the help of Microsoft Services consultants. “It’s a challenging task, because some of our offices are widely dispersed and the IT deployment team can be limited by sheer distance,” says Rodgers.

Customs followed up that deployment by installing Forefront Client Security on about 100 of the computers running Windows Vista, and then on several hundred additional computers running the Windows® XP Professional operating system. “We have passport agents that are scanning traveler information into computers that are running Windows XP,” says Rodgers. “So we currently have Forefront Client Security running with Windows Vista and Windows XP.”

Benefits

Forefront Client Security gives the Australian Customs Service a solution that increases protection while integrating fully with its Microsoft infrastructure. In addition, the solution gives the organization reporting capabilities to help it better demonstrate compliance with Australian government mandates.

Increased Protection

Forefront Client Security, along with the Windows BitLocker™ Drive Encryption data protection feature of Windows Vista, provides Customs with the data protection it needs. “Because of the critical nature of the information we manage, we needed a system that offers top-level protection,” Rodgers says. “Forefront Client Security and Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption combined will really make us more secure than ever before.”

Excellent Integration

Forefront Client Security also integrates seamlessly with the agency’s new Microsoft infrastructure, including Windows Server® Update Services. “The interaction between Forefront Client Security and Windows Server Update Services is excellent,” says Rodgers. “The solution is very well integrated, which will be a big plus for us in terms of sending out updates and security definitions to individual computers.”

Improved Reporting

Because of the centralized management and automated, scheduled reporting offered by Forefront Client Security, Rodgers says reporting overall is already better than before. “As a government agency, one of our main tasks is to provide regular security reports to our executives and Australian government officials,” he says. With Forefront Client Security, Customs IT employees will have confidence that every client computer and mobile device in the organization has the same level of unified protection. “Because of that, we can report on the fact that everything has been updated,” adds Rodgers.

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com

For more information about the Australian Customs Service, visit the Web site at:
www.customs.gov.au

Microsoft Forefront Product Portfolio

The Microsoft® Forefront™ comprehensive line of business security products provides greater protection and control through integration with your existing IT infrastructure and through simplified deployment, management, and analysis. Forefront is a comprehensive solution that helps provide protection for the client operating system, application servers, and the network edge.

For more information about the Forefront product portfolio, go to:
www.microsoft.com/forefront

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published April 2007