4-page Case Study - Posted 6/29/2007

Views: 365

Rate This Evidence:

Australian Customs Service

Customs Service Uses Integrated Solution to Help Protect and Manage IT Environment

The Australian Customs Service (Customs) is a government agency that uses high-tech methods to protect Australia’s borders from illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and other security threats. To support its mission critical efforts, the organization relies on a comprehensive IT infrastructure to manage thousands of computers and mobile devices. In addition, Customs recently implemented a complex new IT environment based on Microsoft® products and technologies. To meet the security and system management challenges of this infrastructure, Customs has deployed an IT solution based on Microsoft Forefront™ Client Security and Microsoft System Center IT management solutions. With this integrated solution in place, Customs has improved security and simplified IT infrastructure management. In addition, the agency has streamlined the process of updating computers and improved overall system reporting.

Situation

Using Forefront Client Security and System Center IT management solutions, we have an easy way to manage and monitor security, as well as all of our important systems.  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 complex IT infrastructure that supports these efforts consists of 5,800 computers, including 600 notebook computers and hundreds of mobile devices, all of which run 50 core applications. Protecting this infrastructure from security threats is a key component of the agency’s directive to properly secure the border.

For the past several years, Customs had been protecting its computers and servers from spam, viruses, and other threats with a third-party security software tool. Because of this, system security was unreliable and overall IT management was difficult. “We definitely wanted to improve security,” says John Rodgers, Director of Technical Infrastructure Support, Australian Customs Service. “Also, it was difficult to provide software updates efficiently with the previous solution. We did not have an effective way to determine which computers had received updates.”

Additionally, Customs has recently rolled out an entirely new IT environment, standardized on the Windows Server® 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system. This new environment also includes Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007, and the Active Directory® service. The new Windows Vista® operating system has been installed on about 100 employee computers. 

Customs needed an integrated solution that simplified administration and security management for this growing, increasingly complex IT infrastructure.

Solution

To meet its security and system management challenges, Customs implemented a comprehensive IT solution based on Microsoft Forefront™ security products and Microsoft System Center IT management solutions.

Specifically, Customs deployed Microsoft Forefront Client Security, a software solution that guards computers and server operating systems from spyware, malicious software, and other threats. Forefront Client Security also contains a security state assessment feature that discovers and reports on security issues.

The Microsoft System Center IT management solutions deployed at Customs include Microsoft Operations Manager 2005, which monitors servers and computers while helping to simplify identification of problems and quickly resolve them. Operations Manager 2005 also gives IT administrators access to management packs for Forefront Client Security and other products. The solutions also include Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003, which Customs uses to provide remote control, software distribution, and software and hardware inventory. Customs is also using Windows Server Update Services to deploy new scan engine updates and virus signature files.

Both Forefront Client Security and Microsoft System Center IT management solutions are designed to fully integrate with existing Windows®-based IT infrastructures.

Benefits

With an integrated solution that combines Forefront Client Security and System Center IT management solutions, the Australian Customs Service has improved security and simplified IT infrastructure management. The solution also streamlines the process of updating computers and improves overall system reporting.

As our IT infrastructure continues to grow in size and complexity, we now have the assurance that security, administration, and management are already taken care of.  John Rodgers Director of Technical Infrastructure Support Australian Customs Service

Improved Security

Forefront Client Security provides Customs with an effective software solution that improves protection for the organization’s 5,000-plus computers. In fact, it detected several security threats soon after deployment. “Forefront Client Security identified a Trojan within a few minutes of its entering the environment,” says Rodgers. “One of our developers had inadvertently introduced that program into a computer through a USB drive. Forefront Client Security picked it up, and the product’s alerting mechanism quickly showed us where it was.”

Forefront Client Security also provides comprehensive reporting features, such as a security state assessment that gives information about potential system vulnerabilities. Client Security also delivers automated, scheduled reports accessed with a single, interactive reporting base. With this centralized reporting feature, system administrators can determine overall system status and drill down into individual computer details. “We need to provide security reports on a regular basis to make sure we’re demonstrating due diligence,” says Rodgers. “Forefront Client Security gives us comprehensive, easy-to-read reporting tools so we can make that happen.”

Full Integration

Forefront Client Security and System Center IT management solutions also integrate fully with the overall Customs IT infrastructure. For example, Forefront Client Security integrates easily with Windows Server Update Services, making it simple for Customs to send security definitions to individual computers. “That interaction helps automate those processes,” says Rodgers. “We can quickly and easily deploy software updates to all employee computers.”

In addition, Customs benefits from the integration of Operations Manager and Systems Management Server 2003 into its existing Windows-based IT infrastructure. “Overall management is easier because of the integration,” says Rodgers. For instance, Systems Management Server gives Customs automatic updating capabilities. As a result, Customs IT administrators do not need to travel to remote locations to install new software on user computers. “The proper applications are automatically updated across all 94 locations across Australia,” says Rodgers. “Whenever employees log on to the network, they can be sure they have the right applications. Software distribution is not something we need to worry about anymore.”

Simplified Management

Forefront Client Security and the Microsoft System Center IT management solutions also give Customs an easy way to manage its critical systems and applications. Because of how well Forefront Client Security, Operations Manager, and Systems Management Server integrate with the overall IT infrastructure at Customs, computer management can be done from a single point of administration. Forefront Client Security and Operations Manager are also optimized for Active Directory and other technologies in the Customs IT infrastructure. This optimization simplifies the management, deployment, and administration of Forefront Client Security.

“Using Forefront Client Security and System Center IT management solutions, we have an easy way to manage and monitor security, as well as all of our important systems,” says Rodgers. “As our IT infrastructure continues to grow in size and complexity, we now have the assurance that security, administration, and management are already taken care of.”

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

Microsoft System Center

Microsoft® System Center is a family of leading IT management solutions that helps you proactively plan, deploy, manage, and optimize your IT environment. System Center solutions capture and aggregate knowledge about your infrastructure, policies, processes, and best practices so your IT staff can build manageable systems and automate operations in order to reduce costs, improve application availability, and enhance service delivery.

For more information about the System Center family of solutions, go to:
www.microsoft.com/systemcenter

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

Document published June 2007