Industry Banking
When each new security-related issue that came up seemed to require his direct attention,
Rusty Neil, President of Macon-Atlanta State Bank realized that something was wrong. He and his vice-president, Deborah Baker, were finding themselves involved in the day-to-day fight to keep the bank’s computers protected from Internetborne threats time that could have been better spent on productive and businessrelated tasks.
The two went shopping for a solution that would let them focus on their own jobs while ensuring that the bank’s digital assets were secure. At the time, the bank had a firewall and ran anti-virus software on their desktops and servers. A separate content filter for web and email ran on a dedicated server.
As Mr. Neil and Ms. Baker began looking at what security solutions were available in the market, two things became apparent: First, that the bank was missing several important pieces in their security arsenal - including an intrusion detection and prevention system, an anti-virus gateway, an anti-spyware solution and a more effective spam filter. Second, that they were going to need specialized help to manage whatever solutions they chose.
After gathering proposals from multiple vendors, they were left with a conundrum: how to get all the protection they wanted and the professional help they needed and still stay within the bank’s modest budget? Several well-known brand names offered hardware solutions, but Mr. Neil says “we felt left alone” when it came to actually configuring and managing them. On the other hand, hiring a security resource or paying for a consultant or managed service provider on top of expensive hardware purchases seemed excessive.
In June 2004, Mr. Neil heard about Network Box. Here was a solution that gave him everything he was looking for and more - an integrated, all-inclusive and managed security service that fit neatly within his budget. Since signing up for the service, he has not been disappointed. “Network Box makes us feel comfortable that we have not missed anything. We go home at night knowing that someone is watching over our network,” says Mr. Neil.
Network Box’s services provided the bank with a dramatic cost savings over managing their security in-house.“In cases like this the cost of the product is not the only consideration. Not needing someone to administer all our security has a lot of value for us. The Network Box freed up resources that can be better allocated” says Mr. Neil. Overall, he estimates having saved at least half an FTE by adopting Network Box’s fully managed solution.
More importantly, however, Mr. Neil can be confident that the bank’s security is being configured, monitored and administered effectively and securely. As Ms. Baker says, “with Network Box, they do it all for us on a daily basis, and we know it’s done right.”
The bank now uses all of the functions of the Network Box service, including the firewall, intrusion detection and prevention system, anti-virus, anti-spam and antispyware systems, as well as the content filter. Scanning all HTTP traffic for viruses, spyware and other threats has proved particularly helpful in eliminating what had been a major support headache.
While security issues are no longer a drain on senior management’s time, that is not to say that Mr. Neil and Ms. Baker do not retain a keen interest in monitoring the work Network Box does. This need is catered to as well. “Weekly reports are tailored to the executive level, which is what you would expect in a summary report” states Ms. Baker, while “the [web-based] user interface in turn, is very detailed and thorough, and yet easy to navigate and understand even for non-specialists.”
Macon-Atlanta’s experience with the service provided by NBUSA, their Network Box distributor, has been extremely positive. According to Ms. Baker, “every issue, big or small, receives the same high level of attention and care, and the same quick turnaround. They have helped us even with other vendors, even outside of their area of responsibility. They are always willing to talk to other vendors and coordinate work to get the job done, to get us an answer and help us solve our problem”
When it comes to the needs of community banks in particular, Ms. Baker feels that NBUSA “understands our industry especially well. It certainly helps that many of their clients are indeed small and medium banks like ours.”
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their respective owners.
This case study was authorized by
Macon-Atlanta State Bank
NBUSA Inc.
(Formerly Network Box USA)
2825 Wilcrest Dr., Suite 620
Houston, TX, USA 77042
Web: www.networkboxusa.com
