Case Study
Erzbistum Bamberg
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg ensures IT security with solution by Censornet and Proact
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Challenge
The large number of computers and extensive branching of the network pose a considerable security challenge to the IT staff of the archdiocese. In light of the high number of external employees who have to be supported, of whom many are older, honorary employees, remote access to the central network in particular must be controlled and secured.
In the past it was common for employees to request assistance for network access problems within their circle of relatives or friends. This led to password breaches and security being highly compromised. Given that weak or stolen passwords are a primary gateway for cyber criminals, the need for a secure authentication solution became clearly apparent.
For this reason, the archdiocese was an early adopter of solutions that bring external access under control. First the archdiocese adopted RSA token, a solution that was later marketed under the name McAfee OTP.
Our goal was to combine the best possible security with an easy login process. This is because we have to support older people, who did not grow up with computers, so it is important that there are no hurdles to access.
How we helped
Johannes Wagner, System Administrator at the archdiocese, explains: “Our goal was to combine the best possible security with an easy login process. As we have to support older people who did not grow up with computers, it is important that there are no hurdles to access. At the same time, security should not suffer. We also need to make sure that IT staff should not be overburdened with unnecessary support requests.”
With these factors in mind, Proact was selected to conduct an extensive evaluation of multi-factor authentication from Censornet MFA. With Proact’s security specialists on-board, the subsequent installation went off without a hitch. After a kickoff, the IT department at the archdiocese completed the project quickly.
Now it’s possible to efficiently secure external access to data and applications, and the solution also meets user demands for a simple login process. If an archdiocese employee wants to log into the company network, multiple identification factors are used. After this, a real-time code is created and sent to the employee’s smartphone.
“The use of mobile phone notifications has been received well; hardly any users have experienced problems. With this said, the support available to employees has moved beyond the IT department, removing considerable burdens. This is also important because honorary employees of the archdiocese are often active on the weekend or in the evening,” concludes Johannes Wagner.
Benefits
- Half the cost
In comparison to the previous version, prices have halved - Simple management
Intuitive administration makes the solution easy- to-use. - Highly secure
Enhanced data protection via multi- factor authentication. - User friendly
Various authentication options, including smartphone codes, have been well received.
Key components
- NetApp FAS8040 MetroCluster
- NetApp Commvault IntelliSnap
- NetApp FAS2554HA
- ClusterLion