JSE-listed financial services group Brait has secured its national virtual private network (VPN) with Gauntlet, the leading firewall from Network Associates. Brait contracted EC-Hold company SMC Electronic Commerce, the local Gauntlet distributor, to deliver a comprehensive security framework for the group, including product support, security consulting and ongoing security checks to verify the integrity of its network.
Brait`s six autonomous operations offer a range of corporate banking and investment services to the South African corporate market, including merchant banking, private equity fund investment and management, investment banking, asset management, property trading, development and management and stockbroking.
"Our VPN was designed to connect 300 users in four regions, from Johannesburg to Cape Town, with full e-mail and Internet access," says group systems manager Dirk Bredenhann. "The network will further give the group a consolidated front and a single point of entry to the global market in which it trades each day." IT manager Andrew Sheldon says South Africa is in the early growth phase of global market exposure, which renders it less susceptible to malicious attack than more mature economies. However, given the nature of the online medium, no site can be shielded from external attack from anywhere in the world.
"We made the decision to deploy today the tools and skills to ensure our security and data integrity tomorrow," says Sheldon. "As a public company, we handle sensitive data for which we as a group are responsible, and it`s our duty to our clients and shareholders that our data is secure and that its integrity is guaranteed."
Understanding that network security is not static, Brait sought a company that understood its specific security needs, with access to a range of solutions for the changing corporate network environment.
"SMCec was shortlisted as the company that represented the top firewall products in the world," says Sheldon. "It also keeps up to date with the latest technologies and skills required to maintain optimal network security, complementing our own internal IT infrastructure."
Gauntlet "network extenders" are installed at each node of the VPN and managed by a Gauntlet administrator on the central VPN node in Johannesburg. The firewall runs a virtual encrypted pipe between each node of the VPN. Even should the underlying infrastructure be compromised, data remains secure between connections because the wall is inherently encrypted.
"Gauntlet is open to third-party extensions, which enables us to build onto the core competencies of the product," says SMCec MD Dov Herdan. "Network Associates continually updates Gauntlet with enhancements and security revisions, an effort mirrored by our team in South Africa, keeping Brait abreast of security threats it may be exposed to in its various markets."
Share
Editorial contacts