Hospitals are probably one of the most important critical infrastructures in any country, given all the essential tasks they carry out. This year, however, hospitals have become one of the protagonists of the works global crisis this century: The COVID-19 pandemic. While most people did everything they could to facilitate their vital labor—even changing how they worked to try to reduce the number of infections—there was one sector that strove to make life difficult for hospitals: Cybercriminals.

Microsoft’s security intelligence team detected multiple “manually operated” targeted ransomware attacks against hospitals that were activated in early April, the worst month of the crisis. Among the ransomware variants that chose the peak of the pandemic to attack hospitals are Netwalker and PonyFinal, thus hoping to earn as much as possible from their attacks.

Case study: Bethesda Children’s Hospital

Bethesda is the only church-financed children’s hospital in the Central European Region. Bethesda cares for young patients ranging from newborns to 18 years of age. The hospital is part of Budapest’s children emergency system, covering the north-eastern area, as well as other parts of Hungary.

Challenges before Panda

Given how valuable health data is on the black market and how vital healthcare systems are, the main concern was that the number of attacks would increase in the future. As well as ransomware and hacker attacks, the GDPR was a great challenge for the hospital in 2018. “It is not just about external dangers,” says Márton Fejes, CIO.

“If IT security is inadequate, if there is any human error like accidental mistakes by or bad faith of staff, data can be easily misplaced.”

From the point of view of the GDPR, the greatest challenge for the institution is to know about the incident and report it to the National Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority (NAIH). Otherwise the head of the institution is considered personally responsible for the error, In this regard, having the right cybersecurity solution, password protection, and well managed user permissions, all play a central role.

Another major challenge for the hospital is to train doctors, nurses, and administrative staff in cybersecurity. All of these tasks must be addressed within the well-known scarce financial resources of the Hungarian healthcare system.

The solution

Bethesda was looking for an IT security system that provides perfect protection against unknown attacks without affecting the day-to-day work of end users. During its 30-day free trial, Panda Fusion 360 proved to work equally well in device management, filtering, and email protection. Among the thousands of emails arriving at the hospital every day, there are always some spam emails or viral messages that staff open by accident or out of curiosity. However, Panda Fusion 360 perfectly identified these threats.

Márton Fejes also stressed the tasks related to deployment and operation in the midst of a constant shortage of specialists as well as the Hungarian language product support as a key factor. Both the remote monitoring solution Panda Systems Management and Panda Adaptive Defense—both of which make up Panda Fusion 360—can be deployed quickly, are easy to implement on any system, and the solution’s operation doesn’t require any additional resources.

During the introductory period, Panda staff were swift to respond to all the questions that Bethesda had, and all problems were handled flexibly.

“The cooperation between Panda and the hospital has been excellent from the very first moment,” says the CIO, adding that the best security solutions are those that are invisible to the user. And that’s exactly what Panda’s solution is like: the hospital’s IT staff monitor and control Fusion 360 functions from a simple, transparent and centralized dashboard, while doctors and nurses use their computers just as they did before Panda Security’s solution was installed in 2018.

“In addition, the pricing of the security solution was also a key consideration for the hospital.  Panda’s special offering to the medical institutions also met this expectation perfectly,”adds Márton Fejes.

Download here the Case Study

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Intellectual is, for many companies, of the most precious assets and the thing that keeps their business going. Intellectual property ranges from business plans and trade secrets to creative work, patents, and software. One of the main problems when it comes to protecting intellectual property are insiders. In fact, according to one study, as many as 69% of organizations have suffered a loss of data or knowledge  as a result of employee departure.

Intellectual property theft is something that can effect all kinds of companies, but the most commonly affected sectors are technology, banking, finance, and the chemical sector. Among the consequences of intellectual property theft are the loss of patents, giving an advantage to the competition, and damage to your company’s reputation. This is why protecting the cybersecurity of any company that handles large amounts of intellectual property is a vital necessity.

As In addition to these damages, intellectual property theft has a steep financial impact on companies. The average cost of intellectual property theft in a company is $13.5 million. What’s more, this property doesn’t just contain proprietary company data; it also very often contains the data of clients or partners. In this case, as well as the aforementioned consequences, the company may have to face fines established by data protection regulations such as the GDPR.

Case study: Valea AB

Valea helps clients to establish, defend and commercialize intangible assets to generate the best possible return and to make IP issues a natural part of the companies’ business strategy.

Situation

Valea’s knowledge is combined with a commercial understanding for the business value included in intangible assets for their customers and clients. Valea needs to proactively have a strong protection against hacking and other potential problems that could threaten the organization

Evaluation

In order to get the best possible cybersecurity solution, Valea began to evaluate the different options available on the market. When the company evaluated Panda Adaptive Defense, it proved to be the best complement to their current system, adding the additional layer of security that Valea needed.

Valea evaluated Adaptive Defense for around two months. In the words of Michael Nissmark, IT Manager at Valea, it went very well: “The implementation went very smoothly, complemented our other security solutions well and prevented attacks from the start of the evaluation period.”

Solution

Today, Panda Adaptive Defense monitors and controls all the files and processes running in Valea in real time. It protects the organization against all kinds of advanced cybersthreats, from ransomware and fileless attacks to zero-day attacks and Trojans. It provides complete visibility of all network activity, as well as the ability to perform forensic analysis to discover the origin of incidents.

Panda Adaptive Defense is hugely beneficial for Valea, and fits in perfectly with the company’s security environment. Jan Edeberg at Panda Security  explains that, “Panda Adaptive Defense provides a great Managed Security Service which guarantees protection for all machines by monitoring and controlling the behaviour of every process running on your network in real time”.

Valea concludes that, today, there is no competing Cloud solution. With Adaptive Defense, the company’s clients can now be offered a competitive advantage regarding security.

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Universities are a popular target for cyberattacks. In fact, 79% of universities have had their reputation damaged by a cyberattack. The main reason for this is the kind of information these institutions store; as well as the personal data of students and staff, which can be sold if stolen, universities also store large amounts of research.

This research can be scientific, technological, or even medical. In fact, in recent months, British universities have suffered multiple attempts to hack their systems to try to steal their research into a COVID-19 vaccine. In this case, it is believed that nation states are behind the attacks. Universities store patents and designs for technologies; if a cybercriminal managed to steal this data, they could sell it to a private company to give them a competitive advantage.

This is why protecting university IT systems is so important. However, these institutions are often under-prepared to deal with cybersecurity challenges. Some of the reasons for this include a lack of resources, outdated infrastructure, and a host of devices, which are often poorly protected, connected to the university network.

Case study: Budapest University of Veterinary Medicine

The University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest is the only higher education institution in Hungary training veterinarians. The institution was one of the first veterinarian schools in the world; veterinarians have since been trained at the university for more than two centuries without interruption.

Background

The university has been working as an independent institution with an independent budget since its separation last year, which led it to rethink and transform it IT infrastructure. The previous structure was isolated, and had components at various levels of development. The infrastructure was transformed following a carefully thought-out, contiguous plan.

Challenges

A key part of the transformation process was to review the protection the university was using until then. They were looking for an easy-to-use service that could offer a higher level of protection, rather than a cumbersome, robust solution that required a lot of resources.

The solution

One of the university’s providers draw their attention to Panda Security’s solutions. They decided to organize a meeting in order to see the main features, options, and modules.

During this meeting, the university talked about the need for not just a security solution, but a complete package to simplify the management of all their computers. The university needed this ability because the university is in numerous buildings and on several levels on the main campus. This situation makes it difficult to manage IT resources.

After the presentation, the university’s IT team began testing to see how the solution worked. Throughout the evaluation phase, the IT team received support from the Panda team.

The solution used by the university, Panda Fusion with Adaptive Defense 360, is a complete package. Because of this, the team received several training sessions throughout the test period to familiarize themselves with the different modules included.

One of the things that the IT team liked from the very beginning is that cloud-based infrastructure. It made deploying and updating the solution much easier. What’s more, it greatly facilitated the management of different locations.

The remote management software allows the university to automate some IT tasks, preventing problems before the can arise, and meaning that the IT department does not have to do “emergency” work.

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According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2020, climate action failure is the top global risk in terms of impact. One action that can be taken to reduce this risk is to recycle; this goes for everything from domestic waste such as plastic containers, to more complex objects like technology.

In fact, the amount of technology that is thrown away, so called e-waster, is expected to reach 45 million tonnes in 2020. It is calculated that recycling this used technology would save 1.44 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of technology, a total of almost 65 million tonnes. However, currently only 12.5% of technology is recycled. This is why companies dedicated to technology recycling are so important these days, to try to maximize the amount of materials that can be recycled.

Case study: Inrego

Inrego is a market leader in the life cycle management and reuse of computers, mobile phones, and other devices. It buys used IT equipment from companies, and improves or ‘reinvents’ the products involved so they can be utilized again.

The challenges

Despite its 160-strong staff and constant growth, Inrego has managed to avoid any major security issues involving its own IT systems. Before Inrego opted for Panda Adaptive Defense and its add-on modules Advanced Reporting Tool and Panda Patch Management, the company used conventional ‘basic’ anti-virus protection to protect its computers. However, when Andreas Ericson took over as CIO/CISO in 2018, he decided to make the change to advanced cybersecurity, especially in terms of securing the client platform.

As in many other companies, Andreas was aware that it is the users that pose the greatest risk to security. His aim was therefore to minimize the risks and their potential consequences, migrating to a cybersecurity solution that would provide protection for this area. He wanted to take a more ambitious approach and move away from basic protection.

The solution

Panda Adaptive Defense 360 was exactly what Andreas was looking for: proactive protection, since, as he well knew, users are one of the biggest challenges a company faces.

Panda Adaptive Defense minimizes the risk of IT security incidents by initially blocking all unknown programs that have not been previously approved by the Panda classification service.

The Adaptive Defense 360 model is based on three principles: continuous monitoring of all running applications; automatic classification; and machine learning.  Thanks to this model, it is able to protect the organization’s clients and servers from known and unknown attacks, whether they come from the Internet, email, or other vectors.

Another common challenge for companies is failure to install updates; it is a common misconception that operating systems and third-party programs automatically update. However, this is not the case. In facts, outdated operating systems and third-party programs are the perfect way for cyberattackers to take advantage of known vulnerabilities. This is a very common situation, despite the fact that corresponding patches are usually available weeks or even months before the attack.

Panda Patch Management aims to prevent this type of incident. This is why Andreas decided to implement this solution to replace the patching solution that the company had been using. Patch Management offered better performance,  simplified use overall, and also allowed savings as there was no need for additional separate software.

Andreas also deployed Advanced Reporting Tool, an additional module that generates real-time alerts for potential threats. It offers centralized visibility into the security status of vulnerabilities, software problems, and the presence of software in EoL.

Conclusions

Inrego is a company that has not had to face any major cybersecurity problems. To ensure that this continues to be the case, it searched for proactive solutions that would help to prevent cyberincidents from occurring.

“The switch from our previous solution to Panda products was easy and hassle-free”, says Andreas, who praises  our products as some of the absolute best on the market from a developmental point of view.

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These days, there’s no arguing the fact that all sectors are, to a greater or lesser degree, exposed to some kind of cyber-risks.  This is especially true in a world in which more and more organizations are using networks that are connected to external partners and providers, and are starting to adopt IoT systems, increasing the attack surface. One of the sectors where cyber-risks can cause most damage is the manufacturing industry.

These days, the process for manufacturing products, or the components of these products, is becoming increasingly automated thanks to cutting-edge technologies. It is because of the use of these technologies that these companies are among the most vulnerable to cyberattacks and their consequences. Any interruption to these processes could cause multimillion-dollar losses for the victim, as well as triggering a chain reaction for other companies in the supply chain.

To see the devastating effects that a cyberattack on this industry can have, we need look no further than the case of ASCO Industries, a company that manufactures airplane components for companies such as Airbus and Boeing, and which suffered a ransomware attack. After this cyberattack, the company was forced to halt the activity at its plants in Belgium, Canada, the USA, and Germany, delaying production at least a week.

Case study: Aciturri Aeronáutica

Aciturri Aeronáutica is a first level supplier of aeronautic structures, including horizontal and vertical rudders, wing components, airframe components, among others, for leading OEMs: Airbus, Boeing, and EMBRAER. The company also operates as an engine starter business, manufacturing components for major projects for leading firms: SNECMA, Rolls Royce or CFM International.

The challenges

Aciturri Aeronáutica wanted to guarantee a strong protection against cyberattacks and other problems that could threaten the company’s information and its business continuity. Aciturri already had several security solutions, implemented in several layers. However the organization made the strategic decision to continue increasing its cybersecurity.

Aciturri Aeronáutica is highly satisfied with this technology to protect its networks and its data

One of their main worries were targeted attacks and unknown threats that could damage the company, both from inside out outside the internal network. One of the main challenges was to achieve this protection regardless of location—for example, when the user is working outside the office.

Evaluation

To ensure they found the best solution possible Aciturri carried out an in-depth market analysis to evaluate all possibilities. The result? Panda Adaptive Defense was the solution best adapted to the business’s needs.

The TEST environment activation process to test the solution is very simple

and in a few minutes Aciturri’s network was completely protected with Panda Adaptive Defense 360.

The solution

Thanks to the implementation of Adaptive Defense 360, Aciturri has managed to get real time visibility of all the programs and processes running on the company’s computers, regardless of their location. What’s more, with Adaptive Defense 360, all malicious or potentially dangerous applications are subjected to an in-depth analysis by Panda Security’s team of experts. This way, the company’s information and systems are 100% protected.

The solution also provides detailed behavioral reports for each process analyzed, which allows the company to carry out forensic analysis if needs be. In summary, Aciturri Aeronáutica is highly satisfied with this technology to protect its networks and its data.

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Cybercrime can have many ambitious objectives: sabotaging a business; stealing money; exfiltrating customers’ personal data and the company’s sensitive information; and even causing physical damage. For certain kinds of companies, there is a objective of cybercrime that can lead to serious financial losses: industrial espionage. For a technological, pharmaceutical or even scientific company, the loss of intellectual property can mean a competitive disadvantage compared to its competitors, and therefore serious damage to its business model.

One of the most notorious industrial espionage operations was the so called Operation Aurora, where hackers tried to steal intellectual property from multiple tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and Adobe. This kind of company needs to protect its own innovations with the most advanced cybersecurity solutions. However, in the case of organizations that protect the intellectual and industrial property of multiple organizations, the need is even more pressing.

Case study: ClarkeModet

ClarkeModet is the leading intellectual and industrial property group in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. The company protects assets such as patents, brands and trade secrets for its clients all around the world. It also advises them on issues related to privacy and data protection.

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The situation

Due to the nature of the activities carried out by the company, ClarkeModet manages a large quantity of confidential and sensitive information. This is why it needed to reinforce the security of all its systems in order to ensure that no security breach or cyberattack can endanger the organization, its clients or the information it handles.

The challenges

Confidentiality and IT security are two vital aspects of the sector in which ClarkeModet operates. Because of this, it decided to seek the most secure and trustworthy solution on the market. Another challenge for the company was its geographical distribution; it needed a solution that was able to protect the systems in its 26 offices in ten countries in Europe and Latin America.

This distribution is further complicated by the constant growth of international business, which has led to greater geographical mobility within the team. As a result, there is a greater need to implement a cybersecurity solution that offers greater protection for all computers and servers at all times and from anywhere.

The solution

To respond to all these security needs, ClarkeModet opted for Panda Adaptive Defense 360 and Panda Patch Management. Eusebio Yribarren, Corporate Director of Prosecution and Transformation at ClarkeModet explains: “Panda offered us an integral protection solution, with continual updates, as well as proactive monitoring that allows us to offer our customers an advanced level of security. This represents an enormous advantage compared to our competitors.”

Constant updates for security patches and the centralized management of both solutions were also reasons to choose Panda’s solution. “Panda’s solutions have allowed us to take information security and confidentiality to another level for our customers, offering guaranteed protection, which is a competitive advantage for our company on the market,” explains Yribarren.

Main benefits

The implementation of Panda Adaptive Defense 360 and Panda Patch Management were important factors that allowed ClarkeModet to achieve the certification for the IT Security Management System (SGSI). This certification attests the maintenance, operation and support of IT and communication systems under regulation ISO/IEC 27001.

Panda Security’s solutions also increase ClarkeModet’s clients’ IT security. Other benefits include the reduction of operational costs for the IT department, the prediction and prevention of possible cyberattacks, and the continual updating of users’ workstations.

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The logistics industry is a vital part of the modern economy. The services provided by this sector ensure the availability of goods and products as essential as food and medicine. It could be seen as the backbone of the economy in many senses. The cybersecurity issues in the industry are, therefore, particularly worrying. A recent report reveals that only 35% of solutions/service providers have a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in place.

There is a slight improvement in shipping companies, where the figure is 43%, but this is far from ideal. More worrying is the fact that only 21% of logistics companies believe they even need a CISO. The same report reveals that over half (55%) of logistics companies believe that they are ill-prepared to identify and address potential cybersecurity threats.

Case study: Bidfreight Port Operations

Bidfreight Port Operations is one of the largest in-port logistics providers in South Africa, with expertise in warehousing, stevedoring, transportation and terminal operating services. With over 150 years’ experience in port operations in Africa, BPO has built a solid foundation of knowledge from which to offer an integrated solution to clients importing and exporting in South Africa.

The situation

Over the years BPO had implemented various solutions across their network, such as mail sanitation, spam, URL filtering, and conventional antivirus, to target a multitude of threats. However, in the first half of 2019 there were numerous cyberattacks around the world and closer to home. Reflecting on the advanced nature of today’s threat landscape, Boyd Bryson, IT Manager at Bidfreight Port Operations (BPO) recognised the need for a comprehensive approach to securing and managing a highly distributed network. Increasingly, there is an imperative to harden endpoints and reduce the attack surface.

Challenges

“We believe it is incredibly important to be prepared for and protected from cyberattacks, this is something that directed our search for a new endpoint security solution”, says Bryson.

“With offices in every commercial port in South Africa we needed a solution that could make the task of implementing new security and managing the network more efficient and less costly”, continues Bryson.

This is not a unique situation; globalisation and the mobilisation of the workforce means that many organisations face the challenges of a distributed network of users and endpoints. For BPO, aside from offering advanced protection from cyberattacks, their cybersecurity solution needed to address the following key concerns:

• Light endpoint footprint, requiring minimal resources
• Easy and rapid deployment
• Simple management and reporting

In this case a security solution that can be managed remotely, while ensuring visibility and protection of endpoints, including mobile and roaming users is ideal.

The solution

To meet BPO’s specific needs Panda and reseller partner FirstNet, recommended Adaptive Defense 360 (AD360), an automated and centralised advanced security solution delivered from the cloud. This next-generation solution integrates Endpoint Protection (EPP) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capabilities with a 100% attestation service, as well as a managed Threat Hunting and Investigation Service (THIS).

“The solution is ideal for our distributed network of users, managing the installation of AD360 was simple using the install agent to automatically send the install link as soon as the endpoint comes online”, says Richard Hipkin, IT Operations Manager of BPO.

For BPO there was no noticeable impact on their resources after implementing AD360. AD360 does all the heavy lifting in the cloud resulting in a light endpoint footprint and limited strain on resources for organisations.

“We have used multiple products in the past and AD360 is the most thorough and easy-to-use. It is essentially an out-of-the-box solution that can be moulded to suit our needs where necessary”, continues Hipkin.

Download the case study here

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Before 2017, cybersecurity wasn’t a major concern for the CEOs of companies in the manufacturing industry. They assumed that it was something that only affected financial organizations and other industries that managed large quantities of data. However, when the WannaCry and NotPetya attacks hit, affecting many manufacturing companies, this changed.

It was the first time that companies in the sector had seen losses that could be directly attributed to cyberattacks. Furthermore, many organizations realized that, even if a company isn’t directly targeted by a cyberattack, it can still become a victim of this attack.

In spite of this, the manufacturing sector still faces many problems when it comes to protecting its cybersecurity. There is pressure in the industry to automate and digitalize processes, and the use of IoT devices significantly increases the attack surface. This is especially true if we bear in mind the fact that cybersecurity is not usually a top priority when it comes to buying these devices.

Other problems in the sector include the use of outdated or unpatched systems, and the fact that awareness of cybercriminal techniques such as spear phishing is limited compared to other industries.

Case study: Cibes Lift

The Swedish elevator manufacturer, Cibes, was founded in 1947. Cibes Lift produces between 4,000 and 5,000 lifts every year for over 50 countries; 15 of these countries have their own operations. In 2015, the first office in China was opened, and now the company has 20 offices around the world.

The situation

Jonas Persson is IT manager at Cibes Lift. He is responsible for guaranteeing the security of all of the company’s offices, carrying out his work from the Cibes Lift HQ in Gälve, thanks to the help of Panda Fusion 360 (a combination of Panda Adaptive Defense 360 and Panda Systems Management).

Challenges

One of the main challenges that faces an organization like Cibes Lift, which is constantly growing, it to maintain control over new users who join the organization when new recruitment processes take place. Jonas does this task remotely from Gälve.

It requires him to install and configure new networks and computers. For users in Europe, ready-installed computers are sent from headquarters; in Asia, local staff ensure that Adaptive Defense and Panda Systems Management are correctly installed.

Defending devices against attacks isn’t a simple endeavor; the protection must include a wide range of defense mechanisms, including traditional antivirus, antimalware, a personal firewall, web and email filtering, and device control. The protection must also include additional defenses against hard-to-detect advanced threats, such as targeted attacks and zero-days. IT departments used to have to acquire and maintain a series of products from different vendors to defend their computers. Now, things have changed.

The solution

Jonas needed a solution where remote working was no problem. This is why Frederik Losman from the Panda Security team in Sweden recommended him two cloud-based IT security solutions: Panda Adaptive Defense 360 and Panda Systems Management.

Panda Adaptive Defense 360 is the only solution that combines endpoint protection (EPP) and endpoint detection and response (EDR). What’s more, it allows tasks to be automated, which reduces the IT department’s workload. The service includes centralized, easy to manage security, remediation actions, monitoring, real-time reports, profile-based protection, centralized device control, as well as web monitoring.

Panda Systems Management allows Jonas to execute, monitor and administrate all of the company’s devices, regardless of where they are, both in the office and anywhere else.

With Systems management, Jonas can monitor Cibes Lift’s servers and receive alerts if, for example, a hard drive is about to crash or of a server’s hardware resources are running out. If an employee needs help with their computer, Jonas can also assist them directly from his computer, using remote access tools.

Evaluation

Having a comprehensive report of all capabilities makes it easier for the IT Manager or management team to make decisions about what needs prioritizing or changing.

When Jonas talks about Panda Adaptive Defense 360 and PCSM, time and again he comes back to the benefits of having two cloud-based solutions, and particularly how much PCSM has made it easier for him and his work when the majority of the work is done remotely.

Read the case study here

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In the last 12 months, around 82% of hospital IT security leaders reported a “significant security incident”. However, despite this worrying statistic, only 5% of their IT budget is spent of cybersecurity, leaving the vast majority of the healthcare sector exposed to cybercriminal activities.

Hospitals are a tempting target for cybercriminals. One of the main reasons for this is the large amount of personal data that they store. A person’s medical information can be worth between 20 and 50 times more for a cybercriminal than someone’s financial information. On top of this, many hospitals use outdated systems, which makes cybercriminals’ jobs much easier.

Over the last few years, the sector has experienced such alarming attacks as the leaking of the personal data of 1.5 million patients in Singapore in 2018, or the WannaCry attacks, which cost the NHS almost £100 million (€115.82 million). What’s more, in April this year, researchers developed a piece of malware that was able to alter the results of medical scans.

Case study: The Trust Hospital Company

The Trust Hospital Company (TTHC) provides quality healthcare to patients across Ghana through 9 facilities, including 3 hospitals and 6 clinics.

The challenge

Like many organizations, The Trust Hospital Company want to streamline the institution’s internal processes, facilitate collaboration, and improve data security.

“‘Healthcare providers owe it to their patients to deliver a high level of care that extends beyond their medical treatment to the administration processes of handling and securing their highly sensitive personal data”, explains Bright Aflakpui-Harley, TTHC Network Administrator.

“In our efforts to shift to digital processes, the number of devices in our

organisations network is growing. While this growth helps us achieve our vision it also opens us up to cybersecurity risks”, says Aflakpui-Harley.

It is often the case in hospitals that many users have access to the same computer to share files between doctors and departments. The TTHC is no exception. This situation exposes the organization to both internal and external cybersecurity risks. To mitigate them, Aflakpui-Harley needed an exhaustive advanced network cybersecurity strategy to monitor and control the activity on all his endpoints.

The solution

TTHC has been a Panda Security customer since 2009. For this reason, Aflakpui-Harley trusted us to deploy a holistic solution in his organization. This advanced cybersecurity solution was Panda Adaptive Defense 360 and the additional service, Panda Systems Management.

Panda Adaptive Defense 360 combines endpoint protection, detection and response features (EPP and EDR), as well as offering a service to classify all processes run on the network. This service, included in the solution with no additional cost, stops any binary that hasn’t been certified by Panda from running.

Thanks to the installation of Panda Systems Management to manage, monitor and maintain the organization’s devices, along with Panda Adaptive Defense 360, both Aflakpui-Harley and his team can securely and remotely control the network from a centralized console. “Systems Management’s easy-to-use, lightweight web console means we have full visibility of all of our devices and can easily take control of devices and do what needs to be done without having to travel” says Afalkpui-Harley

Adaptive Defense 360 is an ideal solution for a dispersed organizational network like TTHC, as it requires very few resources and provides advanced protection from today’s threats.

Since implementing Panda Systems Management and Adaptive Defense 360 THHC has been free from malware and cyberattacks that cause network downtime. They have been able to continue to move forward with the digital transformation of their facilities, protecting their users’ sensitive information.

Read the full case study.

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Aviation, like many other industries these days, is highly connected. Airplanes themselves use millions of lines of code to stay airborne; pilots use electronic flight bags to perform their flight management tasks; and there are an increasing number of airlines that offer passengers in-flight Wi-Fi, as well as using this connection to communicate with air traffic control.

However, along with streamlining the work of these companies’ employees, these new technologies also significantly increase the attack surface; and a cyberattack affecting an airplane in flight would clearly have devastating effects. Given this, it is not surprising that, according to a study by SITA, 66% of aviation organizations assign overall responsibility of cybersecurity to a C-suite executive.

It is also important to bear in mind the fact that airlines handle a vast quantity of customer personal data. What’s more, given the nature of this sector, this includes highly sensitive information, such as payment cards and passport numbers. And this danger isn’t theoretical: in September 2018, British Airways was hit by a data breach in which personal data – including passport numbers and credit card details – of some 500,000 customers was stolen.

Case study: National Airways Corporation

Founded in 1946, National Airways Corporation (NAC) has grown to become the largest general aviation company in Africa, and one of the largest of its kind in the world.

The situation

National Airways Corporation’s growth has seen the organization take on global markets and expand into new territories. This has also led to a more mobile workforce.  However, with employees traveling and working in remote regions, monitoring activities and threats on their devices has become a major challenge. This was an obvious security concern for NAC.

The problem

With the help Panda Premier partner, Chrono-Logic, NAC identified two key problem areas.

• Securing the organization against advanced cyberthreats.
• Managing and monitoring a vast array of distributed devices.

As Brandon Kennedy, IT Manager at National Airways Corporation says, “We have found one of the biggest threats to our security is what people bring back on their devices. With a remote workforce in high risk areas, where cyberattacks are a daily reality, security is a big concern for us”.

In order to mitigate this threat, NAC needed to ensure that all its devices – both inside and outside its network – were protected, and that it was possible to access them and monitor them remotely.

Evaluation

With these challenges in Mind, ChronoLogic set to work with Panda Security to provide NAC with a global solution that integrated two corporate cybersecurity solutions: Systems Management and Panda Adaptive Defense 360.

The advanced cybersecurity solution Panda Adaptive Defense 360 protects NAC from traditional and advanced threats, such as exploits, insider attacks and hacking attacks. Besides this, Adaptive Defense 360 combines EDR (Endpoint Detection and response) and EPP (endpoint protection), offering a service that classifies all applications that are executed on an organization’s network with total security. Additionally, Panda’s monitoring and remote management software, Systems Management, provides the airline with even more control over the organization’s IT infrastructure.

“Panda’s AD360 was incredibly easy to implement across our network, we were very impressed with how seamless implementation was given the nature of our network.  The ability to download the email link meant that we did not have to physically install the solution on individual devices, All the end-user needed to do was click the installation link”, says Kennedy.

The solution

Adaptive Defense 360 and Systems Management are invaluable innovative software solutions for this organization, given the complex, dynamic environment and the efforts made by cybercriminals. “We’ve noticed a marked improvement in the stability of the network, as well as a network free of advanced attacks such as ransomware,” says Kennedy.

Download the case study

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