Bromium Helps Pioneer Investments “Keep Up With the Threat Curve”
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- America
- Europe
Country
- Austria
- Germany
- Ireland
- United States
Product
- Bromium vSentry
- Bromium LAVA
- ForeScout CounterACT
Tech Stack
- Micro-virtualization
- Intel VT technology
- Endpoint Security
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Customer Satisfaction
- Digital Expertise
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Cybersecurity & Privacy - Endpoint Security
Applicable Industries
- Finance & Insurance
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Services
- System Integration
- Training
About The Customer
Founded in 1928 by investment legend Philip Carret, Pioneer Investments is one of the oldest mutual fund management companies in the US. The company has investment hubs in 27 countries, with headquarters in Boston, and employees number approximately 2,100. Pioneer Investments currently manages mutual funds, separate accounts for pensions and endowments, alternative investments, defined contribution retirement plans, and more. It has a diverse client base that spans large and small institutions, non-profits, and individual investors. Currently a wholly owned, independent subsidiary of UniCredit Group, Pioneer Investments manages $236 billion globally and $70 billion in the US.
The Challenge
While there was no single event that compelled Pioneer Investments CISO Ken Pfeil to look at more robust endpoint security alternatives, he was increasingly concerned about the changes he was observing in the threat landscape. Pfeil had two good reasons for seeking out a better solution: the sheer number of advanced threats that appeared on his radar on a daily basis and the highly sophisticated methods used to infiltrate endpoints and networks. With 2,200 desktops and laptops to look after and a highly mobile, geographically dispersed workforce, Pfeil had his task cut out for him. When Pfeil embarked on his search for a better way to secure endpoints, Pioneer Investments’ security infrastructure had layered defenses typically found at most risk-conscious enterprises: firewalls, gateways, antivirus, full-disk encryption, USB and port control, vulnerability management, and patch management. But even all this, Pfeil realized, was not enough to defend his company against today’s clever, determined, and highly organized cybercrime rings with their complex, difficult-to-detect attacks.
The Solution
Pfeil first learned about Bromium when he received a call from his local sales representative. The idea of isolating tasks from the operating system along with the malware that could potentially accompany them was intriguing. Pfeil asked Bromium to set up a test environment where the widely publicized Black Hole Web exploit was planted to deliberately infect an endpoint with malware. Bromium vSentry not only stopped the exploit “dead cold,” but also provided a detailed analysis—a visual picture of the execution and trajectory of the attack. What impressed Pfeil most of all was the fact that Bromium’s solution uses hardware-level isolation via Intel’s VT technology. Pfeil was convinced that it was time to start deploying Bromium at Pioneer Investments. In a matter of days, he had Bromium running on 25 PCs located all over the world: in Boston, Dublin, several locations in Eastern Europe, Munich, and Vienna. According to Pfeil, the process went smoothly, and when he needed support, a Bromium engineer was just a phone call away. “Support was very pleasant and effective. If an issue arose, I provided the support engineer with the logs, and he would talk me through the problem. Resolution was always quick,” he said.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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