CheckPoint Software > Case Studies > Enhancing Security for Mission-Critical Collaboration: A Case Study on the European Space Agency

Enhancing Security for Mission-Critical Collaboration: A Case Study on the European Space Agency

Technology Category

Sensors - Temperature Sensors

Applicable Industries

National Security & Defense

Use Cases

Behavior & Emotion Tracking
Tamper Detection

About The Customer

The European Space Agency (ESA) is an international organization, comprised of 22 Member States. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. The Earth Observation Directorate is a part of the ESA, with the priority to protect the different Earth Observation space missions. The ESA operates in a highly complex environment, processing huge volumes of scientific data across multiple locations and with a changing cast of international partners.

The Challenge

The European Space Agency (ESA) and its Earth Observation Directorate faced a significant challenge in protecting their various Earth Observation space missions. This task was complicated by the need to coordinate across multiple locations and with a diverse group of international partners, including NASA. The environment was highly complex, with the processing of vast volumes of scientific data. The agency needed to simplify security controls across an increasingly hybrid environment. The total data traffic, which was substantial, had to pass through the firewall. Therefore, a solution was required that could handle large volumes of data at the internet access point in Frankfurt.

The Solution

The ESA opted for Check Point 64000 scalable Next Generation Firewalls, designed to excel in large data centre and telco environments. The selection criteria included management, performance, and flexibility. The multi-bladed, chassis-based security system scales to support the needs of growing networks while offering reliability and performance. The Check Point 64000 currently runs at 100 gigabytes per second. The firewall provides Anti-Bot and other protections, which are ideally suited to the Agency’s scientific requirements. The Agency also plans to move to the Check Point R80.10 Security Management Platform, a unified console for full-spectrum visibility of the entire threat landscape.

Operational Impact

The Check Point solution has significantly improved the security of the ESA's operations. It screens traffic between different security zones and across a geographically diverse environment, enabling the Agency to continue to innovate its services and progress towards cloud solutions. It has also simplified the management of perimeter security, across multiple devices and territories, through a single interface. The solution ensures greater certainty over the security roadmap and maximises the performance of current solutions, through close engagement with Check Point support and engineering.

Quantitative Benefit

The Check Point 64000 firewall can handle large volumes of data, running at 100 gigabytes per second.
The solution simplifies management of perimeter security across multiple devices and territories.
The firewall provides Anti-Bot and other protections, enhancing the security of the Agency’s scientific network.