Securing Global Medical Assistance: A Case Study on International SOS and Check Point
Technology Category
- Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security
- Networks & Connectivity - Routers & Bridges
Applicable Industries
- Electronics
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Maintenance
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Tamper Detection
Services
- Hardware Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
International SOS is the world’s most comprehensive medical and security assistance company, providing services to leading multinational corporations, insurers, financial institutions, and government organizations. The company has more than 6,100 corporate clients and 60 million members worldwide. It employs over 3,700 people, operates a global network of 24/7 alarm centers in 28 cities, 22 wholly owned international clinics, and a fleet of 10 dedicated air ambulances. Its employees, who speak 77 languages, are spread over remote site operations in more than 60 countries. More than a third of its employees are professional medical specialists such as doctors, nurses, medics, pharmacists, and aero-medical specialists.
The Challenge
International SOS, a global medical and security assistance company, faced significant challenges in securing its communications. The company used appliances for this purpose, but found them to be cumbersome in emergencies and remote locations. Most firewall and VPN security solutions required a great deal of patience and knowledge to set up, and were not the primary focus in remote field locations where medical and physical security emergencies were more pressing. Additionally, not every solution could be managed from a single console, which demanded a lot of attention from IT administrators. From a cost perspective, most appliances and other security solutions carried a high cost of ownership, unnecessarily burdening the company. Furthermore, finding local technical administration talents in remote locations, especially for specialized appliances, proved to be a challenge.
The Solution
To address these challenges, International SOS migrated its hardware appliances to a centralized management Intel-based server running Check Point SecurePlatform with FireWall-1 and VPN-1 Pro, coupled with Check Point ClusterXL. SecuRemote was installed on remote PC clients for International SOS’s emergency medical and physical security teams on assignments or in remote branch locations. ACE Authentication from RSA Security, a Check Point OPSEC (Open Platform for Security) partner, was installed on the PCs. This solution allowed International SOS to easily install Check Point’s firewall and VPN combo on any PC in remote locations, without having to lug unwieldy and heavy appliances. The easy setup and administration of Check Point’s SecurePlatform meant that any compatible PC could be configured with Check Point’s firewall and VPN in minutes. This solution also lowered the total cost of ownership, assured compatibility with third-party solutions, provided singular accountability with a single vendor, and offered easily accessible worldwide support.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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