Trans Dynamics, Inc. is a transportation service company dedicated to providing its customers and carriers with the best, most efficient and responsive service. As the concept of the transportation broker and logistics management becomes more popular in the shipping industry, Trans Dynamics remains one of the few transportation brokers with a proven history of excellent customer service. With its headquarters near Atlanta and offices across the country, Trans Dynamics meets the transportation needs of people and businesses throughout the United States.
In 2001, Trans Dynamics was evolving its infrastructure from a Unix-based system with dumb terminals to a network using Windows and Windows PCs. At the time, there were a great deal of highly-publicized viruses wreaking havoc with corporate networks, and Keith Gereghty, Executive Vice President with Trans Dynamics, knew that the company had to invest in a solid hardware-based security appliance, rather than counting solely on software-based desktop protection that was often outdated and unreliable.
“We had to access a few databases via the Internet and I knew that opening that door was going to be a challenge because of all the negative things that come with that,” said Gereghty. “I didn’t want to count on a software solution, and I also knew we needed the flexibility of an actual security gateway.”
Gereghty turned to Atlanta-based eAtlanta Incorporated, a network integration consultancy. eAtlanta Inc. suggested an eSoft solution for Trans Dynamics, because of the simplicity of the company’s solutions and the robust feature set that eSoft offers through its SoftPaks (more on SoftPaks later).
“eAtlanta told us eSoft was a great fit for an organization our size, since we have just a couple dozen employees and I’m all the company has in terms of a network administrator,” said Gereghty. “Based on the high recommendations of eAtlanta, we got an InstaGate security gateway to test and it’s never left our network.”
The InstaGate security gateway Trans Dynamics has deployed combines eSoft’s Site Filter and Intrusion Prevention on a high-performance Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) Firewall and IPSec VPN architecture. Through its sophisticated inspection capabilities, InstaGate offers unparalleled protection from dynamic, content-based threats that elude traditional firewalls. The InstaGate also provides Trans Dynamics with eSoft’s SoftPak Director technology for instantaneous security updates and flexible subscription maintenance.
Intrusions Prevented
eSoft’s Intrusion Prevention SoftPak on the InstaGate blocks attacks in real-time, automatically logging the attack for reporting or forensic analysis, and signature updates are automatically downloaded to ensure protection from the latest threats. This was important for Trans Dynamics since any network downtime could lead to devastating results.
“If the network goes down because of a worm, for instance, we wouldn’t be able to access customer records, nobody would know where drivers are, and we couldn’t handle dispatching,” said Gereghty. “It would be disastrous and would cost us at least several thousands of dollars an hour in productivity, not to mention the money it would cost if we actually lost a shipment during that downtime. Our business is information-based, and if we lose access to that information, we’re dead in the water. We’ve seen worms knock organizations completely offline and we’ve been fine through it all. Since we installed the InstaGate, nothing malicious has ever gotten past it.”
In addition to protecting against any incoming worms or viruses, policy controls allow Gereghty to block Instant Messaging (IM) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications. “When I found out we could block instant messaging, I was thrilled,” said Gereghty. “It’s not just about keeping people on track--it's about protecting the bottom line. You hear of other companies having a policy where if you get caught once, you get warned, and if you get caught again, you could lose your job. That’s just not good business, having to re-hire and re-train people. With the InstaGate, IM is just not an issue.”
Employee Productivity Boosted
eSoft Site Filter on the InstaGate assures maximum workforce productivity by monitoring and enforcing the use of company Internet resources. SiteFilter also protects against legal liability brought on by inappropriate/illegal use of Internet resources. A database containing millions of global URLs is continually updated with web sites in over 50 categories. Policy based control allows selection of which categories should be blocked at different times of day, and which users are affected.
“We have a wide open high-speed connection, and before, people could go anywhere on the Internet that they wanted,” said Gereghty. “That affects productivity. With eSoft, we don’t have that anymore and our liability is protected. We use the lists eSoft creates and updates every week, but I still have the freedom to manually allow access to a web site that may have been blocked. That list catches all the sites known for spyware and other trouble. The InstaGate just keeps people on track.
Ease of Management
eSoft`s products have all been designed for ease of use and time-saving features and functionality, lessening the burden on IT personnel. The InstaGate is easy to configure and change with an intuitive graphical user interface. By integrating all of its network security tools into a single management console, Gereghty can manage the company’s entire network security solution himself.
eSoft’s SoftPak Director technology also provides Trans Dynamics with instantaneous security updates and detailed subscription maintenance. Using SoftPak Director, Gereghty can easily add services to the InstaGate as the company’s requirements change. Right on the gateway, an intuitive GUI-driven menu guides Gereghty through the SoftPaks and ThreatPaks already installed on the InstaGate and provides information on additional SoftPaks and ThreatPaks that are available—it’s simply a matter of clicking an icon to download a trial version.
“I’m the only person people come to if there’s a problem or if a change needs to be made, so the equipment I work with has to be easy to work with,” said Gereghty. “I added the IPS SoftPak in less than 10 minutes without having to even read any instructions, it was that easy.”
The bottom line is that the eSoft solution simply works. According to Gereghty, “The InstaGate keeps our business up and running, it’s easy to administer and it’s easy to add new features. I would recommend eSoft to anyone with a small or medium business looking for a solution to protect their network.”
