Universal Weather and Aviation Inc.

Background: Universal Weather and Aviation is a pioneer in aviation support. The company has led the way with advances in weather briefings, communications, flight planning, trip support services, data link and more. In fact, Universal was among the first aviation companies to embrace technologies such as comprehensive online flight planning and the first to offer weather graphics in the cockpit. Today, Universal maintains the industry's largest network of global contacts, with offices and affiliates on almost every continent. The company has more than 600 employees in locations worldwide and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Challenges: With services such as Trip Support, UVDataLinks and the UV Global Network, the company’s infrastructure spans the entire globe. Having a disparate network creates some unique challenges for UWA – which recognized the importance of securing access to the company’s sensitive data. With a decentralized employee base, mitigating the threat of an internal security breach, which could result in proprietary customer information being taken and shared with a competitor, is a constant hazard.

Therefore, IT managers at UWA realized they needed to secure and manage the network endpoints and protect against the unauthorized transfer of data to and from portable storage devices, such as iPods, PDAs, cell phones, flash drives, etc. However, they did not want to simply lock down port access.  They wanted a solution that enabled them to control the endpoints – giving certain people permission to use these devices, while restricting other individuals or groups. To meet this need, Universal Weather and Aviation selected Centennial DeviceWall.

Challenges Overview:

• Control portable storage device usage on the corporate network;
• Secure network endpoints (USB, firewire, Wi-fi, etc.) to mitigate the threat of data theft/loss;
• Centrally manage all network devices and offer different personnel varying levels of access for different types of devices.

Issues: One of the biggest threats to any organization that deals in information is loss of data. Research from the Gartner Group states 80% of IT-related crimes are committed from within an organization. This statistic is a scary reality for any IT manager charged with protecting corporate information. With the proliferation of portable storage devices in the workplace, Universal Weather and Aviation realized that they needed to implement a security solution that would enable them to control and manage endpoints to mitigate data theft. The company has a large work force and waves of consultants that access the network.  Securing and effectively managing these holes is critical to the overall security objectives.

Solution provided by Centennial Software: Centennial DeviceWall is an endpoint security solution that helps organizations centrally manage and protect their networks from threats associated with portable storage devices. DeviceWall helps organizations address the risks of data theft, virus and malware propagation and computer misuse – inside the firewall – by managing the connection of all portable storage devices (iPods, USB sticks, cell phones etc.) to company PCs. To address these issues, DeviceWall offers a unique three-pronged approach to endpoint security that helps prevent data theft by controlling desktop connectivity, managing portable device usage, and protecting mobile data. By automatically encrypting data on flash drives, DeviceWall extends security far beyond the network and protects organizational assets from non-authorized and malicious access. For more information visit www.devicewall.com.

“As soon as the team at Universal Weather and Aviation saw DeviceWall, they realized how quickly and easily they could implement a company-wide security policy with DeviceWall. The competitive price point made the decision even easier since they could purchase the product with existing budget and without going through the time-consuming process of securing extra budget and approvals. From start to finish, the sales and implementation process took two weeks.”

Rob Bernhardt, Account Executive
IT Service Management, Stroma Consulting, a Centennial reseller

Summary: DeviceWall has proven its value at Universal Weather and Aviation.  Installation of the product was effortless and immediate. DeviceWall currently protects UWA against the removal of data from the corporate network, and provides additional protection from viruses, malware and worms.  However, in the eyes of James David Dykas, “the biggest benefit DeviceWall provides is peace of mind.  I don’t have to worry that an employee has left the building and taken our data, processes or documentation.”

Centennial Software
4380 SW Macadam Ave, Suite 245
Portland, OR 97239 USA
Tel: 1-866-355-7455

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