Case Study - ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES

Contact: Sébastien Guépratte

Industry: Construction, Supply

Products in use: GFI LANguard™

Quick Read

GFI LANguard N.S.S. helps ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES maintain a secure network.

"We were looking for a simple, reliable, complete and scalable tool to fulfil general duties as well as more specific ones: GFI LANguard N.S.S. fit the bill perfectly." - Sébastien Guépratte, IT supervisor at ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES, France

ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES uses GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner to audit its network security and ensure it is free from vulnerabilities, thereby averting possible hacker attacks. GFI LANguard N.S.S. is a network security scanner as well as a complete patch management solution.

ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES relies heavily on technology especially within its design and engineering departments. To date the company owns 150 computers working on a Windows network. As a secure network environment is fundamental to ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES, the company identified the need for a hassle-free solution that would scan the network, detect possible security holes and deploy any patches or missing service packs. Sébastien Guépratte, IT supervisor at ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES said, "We were looking for a simple, reliable, complete and scalable tool to fulfil general duties as well as more specific ones."

Mr. Guépratte explained that ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES opted for a network security and patch management solution for two main reasons:

• They needed a security reporting tool to ensure a control and a follow-up of the servers and workstations by the facility management company
• They needed a simple and reliable "emergency" deployment tool.

In addition, the company wanted a tool on which they could add their own detection tests.

An Efficient, Flexible and Reliable Vulnerability Scanner

GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (N.S.S.) 5 (for unlimited IPs) seemed like the best solution for ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES because it fulfilled their needs by providing both "an efficient, flexible and reliable vulnerability scanner", as well as a patch deployment tool. "The scanning tool enables us to know the 'vulnerability' status of our hardware, to follow up its evolution and to detect any 'suspicious' changes," explained Mr. Guépratte, "whereas the patch management option allows us to deploy patches quickly according to the status of the hardware. It is a good complement to our Windows Software Update Service."

Useful Characteristics

Mr. Guépratte pointed out the main characteristics which make GFI LANguard N.S.S. a most useful tool for ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES:

• Flexibility at scan level: The company can configure scans with different objectives on different parts of the hardware. "We can add specific tests, for example verifying if the antivirus pattern is up-to-date," said Mr. Guépratte.
• The possibility to program scans with reporting: "We use this feature to receive reports listing all the changes since the last scan."
• Result storage on SQL Server: "With GFI LANguard N.S.S. we can easily archive results and produce score boards."
• Simple deployment of executables on stations: "We can trust any deployment of any executable, including on the WAN."

When asked about the cost savings seen since using GFI LANguard N.S.S., Mr. Guépratte replied, "I don't think the cost saving with GFI LANguard N.S.S. is directly quantifiable. The security is a saving yet to come! We have brought down the number of virus attacks to zero, partly due to the product that allows us to detect and apply critical missing patches." Antivirus tools are also set up on ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES' mail servers, stations and gateways; and all work well. However, the deployment of GFI LANguard N.S.S. assures that the hardware is "up-to-date and has no considerable vulnerabilities".

About GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (N.S.S.)

GFI LANguard N.S.S. checks your network for possible security vulnerabilities by scanning your entire network for missing security patches, service packs, open shares, open ports, unused user accounts and more. With this information (displayed in customizable reports), you can easily lock down your network against hackers. GFI LANguard N.S.S. can also remotely deploy missing patches and service packs in applications and OS. GFI LANguard N.S.S. is the leading Windows security scanner and is very competitively priced.

About ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES

ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES is a French company founded in 1935 that deals with the building, hiring and selling of scaffolding. ENTREPOSE ECHAFAUDAGES has a staff complement of 320 employees and owns 25 sites throughout France. It is a market leading company which boasted a turnover of € 45 million in 2003.

^{November 2004}