Cisco Cisco ASA 5525-X Adaptive Security Appliance Guía De Información
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Company:
Swanson Health Products
Industry:
Online Retailer
Headquarters:
Fargo, North Dakota
Employees:
~630
Challenge
• Protect business and sensitive customer
information from network security threats
• Help ensure security protections do not
reduce productivity
• Simplify security management
Solution
• Deployed Cisco ASA 5585-X Adaptive
Security Appliance with Next-Generation
Firewall Services
Firewall Services
Results
• Selectively gave employees access to
different websites needed for jobs
• Improved compliance with Payment Card
Industry (PCI) security standards
• Reduced help desk calls regarding website
access by 50 percent
Challenge
Voted America’s #1 Internet merchant in a 2013 survey
1
, Swanson Health Products
sells vitamins, supplements, and natural health products worldwide. To build loyalty,
the company works hard to make sure that customers receive their products quickly.
“To do that, we need to keep our website and internal network up and running,”
says Jason Kennedy, network systems administrator for Swanson.
the company works hard to make sure that customers receive their products quickly.
“To do that, we need to keep our website and internal network up and running,”
says Jason Kennedy, network systems administrator for Swanson.
One threat to availability is malware. Company computers became infected when
Swanson employees clicked links to malicious websites in social networking sites
or “phishing” emails. Another threat is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks,
which clog servers with meaningless traffic so that customers cannot get through.
Swanson employees clicked links to malicious websites in social networking sites
or “phishing” emails. Another threat is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks,
which clog servers with meaningless traffic so that customers cannot get through.
At first, Swanson used two separate security solutions to protect the business. A
Cisco® firewall blocked people outside the company from accessing the company’s
internal network. A third-party web-filtering solution kept employees from visiting
social networking sites or personal webmail accounts.
Cisco® firewall blocked people outside the company from accessing the company’s
internal network. A third-party web-filtering solution kept employees from visiting
social networking sites or personal webmail accounts.
But some employees need to visit these websites as part of their jobs. For
example, a few dozen employees post product information on sites such as Twitter,
Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. The company’s marketing team tests out email
campaigns by sending emails to their own webmail accounts.
example, a few dozen employees post product information on sites such as Twitter,
Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. The company’s marketing team tests out email
campaigns by sending emails to their own webmail accounts.
“Our old web-filtering solution didn’t let us block social sites for some employees
and allow it for others,” Kennedy says. “So the only way employees could visit
Twitter or Facebook was by walking over to a conference room with guest Wi-Fi
access. This wasn’t a good use of their time.”
and allow it for others,” Kennedy says. “So the only way employees could visit
Twitter or Facebook was by walking over to a conference room with guest Wi-Fi
access. This wasn’t a good use of their time.”
Swanson decided to look for a more flexible yet secure way to control access to
the web. One requirement was the ability to prevent employees who have access to
payment card information from uploading or downloading files outside the company.
This would help the company meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards.
the web. One requirement was the ability to prevent employees who have access to
payment card information from uploading or downloading files outside the company.
This would help the company meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards.
1 © 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
Customer Case Study
1
ConsumerLab.com Vitamin and Supplement Users Survey: