‍Embarking on the journey

The first thing we learned was that it’s important to be open-minded about the kind of threats we’re facing and how they change almost daily. Just because we’ve never had a serious breach doesn’t mean we should be complacent. The second is that there is an overlap between solving one challenge and identifying another. Initially, we had around 2000 network ports, plus many wireless devices, 300 PCs and 300 iOS devices, in addition to our servers, peripherals and IoT devices. We have many more than that today.

"ITHQ helped us implement an open source platform that gave us full visibility of our networks. This highlighted blind spots and vulnerabilities we had not foreseen. Data correlation highlighted a worrying number of devices, the origin and purpose of which couldn’t be immediately identified.

ITHQ helped us to integrate this platform with the segregated firewall at the core of our multiple networks. This requires a lot of planning and experience of working in highly segregated environments, to avoid any security compromise.

We will always be looking for new threats and new technology. ITHQ’s innovative solutions and excellent service are part of that journey.

Together with improved threat detection and response, we were as resilient as possible before going ahead with other projects we now realised were necessary."

Carl van Eijk, Head of Infrastructure, Les Ambassadeurs‍

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How Les Ambassadeurs moved into the acceleration phase

Network Access Control (NAC) was the second phase. This helped identify everything on the networks, including security cameras, and showed how they could improve authentication of devices, network access and enrolment. It also showed how the infrastructure could be strengthened to better manage patches and other critical updates.

Incident detection and response and vulnerability management were rolled out to improve endpoint protection. Then, as other departments showed interest in the improvements ITHQ were making, the scope was broadened further.

A major challenge is that this environment demands near zero downtime. For some services, outages of even a few seconds are unacceptable. The new, more resilient networks allow Les Ambassadeurs to take down small areas in isolation for critical updates without compromising security or uptime.

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ITHQ brings a combination of strategy, innovation and top service

Achieving a resilient business is not just about technology; it’s about strategy, processes and people. New challenges can arise as a result of implementing any new solution, if new vulnerabilities are exposed.

"ITHQ are a highly innovative team. Some third-party systems needed technical interactions, for example, which were being done manually. ITHQ wrote some API calls for non-technical staff that simplified certain processes. This allowed quick resolution in a 24-hour environment, when skilled technicians were not instantly available."

ITHQ also built proprietary systems for device and firewall management to help our support team, and to help us verify third-party integrations on our intrusion detection system.

"Our systems are very secure and resilient but the journey to perfection is continuous. We will always be looking for new threats and new technology. ITHQ’s innovative solutions and excellent service continue to be part of that journey. And resilience is absolutely a journey: in fact, it's the only realistic approach."

Carl van Eijk, Head of Infrastructure, Les Ambassadeurs

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