WatchGuard implements network security for Austal

Stan Beer
Thursday, 17 November 2005 11:00

IT Industry - Deals

Network security vendor, WatchGuard Technologies, has installed a network security solution at WA-based fast ferries builder Austal.

Austal has gone live with Watchguard's Firebox X Core integrated security appliance to manage the company’s requirement for proactive IT network security across its Australian and North American business units.

With construction yards in Western Australia and Alabama, USA, Austal provides ships for the defence, ferry, freight, tourism and private customer sectors worldwide.

WatchGuard’s Firebox X 700 Core appliance has been installed to provide Austal with an added layer of security to its IT network which has approximately 420 users located at three different sites in Australia all connected via 54Mbps wireless connections.

Previously, Austal had a single Microsoft ISA Server 2004 software firewall protecting its internal network.  However, global expansion and the location of both designers and construction staff at sites distant from its from head office in Perth necessitated a requirement for a site-to-site secure VPN solution.

Andrew Bray, senior IT technician, said, “As a growing organisation, we lacked the ability to adequately protect ourselves using techniques such as providing for a demilitarised zone (DMZ). WatchGuard will now enable us to optimise security and create a DMZ and provide an added layer of security to our network.”

In reviewing its needs for an integrated security appliance, the IT team at Austal wanted a solution that provided for comprehensive reporting. 

“Compared to solutions presented by both Cisco and Microsoft, the WatchGuard Firebox Core has an excellent set of logging tools while its simple user interface has allowed us to train other IT staff to use the reporting application in a very short period of time.  After several months of reviews and testing, we chose WatchGuard based on its price and feature set,” said Bray.

“Since going live, the amount of data we can collect on our Internet traffic flow gives us much more insight into where people are going and what percentage of bandwidth is being used at any particular time,” said Bray.

As the company’s new construction facility in Mobile, Alabama, ramps up with plans to build the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship, Austal also intends to implement a WatchGuard Firebox in the US over the coming months creating a global VPN enabling remote user VPN access and site-to-site VPN.