Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. · Commodity trader comprehensively...

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Hong Kong-headquartered Noble Group has seen a period of organisational change, requiring significant realignment of its worldwide infrastructure. Inbuilt flexibility in its contract with BT has helped manage that upheaval. BT played a pivotal role in helping manage the transition, and now assists Noble Group in maintaining the highest standards of network security. A comprehensive suite of BT services includes managed firewall, threat monitoring, and vulnerability assessment. Combined, this keeps vital intellectual property safe and business critical systems operational at all times. Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. Case study - Noble Group. Our challenge was to find a business partner that could safeguard our network in Asia and every other place we operate in around the world. BT had all the right credentials. Shane Read Chief Information Security Officer Noble Group

Transcript of Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. · Commodity trader comprehensively...

Page 1: Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. · Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. Case study - Noble Group. Our challenge was to find a

Hong Kong-headquartered Noble Group has seen a period of organisational change, requiring significant realignment of its worldwide infrastructure. Inbuilt flexibility in its contract with BT has helped manage that upheaval.

BT played a pivotal role in helping manage the transition, and now assists Noble Group in maintaining the highest standards of network security. A comprehensive suite of BT services includes managed firewall, threat monitoring, and vulnerability assessment. Combined, this keeps vital intellectual property safe and business critical systems operational at all times.

Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network.

Case study - Noble Group.

Our challenge was to find a business partner that could safeguard our network in Asia and every other place we operate in around the world. BT had all the right credentials.

Shane ReadChief Information Security OfficerNoble Group

Page 2: Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. · Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. Case study - Noble Group. Our challenge was to find a

BT managed services help Noble Group stay one step ahead of emerging cyber-security menaces.

Case Study - Noble Group.

The right credentials in times of change.When your whole business revolves around real-time online global trading, a secure and dependable network is vital. That aptly describes the challenge facing commodity trader, Noble Group.

To complicate matters, the company is undergoing significant restructuring. Having divested Noble Agri, it’s now focused on energy commodities and non-ferrous metals such as aluminium and copper. Going from more than 4,000 people in over 100 offices, it now has around 1,500 people in less than 50. That took significant global network adjustment.

Shane Read, Chief Information Security Officer, says: “Despite the high regional threat, we’ve found security services in Asia to be relatively immature. Our challenge was to find a business partner that could safeguard our network in Asia and every other place we operate in around the world. BT had all the right credentials.”

Managed services support key apps around the globe.A managed BT IP Connect Global network links the company’s Hong Kong headquarters to places such as Indonesia, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Mongolia, Switzerland, North and South America and London. BT Connect Intelligence Application Performance Management services help optimise the network and improve the performance of business critical processes.

Applications using the network include Allegro, the Noble Group gas and petrochemical trading system, the customer on-boarding system and the data-intensive analytical tools used in hedging transactions.

BT also undertakes LAN management services at key Noble Group global locations, providing Cisco switches and routers. BT One Voice IP telephony services route voice traffic over the WAN, reducing the cost of international calls. BT One Collaborate services include BT Cisco WebEx® and BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice.

Recently extended for a further three years, the latest contract with BT offers greater commercial flexibility – a key factor as Noble Group reshapes for the future.

“BT has been a great partner for us,” adds Shane. “It’s an innovative company and it’s pulled together some great proposals. We get regular senior level contact and it’s been understanding and flexible during some difficult times.”

Unique adaption to local security environments.Noble Group uses a comprehensive suite of BT Assure managed security services. Central to that is BT Assure Managed Firewall.

“A key BT strength is that it tailors its approach to local needs,” says Shane. “When it comes to security most operators try to impose the way they work in their home market, without taking account of local issues. BT doesn’t do that. It adapts to our requirements around the world. In my experience that’s unique.”

The BT security architecture features a range of technologies from leading security vendors like Juniper, Palo Alto and Cisco. At a BT security operations centre in India, experts proactively monitor and manage the firewalls around the clock. The service is supported by a 24-hour helpdesk.

BT is a great partner for us. We work really well together and we get great service. If ever there’s a problem BT listens, reacts positively and always comes up with the right answers.

Shane ReadChief Information Security OfficerNoble Group

Page 3: Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. · Commodity trader comprehensively secures its global network. Case study - Noble Group. Our challenge was to find a

Most operators try to impose the way they work in their home market, without taking account of local issues. BT doesn’t do that. It adapts to our requirements around the world. In my experience that’s unique.

Shane ReadChief Information Security OfficerNoble Group

Case Study - Noble Group.

Those security provisions don’t stop at the perimeter. BT Assure Managed Cloud with Zscaler scans and filters every byte of network traffic between the Noble Group network and the public internet. Identifying and blocking potential threats, its cloud-based nature needs no onsite hardware or maintenance, while internet policies and comprehensive reporting are managed through a centralised portal.

“Zscaler from BT is highly intuitive and easy-to-use,” says Shane. “It offers the security we need, while it’s also one of the easiest reports I have to generate.”

Spotting and fixing potential security failings.BT Assure Threat Monitoring collects and analyses security information in real time from across the Noble Group organisation. A blend of proprietary technologies and human intelligence helps prevent attacks on the network, protecting vital information.

“What impresses me most is that the BT team really knows its stuff; they live and breathe it. I like to deal with people like that,” says Shane. “Every time I’ve asked BT for a particular skill set they seem to have it.”

A BT Assure Ethical Hacking and Vulnerability Assessment is next on the list. “We ran this a few years ago with great success,” says Shane, “but given the substantial contraction of our network we now need to repeat the exercise.”

BT will conduct a full scale review to map the entire Noble Group network, create a full inventory, discover all entry and exit points, identify services running on every switch

Core services.• BT IP Connect Global

• BT Connect Intelligence with Riverbed technology

• BT LAN Connect Global managed LAN services with Smart Net maintenance

• BT Assure Managed Firewall

• BT Assure Managed Cloud with Zscaler

• BT Assure Threat Monitoring

• BT Assure Ethical Hacking and Vulnerability Assessment

• BT One Voice global IP telephony services

• BT One Collaborate with BT Cisco WebEx® and BT MeetMe with Dolby Voice

and router, and realign sensors. Using the Skybox® security suite the BT team will then probe the network to test for vulnerabilities. This will drive mitigation activity before any weaknesses can be exploited.

Shane concludes: “BT is a great partner for us. We work really well together and we get great service. If ever there’s a problem BT listens, reacts positively and always comes up with the right answers.”

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