AirTran Airways on Lancope
“[Lancope’s] StealthWatch performed so well during our evaluation that we did not pursue trials with any other NBA products”-- Michelle Stewart, Manager of Data Security, AirTran Airways
Customer Profile: AirTran Airways, a Fortune 1000 company, offers passengers more than 700 affordable, daily flights to 56 destinations throughout the United States. The airline is the second-largest carrier at its hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and one of America's largest low-fare airlines. With more than 8,900 friendly Crew Members and free online booking, AirTran Airways makes travel both pleasant and convenient. The airline flies America's youngest all-Boeing fleet, composed of the fuel-efficient Boeing 737-700 and 717-200 aircraft. AirTran Airways was also the first to install XM Satellite Radio on a commercial aircraft and the only airline with Business Class seating on every flight.
Vendor Profile - Lancope®, Inc. is the provider of the StealthWatch™ System, the most widely used network behavior analysis (NBA) and response solution that unifies behavior-based anomaly detection and network optimization capabilities to protect critical information assets and ensure network performance by preventing costly downtime, repair and loss of reputation. StealthWatch streamlines security and network operations into one process, reduces time and resources, and eliminates the costs and complexity associated with non-integrated point products. Both OPSEC and Common Criteria-certified, StealthWatch received the 2007 Global Excellence Award in NBA and was named Best of Show at Interop 2006. Defending the networks of Global 2000 organizations, academic institutions and government entities, StealthWatch protects hundreds of enterprise customers worldwide, more than all direct competitors combined. Lancope is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
AirTran Airways Uses Lancope’s StealthWatch Network Behavior Analysis System with NetFlow to Help Demonstrate Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance
Editor’s Note: As everyone knows compliance is a necessity in today’s uncertain world of data communications. Along with compliance one must be deeply security conscious to protect their company and customers information, as one serious breach could bankrupt a company financially as well as ruin the companies’ reputation. Lancope, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia is ready with their NetFlow-based StealthWatch solution. The Lancope solution not only can verify compliance but through the use of NetFlow is also a cost effective network monitoring and management tool.PCI (Payment Card Industry) is not the only compliance we have to consider, there are as many as 14 domestic versions of compliance not including the State, International and Country specific compliance acts. We have individual industry compliance acts also.
So today’s Network Manager must be an expert in Network, Server, Infrastructure, Security, Compliance, Telecommunications, Application, etc. This is not practical and this is where specialized companies – like Lancope – are desperately needed to provide solutions that are deployable, affordable, flexible and technologically sound to help solve today’s complex issues and expandable to help with the next generation of issues.
When you read the case study below, you will see how Lancope’s StealthWatch solution has been proven through successfully helping AirTran Airways.
StealthWatch Delivers NetFlow-based Anomaly Detection and Network Performance Monitoring to Increase Network Visibility and Expedite Problem Resolution
AirTran Airways recently deployed Lancope’s StealthWatch to demonstrate and assure their PCI compliance. The Stealth Watch solution leverages Cisco IOS NetFlow from the existing organization’s network infrastructure, to effectively improve security and network management across the enterprise in accordance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements. For AirTran as well as hundreds of enterprise customers, StealthWatch unifies network performance monitoring and behavior-based anomaly detection to deliver end-to-end network visibility and faster problem resolution.
As part of its PCI compliance initiatives, AirTran required greater network visibility and behavioral intrusion detection. Immediately upon deployment, StealthWatch provided continuous network monitoring to help AirTran demonstrate network-wide PCI by:
- Supplying real-time visibility and awareness of network and host-based behaviors,
- Increasing accountability for introducing network security risks as well as jeopardizing network availability, and
- Tracking, measuring and prioritizing network and host-based risk.
By utilizing NetFlow, StealthWatch efficiently aggregates high-speed network behavior data from multiple segments of AirTran’s geographically dispersed network. This scalable, cost-effective approach provides AirTran with in-depth network behavior information beyond what is available from SNMP tools alone. AirTran also uses the StealthWatch ID-1000 appliance to see direct links between individual users and specific network events for a deeper look into the events.
“StealthWatch performed so well during our evaluation that we did not pursue trials with any other NBA products,” said Michelle Stewart, manager of data security for AirTran Airways. “During testing, StealthWatch demonstrated the ability to detect unauthorized remote access, worm activity and root cause analysis of increases in WAN activity. All of these functions have aided our efforts to demonstrate compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard.”
At AirTran, StealthWatch is utilized by networking professionals, IT security resources and the customer support team. The solution enables all support groups within IT to access common network behavior data and more quickly identify and resolve issues related to network behavior or malicious events. Stewart added, “I use StealthWatch to identify anomalous behavior and inappropriate activity; Customer Support uses it to research details in order to resolve user issues or complaints; and, the network group uses StealthWatch in conjunction with other tools to monitor WAN activity and performance.”
“AirTran’s hard-working IT resources needed a solution to improve security and network management without introducing management headaches or technical complexity,” said Harland LaVigne, President and CEO of Lancope. “Our StealthWatch System was easily integrated into AirTran’s IT environment without impacting the network or resources. In addition, StealthWatch delivers the level of visibility, accountability and measurability into both individual host and broad network communications required for maintaining ongoing PCI compliance.”
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