SecureLink takes away the suspense at Elia with ScanMail and ServerProtect

The 1200 or so employees of Elia, the Bel-gian high voltage system operator, have few frets about e-mail threats of malware contamination. What is more, they come across such instances only in exceptional cases. Thanks to the integrated protec-tion solutions of Trend Micro and quality support from integrator SecureLink, the ICT department has had no problems in recent years. The technology runs in the background and does what it has to do. “Set and forget” is how Elia summarises the adage of the Trend Micro solutions.

Fifteen years problem freeElia became independent from the then integrated energy corporation Electrabel in 2001 when the European energy market was liberalised. Wim Michiels, head of the IT & Datacom Exploitation Server Team, went along, and together with him the Trend Micro antivirus solution.

“I have been using the ScanMail solution for Microsoft exchange ever since it was launched in 1998, and as far as I can remember I have never had to inter-vene because of problems. No one of our hundreds of users has experienced any problems. In one exceptional case, one employee received a message that a “suspect” attachment had been removed. But we can bypass that in an alterna-tive, safe manner.”

The operation, monitoring, protection, etc. of the high voltage network are running on an autonomous IT network, separated completely from the net-work of supporting services. “That is a solution that has grown over time and at the same time a deliberate, strategic choice,” Mr Michiels explains. “Just as the policy requires us to integrate antivirus solutions from various vendors for the different platforms. The aim is to prevent all our platforms from getting infected in case of an incident. In addition to our Exchange mail, Trend Micro has since 2008 been protecting also our Microsoft server traffic against malware with the ServerProtect for Microsoft Windows solution.”

“Except MS Exchange and Windows, only Trend Micro solutions have been a constant presence in our configuration over many years.” — Wim Michiels, hoofd IT & Data Exploitation Server Team, Elia België

Quote

Trend Micro @ Elia

ADVANTAGES OF SCANMAIL AND

SERVERPROTECT

• Fast and simple implementation and

upgrade

• Immediate protection thanks to

automatic, continuous, real-time

scanning

• Direct, streamlined protection

against theft and data loss

• Interception and removal of viruses

and malware before they can infect

the system

• Negligible IT management workload

• Integrated e-mail and Internet

reputation technology that provides

direct access to the latest, composite

and cloud-based worldwide threat

intelligence, with retention of optimal

performance thanks to preventive

protection

• Prime value for money accelerates

ROI

Tops in the market

Up to 2008, Elia protected its server traffic with another anti-

virus solution. But after a number of years, the support failed

and Michiels called on the expertise of integrator SecureLink

to migrate to Trend Micro solutions. Following a test phase,

the migration to Server Protect for Microsoft Windows was

carried out in just a week.

“Why Trend Micro? Our experience of long standing with Scan-

Mail and the underlying support and follow-up gave us com-

plete confidence. The outstanding references of colleagues

from the sector boosted that confidence further. Moreover,

Trend Micro anti-malware technology is tops in the market.

You will not find many equivalent alternatives.”

ELIA BelgiumElia is the Belgian transmission system operator, trans-mitting electricity efficiently, reliably and safely from generators to distribution system operators and major industrial users and being responsible for importing and exporting electrical energy to and from Belgium’s neighbouring countries. Elia owns the entire Belgian very-high-voltage grid (150 to 380 kV) and some 94% (ownership and user rights) of Belgium’s high-voltage grid infrastructure (30 to 70 kV). Elia’s grid consists of 5,608 kilometres of overhead lines and 2,775 kilo-metres of underground connections and is a key link between electricity markets in northern and southern Europe. Belgium’s recent investments in interconnection ca-pacity with its neighbours make it one of the most open and interconnected countries in Europe. In 2010, Elia expanded its activities on a European scale and thanks to the acquisition of the German TNB 50Hertz network, in cooperation with Industry Funds Management (IFM), is now one of the top 5 European transmission system operators.

The Trend Micro solutions have grown with the network to such a degree that Elia no longer dwells on the advantages that

they offer. “And don’t forget the attractive pricing,” Mr Michiels adds. “Furthermore, the Trend Micro anti-malware solution

is underpinned by more efficient service and support. This means considerable savings for our budget when you consider

a total of 1200 users.

“Once you’ve got the hang of the Trend Micro concept, integrating their solution is child’s play.”— Wim Michiels, hoofd IT & Data Exploitation Server Team, Elia België

Quote

TREND MICRO SOLUTIONS PROPOSED AND IMPLEMENTED BY SECURELINK