NetSpective Case Studies

Stimson Lane Vineyards & Estates

Stimson Lane Vineyards & Estates
Mike Powers

Stimson Lane Vineyards & Estates produces and markets a broad portfolio of premium wines from acclaimed vineyards around the world. Stimson Lane was formally established in 1986 and since that time, the company has expanded its vineyard holdings to more than 4,200 acres in Washington and California. Stimson Lane is known not only for its outstanding wines but also for bringing Washington State's Columbia Valley to the world stage. The company has quickly grown to rank among the top ten premium wine companies in America and sells more than 30 million bottles of wine annually.

"We have had only 2 virus infections in the past two years. Both originated from dial up connections to AOL accounts."

Situation

Mike Powers noticed two growing trends prior to becoming security officer at Stimson Lane: 1) the growth of web-based e-mail and, 2) the vulnerability of firms to viruses transmitted through web-based e-mail usage. Stimson Lane provides their 450 users with Internet access and corporate e-mail addresses and scans attachments for viruses on their SMTP e-mail server. They've had a filtering appliance in place for several years along with the NetAuditor software that revealed the growing use of web-based e-mail.

"...Any firm who is not filtering web-based e-mail is simply asking for trouble."

Security is important at Stimson Lane. Accordingly, they employ forced user authentication at the desktop separately for network and Internet access. They also have a published Internet usage policy Mike describes as "reasonable and unoppressive". "We're lenient in most cases with a few exceptions – distribution of e-mail chain letters and jokes are prohibited. That's because they are the most common source of viruses. We have had only 2 virus infections in the past two years. Both originated from dial up connections to AOL accounts."

Stimson Lane encourages moderate use of corporate e-mail accounts for personal use. "It's fundamentally no different than telephone usage," says Powers. "As long as their personal use is modest, I want the traffic on my SMTP servers so I can scan for viruses." Similar virus scanning of Web-based e-mail however is nearly impossible. According to Mike, "Viruses are getting increasingly commonplace and damaging – and they're spread through e-mail. Any firm who is not filtering web-based e-mail is simply asking for trouble." Stimson Lane started looking at Internet usage using NetSpective and saw web-based access to personal e-mail accounts was growing. "It wasn't so much a productivity problem," says Powers, "but the practice became a significant security threat since the e-mail traffic bypassed Stimson Lane's corporate SMTP e-mail servers."

Solution

TeleMate.Net's NetSpective Internet Content Filtering appliance provided Mike the security solution he needed by automatically blocking access to web-based e-mail sites, while also providing the benefit of a no-hassle, low-maintenance solution to mitigate the risks associated with inappropriate Internet usage in the workplace.

"With NetSpective, you buy the service, not the box."

"TeleMate.Net's Adaptive Filtering process is like a virtual autopilot. I don't have to touch it unless there's a need for a course change."

Mike had used another Internet filtering appliance previously but replaced it with NetSpective after it failed in service. "They insisted I purchase replacement hardware on top of the annual service license," Mike recalled. "In addition, management was difficult and time consuming. With NetSpective, you buy the service, not the box. As a result, I'm comfortable knowing that if anything happens to the NetSpective appliance it will be replaced - no questions asked."

"NetSpective is simple and easy," says Powers. "Whether it's changing user access or adding addresses to the always block or never block lists, NetSpective is dramatically easier to configure than my previous solution." Adding, says Powers, "TeleMate.Net's Adaptive filtering process is like a virtual autopilot. I don't have to touch it unless there's a reason for a course change. Uncategorized web sites inevitably come up," he says, "but I know that within a day or two TeleMate.Net will have it under control. I don't have to lift a finger. What an improvement versus that other appliance! Now, I'm more responsive to my customer's needs."