Mphasis, a leading IT solutions, services and BPO provider, and part of EDS, has implemented intrusion prevention technology to detect and prevent attacks before they do any damage inside the internal network. Mphasis worked with Secure Synergy to procure, deploy and optimize the intrusion prevention technology.

“We decided that this was a better option than passively detecting network attacks as they sped past the perimeter. This means real-time risk management and remediation, with the ability to stop, block and clean attacks before they can be carried out,” said Surajit Sarkhel, Senior Manager, Information Security, Mphasis.

Added Anil Menon, CEO, Secure Synergy, “We worked with McAfee and charted out security policies according to user behavior at different locations. It took us anywhere between 2-5 weeks to deploy the technology per location per appliance.”

Mphasis deployed the Network IPS (NIPS) solutions at the network perimeter, core and remote offices which form the first line of defense. The design is such that it protects critical infrastructure by blocking internal and external attacks on the wire.

Host IPS (HIPS) solutions are deployed on servers, desktops and laptops. They are designed to protect critical systems and applications by blocking attacks at the host and are considered the last line of defense.

“The combination of NIPS and HIPS delivers the scalability, flexibility and depth required by complex, mission-critical corporate infrastructures. It prevents network downtime and system failure by proactively delivering protection against constantly evolving threats, including spyware, zero-day, encrypted and DoS attacks. The solution has also been useful to block all internal chat and P2P network sites,” said Sarkhel.

Mphasis already uses McAfee’s Intrushield technology where the management console centralizes security management. The console shows what and from where attacks are coming in, and what is being blocked.