Salvation Army sings praises of integrated security appliance solution

The organisation deployed a WatchGuard Firebox X2500 integrated security appliance at its regional headquarters in Des Plaines, Illinois, bringing the total number of Firebox X2500 appliances on its network across the Midwest region to 15. The devices incorporate firewall, VPN, application layer security, intrusion prevention, spam blocking, web filtering and authentication functionality.

Mike Pearson, WAN and security administrator at the Salvation Army, said: "When we initially evaluated security solutions, we were looking for a solution that would not only be easy to deploy, but easy to manage on an ongoing basis because we have very limited IT staff and resources.

"We manage most of the configuration process and all of the appliance management at our headquarters, so simplicity is key."

The Firebox X can be upgraded via a software licence key from three active Ethernet ports to six, a feature which the Salvation Army plans to use to establish demilitarised zones (or DMZs) on its network, each with its own set of security policies to effectively manage user access.

These DMZs will house Salvation Army's new data application system at the central office, which is accessed by all district offices. It will also provide secure access to databases that are used by staff in multiple locations without weakening the protection around the internal network.

The roll out comes after the charity has already deployed almost 200 Firebox SOHO appliances as VPN end points to secure smaller locations on its network.