Y O U D E S E R V E T H E B E S T S E C U R I T Y

CASE STUDY SPRING BRANCH ISD'S JOURNEY TO

ENHANCED EMAIL SECURITY WITH CHECK POINT’S HARMONY EMAIL & COLLABORATION

2SPRING BRANCH ISD'S JOURNEY TO ENHANCED EMAIL SECURITY

Introduction Troy Neal, executive director for cybersecurity and technology operations, at Spring Branch Independent School District, outside of Houston, had faced significant challenges with the district's email security posture. Despite utilizing cloud-hosted, on-premise solutions that were initially considered adequate, escalating threats prompted a reassessment of their security strategy. The district's transition to the cloud was expedited by the COVID-19 pandemic, illuminating the pressing need for a solution tailored to its new cloud environment.

Challenges Before Harmony Email & Collaboration Neal recalls when traditional, on-premise email solutions could not contend with the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, especially spam and phishing attempts breaching the district's defenses. "[The] current email scheme, right at the time, was built for an on-premise solution... And then we started seeing a lot of spam getting through," Neal stated. The necessity to adapt was accentuated when SBISD's incumbent – which didn't pair well with their migration to the cloud – began to falter in identifying and neutralizing threats. Neal needed a solution that was built for the cloud and had much higher efficacy.

Why Harmony Email & Collaboration? In search of a solution that could provide robust protection against modern threats like ransomware, account takeovers, and the onslaught of phishing attacks, SBISD considered various competitors but ultimately selected HEC for its unsurpassed capabilities. Convinced by a proof of concept that plainly demonstrated the solution's efficacy, he mentioned, "Just the results and the amount of stuff it caught just in the pilot... we moved as fast as we could. And with the API set-up, the conversion from proof of concept to live is instant.

3SPRING BRANCH ISD'S JOURNEY TO ENHANCED EMAIL SECURITY

The Impact of HEC The numbers spoke volumes; in a Slack group conversation with cybersecurity peers in Houston, Neal shared the juxtaposition between the vulnerabilities they faced and the security SBISD enjoyed with HEC:

" In the last 12 months we caught 76,000 phishing attempts and approximately 3200 malware instances." Troy Neal, executive director for cybersecurity and technology operations, Spring Branch ISD

Neal highlighted HEC's strengths, stating, "The solution was extremely simple to implement and integrated into our current service offerings... The UI and the portal are so simple. You don’t spend so much time on alert fatigue. It just catches the bad emails. "

The decision to choose HEC was backed by results and smooth onboarding process, indicating a seamless fit with SBISD's directive to prioritize the safety of their digital environment.

Conclusion Troy Neal's experience underscores Check Point’s authoritative stance in cloud email security. SBISD's transition to HEC culminated in an email security environment that provided comprehensive protection against the most advanced threats while offering simplicity of management. Neal's testimony encapsulates the district's satisfaction: "It's cost-effective. It works... The data proves how effective the solution is compared to the market."

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About Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration is a cloud email security platform that pioneered and patented a new approach to prevent sophisticated attacks. It uses APIs to block phishing, malware, and data leakage in the line of communications traffic. This means Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration catches threats missed by Microsoft while adding a transparent layer of security for the entire suite that also protects other collaboration tools like Slack. The solution has been recognized as the top-rated cloud email security solution by customers and can replace the need for multiple tools that surround email and file sharing.

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