Fondazione Telethon Supports Its Mission with Added Protection

Italy’s Fondazione Telethon is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Rome and Milan. Founded in 1990, Telethon fosters research that leads to cures for rare genetic diseases. The organization prioritizes its focus on diseases that are so rare that they do not attract sufficient research investment. It then matches Italy’s top researchers with the most promising projects and promotes public involvement through a television fundraising marathon, a partner and volunteer network, and other initiatives.

Protecting Sensitive Data and a Stellar Reputation

Security at Telethon is critical because of the large amount of sensitive, high-quality research and medical data it handles. In addition to requiring information safety and business continuity, Telethon has a strong reputation for excellence. Any security breach could cause irreparable damage to its future fundraising campaigns and limit its ability to support research.

Today’s cyber threats are escalating and exposing Telethon to significant risk. Telethon needed a threat protection solution that could secure its network at the edge. Email protection was also crucial, since email is a primary attack vector. It needed better insight into cyber threats to analyze attacks, infections, and impact. Telethon also wanted to improve visibility and incident analysis capabilities.

Gaining Virtualized In-Depth Protection

 To defend its network against advanced threats, Telethon evaluated several possible solutions. After careful consideration, it chose Check Point. Through Grafidata, a trusted Check Point partner in Rome, Telethon implemented Check Point virtual appliances, which are completely hardware-independent. Telethon implemented Check Point Software Blade architecture, initially using the Firewall, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), URL Filtering, and VPN Software Blades. This deployment gave Telethon integrated security for its network gateway, connections to remote locations, web security enforcement features, and intrusion prevention.

Later, it added Application Control for creating granular security policies, Anti-Bot Software for defending against bot and C&C communications, and the Antivirus Software Blade to defend against incoming malicious files.

“Check Point solutions give us 360° security and have proven to scale up to any situation,” said Marco Montesanto, Head of Information Systems at Telethon. “The Check Point products are very flexible and adaptable to any business need, giving us an important competitive edge.”

Scalability As Needed

 Hardware independence makes it easy for Telethon to scale its infrastructure as needed. With the ability to add processing power, Telethon can now exploit the full potential of its virtual appliances with high performance and reliability. The IT team can easily add services, upgrade systems, add policies, or implement new controls with no service disruptions. Virtual appliances deliver excellent return on investment, because Telethon can scale its firewall without having to replace its entire infrastructure.

Centralized Control and Easy Manageability

 The IT team now manages all Check Point solutions through a single dashboard. Daily reporting and log management gives Telethon staff real-time visibility into its network. The log management system also delivers crucial documentation for internal and external audits.

Through the dashboard, Telethon’s team can manage its security infrastructure with high efficiency. Daily security tasks are straightforward and easy to perform. The team also gains valuable insight with a centralized view across the network.

“Check Point solutions do a fantastic job,” said Montesanto. “When we access the dashboard in the morning, we can easily see all that has happened overnight. We have no downtime due to security issues. Check Point doesn’t require much time or IT intervention, which gives us peace of mind.”

As Telethon grows, it can easily add new capabilities without disruption to users or its IT team. Other Check Point solutions, such as Mobile Threat Prevention and Endpoint Security, can be added and managed through the same unified interface.

Continuous Protection

 Even as cyber threats have proliferated and become more advanced, Telethon’s protection has kept pace. Since originally deploying the Check Point virtual solution, Telethon has continuously upgraded infrastructure with operational and business continuity—without compromising security. With Check Point, the IT department can intercept threats before they infect the systems and cause service disruption.

“It’s much easier to prevent threats from getting in than it is to find them and eliminate them once they are in,” said Montesanto. “The value of Check Point for Telethon lies in its powerful threat prevention capabilities, which give us the best possible defense and value for our investment.”