Customer Needs

• Invisible IDS solution • Ease of deployment • Easy network access point • Seen to be secure • Easily maintained solution

Solution Components

• Critical 10/100 TAPs • Critical 100/1000 Combination TAPs • Checkpoint Firewall • IDS Probes • Network Sniffers

Results

• Secured the network • Monitor Firewall status • Flexible solution • Public confidence in security policies

“Using the Network Critical TAPs is simplicity itself.” Ken Mann Network Security Manager, PITO.

About PITO

• PITO is a Home Office executive non-departmental body • Founded in 1998 • Overseen by a board that draws its members from: - Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) - Police Authorities - Home Office - the Scottish Executive - Independent members • PITO delivers national systems as part of a drive   towards integrated policing

“The early adoption of Critical TAPs by PITO as part of their IDS deployment has not only highlighted the flexibility of the products but also the many associated benefits enjoyed by Network Critical customers” Alastair Hartrup Managing Director, Network Critical Solutions

Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO)

Government agency chooses Network Critical's ‘Copper’ TAP range to deploy 'invisible' IDS solutions.

PITO is a government agency, or Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), funded by the grant-in-aid and by charges for the services it provides.

The vision of the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) is to be a world-class provider of information management and communications services and systems for the police and its other customers. Moreover, its goal is to deliver in a high-quality, timely and effective manner.

PITO's aim is to support the UK police and other criminal justice organisations in reducing crime and in administering justice more effectively by providing information and communication technology solutions, either directly or through contracts with suppliers. The organisation also has a role in getting best value for the police service on the goods and services they buy. This is done through setting up collective procurement arrangements.

When formulating its network security strategy, PIT0 decided that the option of using SPAN ports was simply not viable, due to the potential of packet loss, coupled with the possibility of introducing a single point of failure. Since one of the key requirements for the organisation was to implement a flexible solution that allowed them to gain immediate access to the network, the decision was taken that ‘Tapping Technology’ should be utilised as part of the solution. As a result, NITO selected Network Critical TAPs as the key facilitator within the overall internal IDS deployment.

Security by Obscurity

As a non Departmental Public Body, it is very important that PITO are seen by the public to be secure and this need led them to select a solution that allowed for not only the simple deployment of their chosen security application, but one that was also none intrusive and easily maintained. It was also vital that the security solution remained “invisible” to potential threats. In choosing Critical 10/100 and 100/1000 TAPs, PITO was able to match all their specific criteria and gain what is described by the organisation as “security by obscurity”.

Simplicity Itself

When asked about the immediate benefits of using Critical TAPs, Ken Mann, Network Security Manager for PITO, said, “By integrating TAPs into the network’s perimeter points at an early stage, we have gained maximum flexibility in connecting security devices without disrupting the smooth running of the services we provide to our users. Using them is simplicity itself.”

Looking to the future, the organisation has selected a range of Critical Gigabit TAPs to match both the current and future capabilities of the IDS solution as it is deployed into other areas of the business.