Kronos

Industry: Technology

Location: United States

Products Used: Web Filter

Software Provider Makes Open Internet Workplace Safe

Kronos is a global provider of human capital management solutions. The company delivers software and services that enable organizations to manage their workforce, reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve employee satis¬faction. Its staff of 4,500 people worldwide serves customers in more than 60 countries.

The Problem

Employee access to the Internet is essential to Kronos’s business, but potential security issues, increasing bandwidth demands on its network, and employee productivity were concerns.

Known for its open culture, Kronos wanted employees to have access to new Web 2.0 technologies and the Internet but couldn’t risk exposing itself to Web-based security threats such as spyware, malware, and phishing scams. Additionally, the company recognized the need to ensure a safe and appropriate work environment for employees.

“While limiting access to inappropriate sites like gambling and pornography was important to us, it was not our chief concern,” said Doug Tamasanis, chief information technology architect and director, Networks and Security at Kronos. “Our primary goal in adopting a Web security solution was to limit our exposure to Web-based security vulnerabilities by making sure employees couldn’t accidentally visit infected websites hosting malicious code.”

Tamasanis wanted to strike the right balance between protecting from security threats and still allowing Internet access for employees’ business activities.

The Solution

Kronos turned to its trusted information technology (IT) security solution provider, Networks Unlimited to find the answer. The longtime Websense^® reseller helped Kronos select and implement Websense Web Filter.

“Our client Kronos needed a solution to protect its employees, its network, and its essential information from Internet threats,” said Holly Plante, senior account manager, at Networks Unlimited. “I knew that the Websense Web Filter solution would be a great fit for Kronos. With Websense, we’ve been able to help Kronos keep its open culture while enabling them to safely use the Web.

“Websense Web Filter enables Kronos to ensure that inappropriate websites such as those featuring adult content, gambling, or offensive material are not viewed in the workplace.

Additionally, the solution enabled the Kronos IT team to create granular Internet us¬age policies and apply those policies on a global level throughout the organization.

“Managing Internet use on a group level and easily changing policies from one central location without having to filter employees on an individual level or track the URLs they’ve visited has been very helpful,” said Tamasanis. “We take full advantage of the website categories and granularity Websense provides.”

With a large number of software developers and a growing workforce, the Kronos corporate network must deliver rapid response times and high. Websense Web Filter provides Kronos’s IT staff with the visibility and controls it needs to ensure the network isn’t swamped with traffic from recreational use of Internet radio or streaming video.

Kronos also deployed the optional Websense Security Filtering component that adds a powerful layer of security to the network by preventing employees from inadvertently accessing websites that are infected with malicious code or that are infected with spyware. Should spyware find its way to the corporate desktop, Websense Web Filter with Security Filtering stops the transmission of sensitive corporate information from external spyware host servers. Websense Web Filter with Security Filtering reduces the risk of security threats from spyware, mali¬cious mobile code, phishing, and other Web-based frauds.

The Results

Since deploying, Websense, Kronos has seen instances of spyware and malicious code infections decrease, and they have seen a boost in network availability and employee productivity. IT managers are also impressed with how the solution helps facilitate the safe use of Web 2.0 technologies.

Tamasanis described how Websense Web Filter recently played a key role in a video contest hosted by Kronos.

“We initiated a ‘How Do You Kronos’ contest to help the company engage with our 30 million users to find out how Kronos made their working lives better and easier,” Tamasis said. “To facilitate and promote the contest, Kronos employees needed access to Web 2.0 sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube. With Websense in place, employees were able to visit these sites to promote the contest and view video submissions without fear of infecting the company’s computers or network with spyware, malicious code, bots, and other threats.”

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