A masterclass in cybersecurity for multinational pharma player, Alkem. Noventiq´s experts identified Forcepoint as the ideal DLP solution, given that it allows for data flow to be managed according to user privileges, so you can be sure that your sensitive data is handled only by those who have permission.
Overview
The multinational pharmaceutical company, Alkem Laboratories Limited is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Alkem's 17 000 employees work to manufacture 800 brands of pharmaceuticals at their 21 facilities across India and the USA and then ship them out to customers to over 40 countries around the world.
The problem
Pharmaceutical organisations are increasingly tasked with developing tailored therapeutics for their markets. The relentless pursuit to accelerate drug development and clinical trials to bring therapies to patients faster is always there. Yet, security remains at the heart of the ever-evolving drug-discovery paradigm.
During the pandemic, most companies had to come to terms with working remotely in one form or another. Unfortunately, in the rush to make the shift, many treated security as an afterthought - only to experience the negative repercussions of this later on.
Alkem reached out to Noventiq (formerly Softline) with their data security concerns, and we jumped in to help them out with a comprehensive assessment of their data security systems.
During the process, Alkem's team leads helped us identify and analyse exactly which data needed to be protected. There was no central software deployment tool available on the customer's premises, which meant that each remote system required a dedicated person to manage it. Costly and overly complicated.
Our team of experts identified sensitive data in eight departments and created policies on the Forcepoint management server based on the same, which will help each department assess and monitor data loss. Since there was no classification of data in place and the DLP was not able to protect sensitive and confidential data, we successfully delivered the Forcepoint DLP along with IRA activity.
The solution
After a thorough evaluation of the company's needs and existing IT infrastructure, we first classified and tagged the company's data, and made sure that a user-friendly system was in place for employees to do the same.
Noventiq´s security experts identified Forcepoint as the most suitable DLP solution. Forcepoint allows for data flow to be managed according to user privileges - a fantastic way of making sure that all of your sensitive data is only handled through predefined access. We also coupled this with one of IRA's activities, which made sure that Alkem was fully fitted with an effective barrier against both internal and external data leaks.
During the process, we arranged multiple meetings with different teams to create a data flow and understand user profiles and privileges. This helped us to ensure that there was no likelihood of sensitive information being leaked.
In terms of the set-up itself, implementing the DLP solution required a simultaneous deployment for 4000 endpoints. To expedite this monumental shift, we started working on implementing the solutions, while simultaneously installing and configuring the server.
The result
Alkem benefits in 2 key ways from their new DLP solution:
- A high level of data visibility
The company now has complete visibility and control over its data, allowing them to identify sensitive data, tag them, track them as they move about the system - and ensure that they're always in the right hands.
- Complete protection for Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and IP, in compliance with regulations
Enforcing specific policies on critical data automatically prevents attempts to copy sensitive data, or share them without authorization. Management can also check and monitor the data leaving and entering their network. This resulted in the creation of an effective barrier against both inside and outside threats.
Bijender Mishra, Global CISO, Alkem Laboratories Limited , commented:
We are delighted with the results from this project with Noventiq. The support and attention to detail before, during, and after the project has been invaluable in terms of helping us to understand how information moves around our company, and what we can do to understand and protect it. We really appreciate the level of professionalism from their experts.
Kiran Babu, Director of Solutions Sales, Noventiq India, explained:
The solution we delivered for Alkem is a benchmark for how companies should approach data security and workflow when updating their digital infrastructure. The results for Alkem ensure that they can protect their customers and employees while improving visibility for management.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is an increasingly popular solution in toolkits of enterprise information security teams. Nowadays, many DLP systems offer different sophistication levels to choose from. They are typically selected based on a three- or five-year planning horizon. You need to understand where the vendor is heading and predict what tasks and problems your company might face down the road.
Learn more about how Noventiq´s team of experts can help you to find the right balance for your business: https://noventiq.com/solutions/information-security
