Bromium Protects Sensitive Data and Provides a Transparent Experience at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Endpoint Security
• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security

• Professional Service

• Business Operation

• System Integration
• Training

At Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, the primary challenge was to enable employees to work without risk while maintaining high productivity. The legal sector's unique environment, where end users are also company owners, necessitated the implementation of security products that run smoothly and transparently. Employees, particularly attorneys and legal assistants, spend significant time online, exposing the company's Microsoft Windows 7 PCs and laptops to various threats, including infected downloads and phishing attempts. Despite diligent efforts to secure the infrastructure, the company faced frequent re-imaging of PCs due to infections. The existing security measures, including antivirus solutions, whole-disk encryption, and spam filters, were inadequate against modern threats. The company needed a better way to protect its endpoints without disrupting users and enabling them to confidently search and download from the Web.

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP (Taft) is a full-service law firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a history dating back to 1885. The firm employs 400 attorneys who provide legal services across a wide range of industries, including finance, real estate, and environmental organizations. Taft's legal expertise spans virtually every area of law, making it a prominent player in the legal sector. The firm operates with a strong focus on client service and employee satisfaction, ensuring that its legal professionals can work efficiently and securely. With approximately 850 Microsoft Windows 7 PCs and laptops, Taft's IT infrastructure supports a diverse and dynamic workforce, including attorneys who frequently travel and work remotely. The firm's commitment to safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining a seamless user experience is paramount, driving its pursuit of advanced security solutions.

To address the security challenges, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP decided to explore better options for securing endpoints. Security manager Phil Miller attended a Bromium demo presentation and was impressed by the solution's ability to leverage virtualization technology, isolating malware in a micro-virtualized machine (micro-VM). After receiving approval from the CISO, Miller initiated a 30-day proof-of-concept (PoC) for 25 to 30 machines across the enterprise. The PoC involved legal assistants who spend significant time online, and the primary concern was whether Bromium would interfere with legitimate document downloads. The PoC was successful, demonstrating that Bromium was transparent to users and did not disrupt document downloads. Additionally, Bromium's frequent policy updates every two minutes provided an extra layer of security. Following the successful PoC, Taft signed off on Bromium for the entire company. The initial setup, assisted by Bromium consultants, took only half a day, and full deployment across all laptops and desktops was completed in approximately three months. User training was minimal, with a one-page support document distributed to users. Bromium's transparency and ease of use met Taft's requirements perfectly, allowing users to browse the web securely without disruptions.

• Bromium's deployment significantly reduced the need for re-imaging PCs, with the team now re-imaging only one or two systems per week instead of the previous 15.
• The solution provided a completely non-disruptive experience for users, allowing them to work efficiently without security-related interruptions.
• Bromium's transparency ensured that users were largely unaware of its presence, except for occasional prompts when suspicious files were detected.

• 75% reduction in time spent on re-imaging systems.
• Deployment across 850 Microsoft Windows 7 PCs and laptops completed in approximately three months.