Mashreqbank invests in SonicWALL security solution

Mashreqbank has purchased 100 units of SonicWall Firewall total security platform after benchmarking the solution against competitor products.

The security solution was deployed by Bulwark Technologies LLC with close support from Mindscape Information Technology, which manages Mashreqbank's internal technology infrastructure, and technical assistance from Haris Al Afaq, SonicWALL's main distributor in the country.

"After rigorous testing and benchmarking procedures, we decided to adopt SonicWall Firewall Appliances with Global Management System (GMS) technologies due to its centralised management features, ease of deployment, user friendly interface and high availability," said CM Sandeep, information security expert at Mindscape. "The deployment process was completed efficiently across the bank's ATM infrastructure in less than a month."

The SonicWALL Firewall is a total security platform delivering layered protection through an integrated deep packet inspection firewall. Its compact form includes a single auto-MDIX Ethernet WAN port and four-port auto-MDIX LAN switch, allowing multiple devices to connect safely to the network. These Firewalls support hardware-accelerated IPSec 3DES and AES encryption, as well as SonicWALL Global VPN Client upgrades for secure remote access to critical network resources.

"Building on SonicWALL's deep packet inspection architecture, Firewall provides true layered security by integrating gateway anti-virus, anti-spyware and intrusion prevention capabilities for real-time protection against viruses, spyware, worms, Trojans and other malicious threats," said Shahnawaz Sheikh, SonicWall regional sales manager Middle East and Africa (MEA). "We are very happy to be working with a prestigious client in Mashreqbank and have already provided training for six technology specialists at Mashreqbank and have set up our tier 1 support mechanisms to make sure all issues that may arise are dealt with effectively."

All Firewalls come with SonicOS Standard, SonicWALL's next-generation operating system, which features a streamlined Web GUI and a comprehensive suite of easy-to-use configuration and management wizards that guides users through the configuration steps for common user network environments or scenarios, making it simple to set up in any network environment.

"We evaluated various firewalls before we signed up with SonicWall as a Medallion Partner in UAE two years ago," says Jose Thomas, director - operations at Bulwark Technologies LLC, a company specialized in IT security products. "With SonicWALL's Global Management System (GMS), multiple firewall units could be put in service in a short time span, including group policies, central management, useful reporting and flexibility to allow for future product security upgrades."

"As SonicWALL's master distributor in the Southern Arabian Gulf region, Haris Al-Afaq worked in close cooperation with all parties involved making sure that the product was available and delivered on time," said Surender Kumar-Bishnoi, Sales Manager at Haris Al-Afaq. "We will extend continuous support and assistance to Mashreqbank and build a long term relationship that will bring benefit to all involved."

SonicWALL, named the leader in Unified Threat Management (UTM) security appliances worldwide for the third consecutive quarter, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker, has delivered zero day gateway anti-virus and intrusion prevention signatures to its subscribers to defend against attacks and exploits based on the WMF remote code execution vulnerability.