After being subjected to an automated spambot email attack which lasted one week, IT staff at Perisher Resort decided to look for a new security solution.
Thousands of daily emails from an unknown source were sent to Resort email addresses.
The company operates more than 100 ski slopes in Perisher Valley, Guthega, Blue Cow and Smiggin Holes. During the peak winter season its network activity increases by 90 per cent due to the amount of users and devices accessing the network.
Perisher Resort's senior network and systems administrator, Wayne Grixti, said that after conducting a pilot programme, it selected Imperva’s Incapusula Web application firewall (WAF) offering.
“We chose the service because of its minimal management overhead and ability to work in our existing environment with no impact on network speeds,” he said in a statement.
“Our commercial operations are extensive, and in peak season trading conditions we need to ensure that the influx to our networks is protected and meeting payment card industry [PCI] compliance requirements.”
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According to Grixti, the resort’s websites and applications are better protected against malicious automated attacks such as SQL injection. The software has also reduced network management time for IT staff.
In addition, Incapusula WAF generates PCI compliance reports which help IT and management staff in identifying areas of compliance prior to bank audits.
Grixti added that caching techniques have resulted in additional cost savings by reducing website bandwidth usage and lowering Web server utilisation.
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