THE SOLUTION Building on strength
The IPG team built its defenses on Proofpoint Email Protection . With multi-layer threat protection and analysis , it defends IPG employees against spam , bulk email , malware and viruses . It also evolves impostor email and phishing attacks . And by using Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection ( TAP ), the IPG team can detect , analyze and block advanced threats delivered through malicious attachments and URLs before they reach employees . TAP also detects polymorphic malware , weaponized documents , and credential theft attacks across cloud and premises-based email systems .
For example , IPG exchanges email with its companies , and each company also exchanges email with external clients . Once , a client ’ s email was co-opted by a threat actor who inserted a malicious URL — unbeknownst to the client . Proofpoint detected and blocked the email , which enabled IPG to provide the agency ’ s client with the important data needed for remediation .
“ Proofpoint enables us to add value to our companies ,” said White . “ In turn , they can demonstrate security assurance to their clients . Proofpoint supports our trusted relationships , which are critical to delivering great work .”
Besides detecting advanced threats , the IPG team can automatically remove them from mailboxes with Proofpoint Threat Response Auto-Pull ( TRAP ). This automation has been a game-changer for IPG . White ’ s team plans to extend Proofpoint Threat Response automation to other use cases , such as automatically isolating endpoints or correlating data with other security controls .
“ There will always be more threat and attack data than security analysts ,” said White . “ With Proofpoint Threat Response , we can automatically enable protections further down the kill chain . This is extraordinarily beneficial .”
Maturing front-line defenses
Knowledgeable employees are powerful front-line defenses . Proofpoint Security Awareness Training with PhishAlarm makes it easy for IPG users to report phishing emails . PhishAlarm Analyzer ranks reported emails in real time by their threat potential , which saves time for the security team . The Proofpoint Attack Index within the TAP Dashboard provides data on IPG ’ s most attacked people . And it gives them instant visibility into these targeted users and the threats that attack them . With this insight , White ’ s team can track changes in the attack landscape over time , as well as improvements in user awareness .
“ We can measure how well users recognize phishing attacks and if they take action when they see something suspicious ,” said White . “ Having users report suspicious emails is a huge step forward in security maturity .”
THE RESULTS
Proofpoint enables the team to focus its time on “ true positive ” alerts and issues with potentially high impact . Now they ’ re spending their time on the security measures that matter most to their enterprise and its companies .
LEARN MORE
For more information visit proofpoint . com
“ By improving our companies ’ security , we provide a distinct benefit to their businesses and their clients . Proofpoint enables us to bring more value to these relationships and plays a key role in making us attractive to new agencies .”
Chris White Director Of Security Operations and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer Interpublic Group