National Union of Socialist Mutual Health Insurance

Overview

The National Union of Socialist Mutual Health Insurance Funds (SocMut) in Belgium is a non-profit organization that serves over 3,500,000 members. Its oversight includes management of health care costs, social insurance, and the provision of health-related information. 

Challenge

Managed from the headquarters in Brussels and across various regional offices, SocMut’s IT division is an important driver for internal processes. Email is critical for over 6,000 employees to communicate with SocMut members and with each other so, in this sense, security is proving to be an important issue says Didier Godin, Information Security Manager at SocMut. 

By 2009, the organization was increasingly limited by its on-site email security. The previous solution was implemented locally and required extensive management attention, says Godin, because SocMut had only one colleague with sufficient knowledge of the system. As users pressed for more flexibility, their demands were met by more and more ad-hoc solutions that stretched management time even further. 

“We were concerned that our evolving system was not sufficiently protected.” 
— Godin 

Godin began to look for alternatives that would eliminate the existing problems, increase security, and lighten the load on SocMut’s management. The criteria for a new solution included cost, security, management, and the knowledge and expertise of the supplier. 

Solution

Initially, the IT department planned a new on-site solution but during the selection process, it became clear that reducing the management burden was the key factor. 

After evaluating various cloud solutions, SocMut invited three vendors, including Forcepoint, to provide a Proof of Concept (PoC). 

Each vendor installed its cloud solution for a trial month for a limited group of employees. With a clear mission and the ability to comply with data protection legislation, it was immediately clear that the Forcepoint solution — Forcepoint Cloud Email Security — delivered the best filtering options and offered user-friendly, transparent performance. 

“Forcepoint met our requirements precisely. All data remains in Europe so that strict service level agreements (SLAs) could be applied. We are convinced of the quality of the Forcepoint solution.” 
— Godin 

In 2012, SocMut enhanced its collaboration with Forcepoint by extending the contract for Email Security Cloud and selecting Forcepoint Web Security Cloud for greater web control and security. 

“A new PoC was drawn up for this web security project and Forcepoint again performed exceptionally well. Thanks to the cloud solution, we will be able to provide granular web access for user groups. This strengthens the security of our infrastructure.” 
— Godin 

Results

Cloud solutions are still unknown territory for many companies. Yet as far back as 2009, the National Union of Socialist Mutual Health Insurance Funds in Belgium pioneered the switch from an on-site email security product to a Forcepoint in-the-cloud email security solution. This early adoption of new technology has proved to be a wise choice, says Godin, because it has eliminated management time and training while delivering optimal protection of email traffic with no downtime. 

“Email should work seamlessly and not require management attention. Forcepoint made this happen for us.” 
— Godin 

To illustrate the simplicity of the Forcepoint cloud solution, Godin points out that SocMut was able to replace the on-site solution’s multiple rules and implement just one rule on the Forcepoint platform. 

“The system has only one rule and we have received no complaints. Updates and patches are handled seamlessly by the Forcepoint specialists so we do not have to allocate any management effort which gives us time for more strategic matters. For us, this platform is ideal.” 
— Godin 

According to Godin, the Forcepoint cloud solution is ideal for organizations which require high quality but minimal management. 

“We’re confident that Forcepoint is fully focused on our security. It’s the company’s core business.” 
— Godin 

The National Union of Socialist Mutual Health Insurance Funds has relied on Forcepoint security solutions since 2009.