2 October 2020
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Paradyn (with offices in Little Island, Cork and Sandyford, Dunlin 18) has implemented “an advanced cybersecurity and network solution” for Cork County Council in a €500,000 deal over the next three years. Having won a competitive tender process, Paradyn will provide security operation centre (SOC) as-a-service and network support to the council to help mitigate cyber risk for the local authority.
Pictured at the announcement that Paradyn has implemented an advanced cybersecurity and network solution for Cork County Council in a €500,000 deal, are (L-R): Eileen Kelly, Cyber and IT Security Programme Manager, Cork County Council; and Paul Casey, Chief Operations Officer, Paradyn.
Paradyn’s provides local and wide area networks (WAN) for Cork County Council, connecting its central office to its 100 regional office locations, as well as public libraries, fire stations and civic amenities throughout the county. The cybersecurity solution will help to protect users across one of the biggest wireless networks in Ireland.
Paradyn’s dedicated cybersecurity team provides the council with 24/7 network monitoring from its recently launched TotalView Operations Centre based in Little Island, Cork. This proactive monitoring enables Cork County Council to quickly identify and resolve potential security risks or breaches before significant amounts of sensitive data can be compromised.
The enhanced cyber defence mitigates security risks and reduces network downtime so council staff and citizens availing of public IT services, such as library or council office Wi-Fi hotspots, can enjoy a more reliable user-experience. Paradyn’s security team leverages the latest Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) software to identify, monitor, record and analyse security events anywhere on the council’s network in real-time.
Outsourcing in Council’s can be controversial (waste collection was privatised in recent years) but a statement said the Council’s inhouse IT personnel will now be freed up to “focus on value-adding IT projects that enhance public services”.
In designing the network and security infrastructure, both Paradyn and Cork County Council implemented Centre for Internet Security (CIS) Controls – a set of prioritised security actions based on global consensus of best practice. Ranging from malware, email and web defences to employee awareness training and penetration testing, the controls help to protect the council against the most widespread cyber-attacks while aiding regulatory compliance with measures such as GDPR.
Ireland largest local authority, when measured by geographic area
Eileen Kelly, Cyber and IT Security Programme Manager, Cork County Council, said:
“The nature of cyber-attacks has evolved to a point where reactive security measures alone are not enough. The proactive network monitoring provided by Paradyn enables us to keep a close eye on incidents on our network so we can identify issues before they have time to cause potentially huge financial and reputation damage.
“Cybercriminals often target their attacks in out-of-office periods and it wasn’t feasible for us to internally monitor our network around the clock. Paradyn’s SOC-as-a-service means we have a cost-effective, 24/7 cyber defence in place. Our IT team can instead focus their efforts into enhancing the quality of our online services and user-experience for staff and members of the public right across the county.”
Paul Casey, Chief Operations Officer, Paradyn, said:
“By implementing global best practice controls, Cork County Council has taken a responsible and holistic approach to their security set-up. We’ve helped the council to navigate this journey to a robust level of IT security that will benefit all those who avail of the council’s services, as well as every employee using the council network daily. Our advanced cybersecurity support is ideally suited for local authorities. We will seek to implement this solution and emulate the strong example laid out by Cork County Council with other councils throughout Ireland.”
