Unitel Strengthens The Security Of Critical Infrastructure And Applications With Check Point Solutions

Check Point Infinity consolidates security and simplifies security management, while WAF delivers advanced threat prevention against emerging cyber attacks.

INDUSTRY
Communications

HEADQUARTERS
Luanda, Luanda Sul

COMPANY SIZE
1,001-5,000 employees

OVERVIEW

Unitel is a mobile telecoms and internet provider with a 70% share of the Angolan market. The company plans to extend coverage across the entire country with a roll-out of 4G to Angola’s major cities.

OUR SOLUTION

CHALLENGE

Infinity Global Services
Unitel holds a large amount of personal and financial data that belongs to the citizens of Angola. A disruption or breach of Unitel would cause a major disruption to the Angolan economy.

“We have to protect our infrastructure and our data,” says Dialungana Malungo, Principal Cybersecurity Specialist, Unitel. “We have to have the right technical security controls, but we also play a role in educating our staff and the wider Angolan economy about cyber threats. Our priority is to protect our clients.”

You cannot protect what you cannot see. Check Point gives us visibility into our infrastructure.
Dialungana Malungo, Principal Cybersecurity Specialist, Unitel

SOLUTION

Unitel favors a unified approach to security management built around the consolidated Check Point Infinity Platform.

“We are the largest telecommunications company in Angola, with a huge infrastructure and a broad perimeter. Having different solutions with different vendors would cause an unnecessary headache,” says Malungo. “Check Point is committed to security.”

The Check Point Infinity Platform is a fully consolidated cyber security architecture that provides unprecedented protection against sophisticated and targeted Gen V mega cyber attacks. The architecture is designed to resolve the complexities of growing connectivity and inefficient security, working across all networks, endpoints, cloud, and mobile.

Unitel also deployed Check Point Quantum Security Gateways, augmented with Zero Day Threat Prevention for Quantum (sandboxing) and IPS (Intrusion Prevention System). Remote users connect seamlessly over Check Point virtual private networks (VPN). The overall solution provides users with seamless and secure access to the corporate networks.

“Different Check Point solutions protect different perimeters on our network,” Malungo explains. “We do pre and post-detection with threat prevention to make sure we’re able to prevent the threats right there. We also have IPS to detect anomalies on our network.

Unitel has been looking for a WAF for quite some time, and most of the solutions were mainly based on signatures and required many configurations in order to get them to work. CloudGuard WAF does not rely on signatures and uses AI to protect applications from ever evolving cyber attacks. “CloudGuard WAF does not require many configurations and it is easy to onboard an application and get it protected right away,” Malungo says.

Check Point allows us to see what is happening in the infrastructure and to then configure our devices from a centralized platform.
Dialungana Malungo, Principal Cybersecurity Specialist, Unitel

OUTCOME

With Check Point, Unitel manages its entire infrastructure from one centralized security management platform.

“Check Point allows us to see what is happening in the infrastructure and to then configure our devices from a centralized platform,” says Malungo. “You cannot protect what you cannot see. Check Point gives us visibility into our infrastructure.”

Unitel can now better manage remote users and create granular security rules for different user groups.

Unified threat management, he continues, is more cost effective, easier to manage, and more secure. “Because all elements are connected, upgrades are simpler and more consistent. When we upgrade, everything remains stable.”

Before having CloudGuard WAF, Unitel had no visibility about attacks directed to their applications and APIs. Ever since they implemented the solution, they have greater visibility into all the attacks and the solution prevents around 100,000 different attacks without any false positives. “CloudGuard WAF provides the best protection for our Web Applications and APIs with minimal overhead and false positives using AI,” explains Malungo.

Check Point support is also cause for praise. “If we should have a problem, Check Point is there. Peace of mind is valuable when it comes to security,” says Malungo. He says Check Point protects today and provides assurance for tomorrow.

CloudGuard WAF provides the best protection for our Web Applications and APIs with minimal overhead and false positives using AI.
Dialungana Malungo, Principal Cybersecurity Specialist, Unitel

About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is a leading protector of digital trust, utilizing AI-powered cyber security solutions to safeguard over 100,000 organizations globally. Through its Infinity Platform and an open garden ecosystem, Check Point’s prevention-first approach delivers industry-leading security efficacy while reducing risk. Employing a hybrid mesh network architecture with SASE at its core, the Infinity Platform unifies the management of on-premises, cloud, and workspace environments to offer flexibility, simplicity and scale for enterprises and service providers.