With R&D centres in Korea, China, Japan, Germany and the United
States, a total of seven large-scale production facilities in Korea, China,
Indonesia and Hungary as well as offices in 31 different countries, Hankook
Tire is a global power player in the tyre industry.
Founded in 1941, Korea-based tyre company Hankook Tire has been a
growing business with products now available in more than 180 countries around
the world. It produces superior quality, high performance radial tyres for
passenger cars, 4x4s, SUVs, light trucks, campers, trucks, buses and motorsport
vehicles with approximately 21,000 employees around the world. The large number
of tires produced by Hankook Tire makes it one of the top 5 companies in the
mass production of tyres.
Challenge
IT security has been a top priority for Hankook Tire in securing its
innovations and business-critical data.
Hankook Tire is famous for its extensive involvement in motorsports,
sponsoring and supplying tires for numerous touring car, rally, endurance and
single seater championships and events. It also has various records of
developing and testing innovative high-concept technology and products that
ultimately find their way into the mass market.
Hankook Tire’s global headquarters and main research and development
centre are located in South Korea, along with a substantial operational network
around the world to meet the needs of its fast-paced domestic marketplace.
Besides, Hankook Tire is heavily reliant on IT to stay connected and
productive in a fast-moving and highly competitive sector. Employees work from
both offices and remote locations, with employees accessing data 24/7, on PCs,
laptops and multiple devices in the office, at home and on the move. Its
electronic activities are all vulnerable to viruses, spam, hackers, and other
attacks, bringing significant risk of interruptions to business continuity and
potential damage to the performance, income and reputation of the company.
Soon it became clear that the existing anti-virus software was no
longer adequate, and that a much more comprehensive, robust, and flexible IT
security solution was required.
“A major attack could have severe consequences for Hankook Tire,
with our entire network potentially being infected, so it is vital that we have
robust protection for our network, files, mail and devices,” explain Mr Kim Hui
Jeong of Hankook Tire’s emFrontier Technology team.
Acknowledging the importance to protect confidential,
business-critical communications and data constantly flowing between employees,
offices and third parties, Hankook Tire began looking for a partner capable of
providing the products, services and infrastructure necessary to meet its
increasingly complex business requirements.
Solutions
The company found Kaspersky Lab its partner for
cybersecurity solution. Hankook Tire selected Kaspersky’s multi-layered, fully
integrated IT security solution, citing its ability to provide robust
protection both within and outside the company’s corporate boundaries.
“We selected Kaspersky both for the quality of its products and for
their excellent service record. There’s no doubt that Kaspersky’s anti-virus
software is the global standard, and the company’s central platform management
console is very easy to use,” said Mr Kim.
The solution combines powerful endpoint controls with security for
workstations, along with file servers and provisions for rigorous mobile
security. At its heart is Kaspersky’s market-leading, advanced anti-malware
software, which constantly assesses threats and delivers automatic updates for
a rapid response to new threats.
There are separate web, device and applications controls and a
centralised management platform which makes it easy to administer security
tools across desktop, portable, mobile and virtual endpoints, providing
advanced visibility and IT security control for managers. IT security platform
in Korea delivers benefits for global operations
“In addition, we receive in-depth quarterly inspections by Kaspersky
technical engineers who check the status of entire network, review policies,
and investigate error logs to see if there are any underlying problems,” Mr Kim
added.
Results
Five years later, Hankook Tire is proud to renew its successful and
productive long-term relationship, describing Kaspersky’s anti-virus software
as “the global standard”.
“We particularly appreciate Kaspersky’s hacking sensing and deletion
as well as its worm-blocking capabilities. We always have ready access to help
and advice from Kaspersky’s experts, and that makes our job much easier,” Mr
Kim said.
“We’ve been working with Kaspersky for a long time now. We see them
as our partners, so communication between our two organizations is open and
supportive. We fully trust them to protect us and our interests.”
All information in this case
study is provided by Kaspersky Lab.