Adapting to the ever-changing technological environment and to professional use cases such as remote workers and the use of cloud applications.

Introduction

Founded in 1994, Paprec Group is France’s leading independent recycler. Over the years, the company has grown to be a specialist in the full waste management chain. Paprec has a workforce of 8,500 employees, with 2,300 workstations spread over more than 200 sites in France and Switzerland. The company headquarters are located in Paris, La Courneuve, and Saint-Herblain, and regional IT teams are also based in Lyon, Toulouse, and Nantes.

Challenges

At the outset, Paprec had deployed an endpoint security solution provided by Forcepoint. Paprec was not compelled to hold any specific IT security certifications but wanted to have a foundational level of user security that met the requirements of an industrial environment.

The company had previously selected a Forcepoint cloud-based anti-spam solution implemented in 2007 to control unsolicited mail, protect users, and increase internal awareness of cyber threats.

Pierre Salavera, Paprec Group CISO, has witnessed the evolving needs of the enterprise. Paprec found itself increasingly concerned with files that exited the company systems by way of removable devices, email, and the cloud. The company sought a solution to trace, qualify, and control the flow of data to prevent the theft or loss of sensitive documents. The solution had to comply with the specifics of each role so as not to hinder employees in their daily tasks. The IT team members were insistent on finding a customizable solution. One that would adapt to the ever-changing technological environment and to professional use cases such as remote workers and the use of cloud applications. 

In addition to technical requirements, stakeholders were committed to developing user awareness and to the introduction of best practices, especially in terms of data protection.

Solutions

Following a survey of competitive solutions, Paprec chose the hybrid Forcepoint DLP solution. Their teams recognized it as the easiest to configure and the most comprehensive on the market.

Satisfaction with the anti-spam solution implemented in 2007 motivated Paprec to continue to call upon Forcepoint’s expertise to qualify and secure corporate data across terminals, networks, and the cloud.

Forcepoint DLP enables global data protection and allows customers to protect sensitive data against insider threats, compromised users with stolen credentials, and accidental data loss. The customer chose a hybrid DLP solution, which is more customizable and seemed to be the most appropriate response to the company’s needs and capabilities. The implementation of a DLP solution requires a full understanding of the data landscape in order to classify and precisely identify the information that needs to be monitored.

Hybrid DLP tools are more complex than cloud tools, and the teams were aware of the length of time they would need to implement the solution. Deployment occurred in several stages over a total period of 18 months. The client was able to monitor data after just two weeks. It took several months for complete detection of the entire data pool. They were then able to implement a targeted blocking policy within a few weeks. The tool now allows monitoring of data flows both inside and outside the corporate network, as well as over removable devices. Paprec also used the Forcepoint solution functionality to implement 1,000 secure and traceable USB keys with their own firmware.

Results

Paprec’s IT services are extremely satisfied with the results and technical support they received from Forcepoint. The Forcepoint DLP solution proved itself to the management committee by meeting their expectations for data control and protection. Paprec now has improved visibility on data flows that they did not think was possible. Thanks to the Forcepoint tool, Paprec can now monitor and control the data that passes through secure USB drives with firmware. These are the only removable devices for which copies are allowed within the company.

Paprec would gladly recommend the Forcepoint solution to companies with similar needs. Their recommendation would be to choose the right solution for business needs (cloud or hybrid) but also according to capacity in terms of staffing and workload to benefit from the best vendor support.