Utilities across the country are scrambling to implement the most powerful defenses against cyber terrorists and potentially debilitating domestic terrorist attacks. At Peoples Energy Corp. (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), the scenario is no different. The Peoples Energy Information Technology Services (ITS) Division administers and maintains the corporation's technical infrastructure and business applications, including communication connectivity and cyber security. Though computer security was paramount, the group's already overburdened staff had limited time to devote to around-the-clock monitoring of potential security breaches. “Examining system logs to identify intrusions after the fact was difficult and extremely time-consuming,” said Joe Gurga, information security manager at Peoples Energy.

Peoples Energy realized that it needed to explore new options for developing a comprehensive security plan. The company decided to outsource its security monitoring and management. In doing so, Peoples Energy ITS chose to turn security over to an external full-time team of experts, while freeing up its own IT staff to work on other mission-critical projects.

However, choosing a provider who could understand and meet the company's needs wasn't a simple process. Over the course of a few years, Peoples Energy acquired the services of two different companies to monitor its firewalls and event logs. Unfortunately, neither of the companies fit the bill. The first provider lacked the depth of knowledge to understand Peoples computing environment and security needs. The second provider controlled administration too rigidly by writing strict rules that couldn't be modified.

In March 2002, Peoples Energy selected Symantec as its partner, using Symantec's 24×7 Managed Security Services to monitor its firewalls and IDS, and manage its IDS.

One of the primary drivers of Peoples Energy's decision to select a managed security services provider was internal resources — both human and capital. “If we were to do this internally, the cost of the additional individuals and training would exceed the cost of what we're paying Symantec,” said Gurga. Symantec has the capability and resources to sift through the massive amount of security data pouring in every hour, every day, to identify serious threats to the company. The benefit is clear — an intrusion that shut down the business or put confidential information in the wrong hands would have enormous cost implications. By outsourcing to Symantec, Peoples Energy relies on a team of security experts and allows its own IT staff to focus on other areas.
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