NetMAX Customer Stories

NetMAX Software Steps Up Security for Patient Records

NetMAX Firewall Professional Suite Eliminates Server Crashes for Mental Health Facilities

Situation

The Cobb County Community Services Board and the Douglas County Community Services Board (Cobb and Douglas CSB) in the greater Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area provide mental health, developmental disability and substance abuse services to county residents. More than 12,000 people were served in 2002 through a contract with the State of Georgia and through Medicaid, Medicare, Cobb County and Douglas County reimbursement, vocational rehabilitation, grants and private pay.

In 2001, Cobb and Douglas CSB faced stiffer security requirements for electronic patient records through the enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. For the first time, guidelines were established for electronic transmissions and patient record access, and these included stricter control requirements for any organization maintaining sensitive patient health data.

Cobb and Douglas CSB responded to HIPAA mandates by developing windows based software unique to the behavioral healthcare industry. Known as CADIS , it provides integrated security for the organization's online medical records and is deployed via Citrix. In conjunction with this, the organization needed a secure firewall for its outward-facing servers to complement Citrix's built-in security for its internal systems.

First Steps

“We knew that we wanted to build the best possible environment for our system, and we were already sold on using Linux,” commented Scott Griffith, Cobb and Douglas CSB programmer. “We were completely open to either a hardware /software product or just software. A consultant recommended that we try a firewall appliance at a cost of about $4,000. Unfortunately, only three months after purchase, it suffered from severe overheating problems that caused the system to regularly crash.”

Griffith was unable to resolve these problems through technical support and began to consider alternatives. “But we certainly didn't have another $4,000 to spend,” he said. When browsing at a local computer retail outlet in July 2001, he noticed the NetMAX Firewall. “It was the only Linux-based firewall software on the market at the time, and for the low price of $79, I was willing to take a gamble.”

He was skeptical, however, so he installed NetMAX on an old white box PC…the worst hardware he had in-house at the time. “Was I very surprised when NetMAX did exactly what it said it would do,” he said.

NetMAX software, including NetMAX Professional, NetMAX VPN Suite and NetMAX Firewall, includes proven applications such as the popular Apache web server and Sendmail email server, and the full power of a Linux operating system based on the distribution of Red Hat Linux. It simplifies the setup of a fully functioning web, email and FTP server that is platform agnostic, allowing for shared files and printers between Microsoft® Windows®, Apple® Macintosh and Unix clients. In addition to its ability to monitor web and email server access, track network web browsing and block unwanted email, NetMAX Professional enables users to host multiple domains on a single IP address – an important feature for small business owners and other consumers wanting to host more than one web site while keeping their costs as low as possible.

NetMAX at Cobb and Douglas CSB

Today, Cobb and Douglas CSB services up to 500 clients and operates around the clock with on-demand patient screening and a 24-hour crisis line. On any given day, more than 300 people access patient records; there are as many as 100 employees online simultaneously on an average day. To facilitate this traffic, Griffith depends on the reliability of NetMAX.

“I think one of the more surprising features of NetMAX has been its stability,” he explained. “I really don't want to spend any more time on firewalls than I need to. Basically, I turn them on, check the monitors every so often and that's it.” He added that since there are just four employees in the entire MIS dept at the agency, he appreciates the fact that NetMAX is easy to use and requires so little maintenance.

Since 2001, Griffith has upgraded the original NetMAX Firewall to the NetMAX Firewall ProSuite and installed it on better hardware. He now uses two NetMAX-loaded servers to pitch off any Internet request that doesn't originate through the Citrix platform via two ports. Additionally, he relocated the servers and other network hardware to a new office, approximately 10 miles from Cobb and Douglas CSB's nearest mental health facility.

These improvements to the Cobb and Douglas CSB system paid off recently when NetMAX alerted Griffith to some unauthorized activity on the firewall. “We initially overlooked an open block of ports into the system, and a crawling worm virus type of spyware slipped onto the firewall,” he said. “NetMAX helped us catch this immediately. A message popped up on the console as the spyware was activated and we were able to reinstall the firewall and close any remaining holes.”

Thanks in part to NetMAX software, Griffith is successfully managing the network security for a multi-county network with ease, even within the more stringent guidelines for healthcare organizations.

Have an opinion about NetMAX you'd like to share with us? We would very much like to hear from you - especially about how you use NetMAX and Linux in your business. You can contribute your input to the NetMAX Forum, or to our general NetMAX contact form!

Let us know about your likes, dislikes, and general comments. We are especially interested in the type of additions to NetMAX Server you would like to see as we continue to develop the NetMAX Product Line.