KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse
Success Story and Testimonial

KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse

deviceTRUST ensures that our staff can work securely, even from home offices. Risks that arise through cyberattacks can be successfully minimized in this way.

Dominik Kletke
IT Infrastructure & Architecture
KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse

deviceTRUST enables secure work – even in home offices

Hybrid work situation of insurance staff and local administrators rendered simpler, more secure, and more transparent with contextual platform

Kaufmännische Krankenkasse (KKH) is one of the leading statutory health insurance companies in Germany. Accordingly, requirements are high when it comes to the handling of the personal health data of insured individuals. In order to guarantee an optimal security standard at all times, to protect system access for local administrators to the maximum extent, and to make remote work as easy as possible, Dominik Kletke, a member of staff in the IT Infrastructure & Architecture team at KKH, started to search for a suitable software solution.

Protection against Trojans and rash actions

In a large organization with some 4,000 employees who deal with information either directly or indirectly that has to comply with the highest data protection requirements, data security is the top priority. Consequently, the company tries to act in a way that is as forward-looking as possible. In 2019, a year in which cyberattacks increased disproportionately, the decision was taken at KKH to introduce an additional level of security. Dominik Kletke: “We want to better safeguard users with increased privileges. It was also clear to us that the handling of USB sticks and DVDs, which were used for data exchange, could become critical. For that reason, we wanted to introduce a system that safeguards such handling accordingly.” The company’s secondary wish was to be able to manage access to such removable media in a group-based manner via Active Directory to ensure further data protection.

In addition to these plans, the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic had to be considered at the start of 2020. Specifically, as many insurance employees as possible were to work from home within the shortest period of time. This created an extremely hybrid system and work situation. Access to the company network and so to KKH resources had to be safeguarded through the verification of up-to-dateness and the existence of various security features on the connecting end devices. Around 3,200 users in the service centers and home offices, as well as some 800 office desks in the main administrative building, were affected by this situation.

The primary aim in the launch of deviceTRUST was to safeguard user accounts with heightened privileges as well as home office workstations. We have quickly and successfully achieved this goal.

Dominik Kletke, IT Infrastructure & Architecture
KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse

Prevention is better than a cure

deviceTRUST was able to win through in a tendering procedure held by KKH. It offers the best opportunity to quickly, productively, and effectively improve the situation and minimize risks. “The decisive argument in favor of deviceTRUST was its seamless integration into the existing infrastructure. The fact that you could proceed directly through Active Directory was crucial for us, as it opened up interesting options,” Kletke recalls. And so it came about that he implemented deviceTRUST in a concerted campaign, in his capacity as head of the launch, alongside colleagues who are responsible for Active Directory and Citrix. Initially, almost 800 fat clients and over 200 notebooks were fitted out with it. The rollout through Citrix took place gradually, meaning that, as of early summer, all devices belonging to over 4,000 staff members were safeguarded through deviceTRUST.

While the employees who had to continue working in the main administrative building despite the pandemic were provided for first, the notebooks of home office workers had to be equipped subsequently. Since that point, they have been able to access all resources of relevance to them via secure data access. This works by deviceTRUST collating and updating contextual information – both locally and remotely. Via two-factor authentication (hardware and software token), KKH employees can quickly, conveniently, and securely access everything that they need to ensure productive work. Kletke: “deviceTRUST has helped us to meet the security requirements that hybrid work involves. Our split organization is functioning optimally. This means that we are equipped for the future, as remote work is set to remain a permanent element even after the pandemic.”

deviceTRUST ensures that our staff can work securely, even from home offices. Risks that arise through cyberattacks can be successfully minimized in this way.

Dominik Kletke, IT Infrastructure & Architecture
KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse

Increased security and transparency, plus better troubleshooting

Alongside the reduction of risks and full integration, it is pleasing that user feedback on deviceTRUST has also been good. Administrators welcome the fact that they can react more quickly to any problems thanks to monitoring options and event logging. They also expect support requests to decline in the long term, as more and more errors can be prevented in advance.

In turn, users are happy not to have to worry about data security. As the system issues a warning in the event of any danger, they can actively prevent potential cyberattacks. “Employees are delighted to have a security system like deviceTRUST and the associated protection of sensitive data,” reports Kletke, detailing the positive feedback received on deviceTRUST. He is even able to envisage a scenario in which the added value and effects are so wide-reaching that old solutions can be dispensed with in the long term. “So, alongside the security improvements, we might even be able to save some money.”

I can warmly recommend deviceTRUST to other companies – not least due to our positive experience. Anyone who operates digital workspaces should use deviceTRUST in my opinion, as it is an investment that is worthwhile and quickly pays for itself.

Dominik Kletke, IT Infrastructure & Architecture
KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse

About KKH Käufmännische Krankenkasse

With over 1.6 million insured persons, Kaufmännische Krankenkasse (KKH) is one of the largest statutory health insurance companies in Germany. KKH has a broad range of insurance offers and supports insured persons with the development of a health-promoting lifestyle. Alongside traditional insurance benefits, KKH’s offers include individual health coaching by telephone to support therapeutic measures. In over 110 service centers in all German states, around 3,900 employees provide advice and assistance for insured persons. The company has its headquarters in Hanover. More at: www.kkh.de

KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse

kkh.de

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