Rapid7 > Case Studies > Rapid7 Nexpose® and Metasploit® “Make Life Easier” at Wiltshire Council

Rapid7 Nexpose® and Metasploit® “Make Life Easier” at Wiltshire Council

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

Europe

Country

United Kingdom

Product

Rapid7 Nexpose
Metasploit

Tech Stack

Penetration Testing Tools
Vulnerability Management Solutions

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Customer Satisfaction
Digital Expertise
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Application Security
Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Use Cases

Intrusion Detection Systems
Regulatory Compliance Monitoring
Remote Control

Services

System Integration
Training

About The Customer

Wiltshire Council is a unitary council established in 2009, responsible for managing and protecting the personal information of its residents. With over 5,000 employees, the council provides support, maintenance, and strategic advice to more than 350 diverse services. Steve Grieshaber, the acting head of service, IT infrastructure, plays a crucial role in ensuring the IT service is both efficient and effective. The council's IT infrastructure is scrutinized at the highest level, making it essential to have robust security measures in place. The council's website is www.wiltshire.gov.uk.

The Challenge

Wiltshire Council, a unitary council established in 2009, faced the challenge of managing and protecting the personal information of its residents. With over 5,000 employees and more than 350 diverse services, the council needed an efficient and effective IT service to support, maintain, and provide strategic advice. Annual penetration tests were part of the compliance mandates, and the council needed a solution that could run pen tests all year round. Additionally, the council required a vulnerability management solution that could provide detailed and actionable reporting to help remediate risks in the environment.

The Solution

Wiltshire Council implemented Rapid7 Nexpose and Metasploit to address their security challenges. Steve Grieshaber, who was enrolled in a certified ethical hacking course, became familiar with Metasploit and recognized its benefits for penetration testing. Nexpose was evaluated for its vulnerability management capabilities, and its interface and detailed reporting stood out. The integration of Nexpose and Metasploit allowed the council to run scans and penetration tests efficiently. The reporting functionality of Nexpose significantly reduced the time required to review findings, from three to four months to just days. The intuitive dashboard and the ability to run specific scans quickly, such as for the Heartbleed vulnerability, further enhanced the council's security operations.

Operational Impact

The integration of Nexpose and Metasploit allowed Wiltshire Council to run scans and penetration tests efficiently, saving significant time.
The reporting functionality of Nexpose reduced the time required to review findings from three to four months to just days.
The intuitive dashboard of Nexpose made it easy for the team to access information and run specific scans quickly.
The ability to quickly determine whether a vulnerability is a false positive improved the council's security operations.
The implementation of Nexpose and Metasploit provided powerful evidence of the council's enhanced security measures to the senior management team.

Quantitative Benefit

The time required to review findings was reduced from three to four months to just days.
The process of mitigating the Heartbleed vulnerability took around 30 minutes from start to finish.