Windsor Suites Philadelphia Case Study

Fast Response to Help a Hotel in NeedIn the aftermath of a crippling cyber-attack, Deep Blue Communications is called in to diagnose and fix a network that is down.

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Case Study - Fast Response to Help a Hotel in Need

The ProblemIn April of 2015, the Windsor Suites Philadelphia’s Wi-

Fi network provider experienced a breach in security

caused by a lack of an installed firewall.

This breach brought down over 600 of its customers

across the United States.

Unfortunately, Windsor

Suites was one of these

customers.

Through no fault of their

own, the hotel and its

guests found themselves

cut off from the internet

and the rest of the business world.

About the PropertyThe Windsor Suites is a 24 story, 200 room lifestyle

hotel in the heart of Center City Philadelphia,

catering to both leisure and corporate guests.

Windsor offers a 24 hour business center, on-site

Hertz car rental office, over 1,500 square feet of

flexible meeting space, and free Wi-Fi.

For those in need of an extended stay or relocation

while on business, its 75 extended stay suites (30

days or more) enable long term guests to enjoy the

comforts and conveniences of home and office.

Each suite features a full kitchen, walk in closets,

pillow top mattresses, and Keurig k-cup coffee

maker.

Access to a seasonal rooftop pool with views of

the Philadelphia skyline, for rest or relaxation is

Executive Summary

The Windsor Suites of Philadelphia, having lost their

access to the internet due to an online cyber-attack on

their Wi-Fi Service provider, found itself in a mission

critical failure situation.

Deep Blue Communications was called in to diagnose

network issues, restore internet access, replace the

current network with an upgraded secure system, and

provide ongoing support.

All this needed to be expedited to enable business

operations to continue. Access and security was restored

in 3 days, installation of a new network for the hotel was

accomplished within 3 weeks.

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Case Study - Fast Response to Help a Hotel in Need

provided. With a complete fitness studio, restaurants

offering fine dining and room delivery, and laundry

services available on most floors, Windsor Suites truly

provides everything a business traveler requires.

Among all these amenities, the free Wi-Fi network is the

mission critical system that enables both guests and

hotel to carry out day-to-day business activities. Without

secure Wi-Fi the property would be crippled.

Solution: High Level ViewThe heart of the problem with the old system stemmed

from the fact that the Wi-Fi provider neglected to install a

unified threat management system. In layman’s terms, a

firewall.

A firewall controls the incoming and outgoing network

traffic based on an applied rule set. Without this, a network

is open to a broad range of malicious attacks and cyber

vandalism.

Deep Blue was able to remotely access the network,

decommission the compromised hardware, install a new

front end with firewall, and new Ruckus Wireless access

points. Restoration of the network averted thousands in

lost revenue.

Solution: DetailsAfter being contacted by the hotel and learning of

the situation, Deep Blue immediately utilized the

limited information available to remotely access the

hotel network, map it, and diagnose the problem. It

was determined the front end had been completely

compromised by hackers and rendered inoperable,

but the AP’s were functional. The front end would

need to be replaced immediately.

To provide a new secure front end and lock down

the network, Deep Blue

overnighted an enterprise

grade firewall/gateway to

control in/out traffic to the

network. This offered ultra-

high performance, deep

packet inspection and all-in-

one multi-threat protection

not only to block the

latest attack combinations

including intrusion attempts, viruses, worms, phishing,

spyware, spam and many other malware types

effectively, but also to secure remote access among

branch offices, partners and customers.

Also shipped was a Nomadix AG5800 gateway to allow

authorized users to login and prevent others from

gaining access to the network. Designed for medium-

to large-size venues, the scalability of the AG 5800

supports anywhere from 300 up to 4,000 simultaneous

devices.

With this equipment installed and the network

secured and stabilized, Deep Blue could now set out

to complete a network design and install a secure new

Wi-Fi network.

Network Access Points

Switch Firewall Internet

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Case Study - Fast Response to Help a Hotel in Need

Network installers were on site within 3 weeks with

state-of-the-art Ruckus R500 and R600 dual band

access points. These AP’s support up to 500 clients,

concurrent dual band (5Ghz/2.4Ghz) connectivity,

three-stream MIMO 3x3:3, and concurrent HD IPTV,

VoIP, and data; perfect for a hotel servicing today’s

business traveler.

Upon installation of this new secure network, Deep

Blue proceeded to integrate it with the hotel property

management system (PMS) enabling full business

functionality. To put the hotel into full compliance

with corporate brand standards and eliminate any

corporate auditory risk to the property, a new custom

login page was created and guest login instructions

were put in each room.

Deep Blue also implemented its complimentary

user survey program. This program prompts users

to rate a Wi-Fi network on a scale of 1 to 5, providing

transparency and valuable guest satisfaction

information to the hotel.

The network is currently supported by a level 3

support plan. This service includes a three tiered Wi-

Fi network support system ensuring users get help

quickly and efficiently. They handle issues from simple

to the complex such as assisting inexperienced

users, conference support, staff level support,

ISP and routing, non-PC device setup, real time

monitoring, and most importantly network

security.

The Results

Guests now not only get online, but are able to

stream video, and use all their

Wi-Fi enabled and smart devices.

Not only has the new network performed

to the hotel’s satisfaction, but it reports that

since April only one customer Wi-Fi survey has

scored less than 5 out of 5.

The hotel has a state-of-the-art infrastructure

ready for any technology they’d like to deploy.

Comments from the HotelWe chose Deep Blue as our Wireless Internet Service

Provider due to their track record of success with

major brands across the hospitality industry as well as

their responsive customer service.

Our property experienced a security breach of our

previous Wireless Service Provider’s Network, causing

a compromise of our system.

After speaking with account executive Rachel Feurer,

we were confident that a similar issue would not

be possible with

Deep Blue, due to

their secure network

configuration.

Now, more than two

months into our

relationship with Deep

Blue, we could not

be happier with the

quality of our now state-of-the-art wireless network, as

well as the level of customer service provided by the

entire Deep Blue Team.

The Conclusion

In today’s hostile online environment a managed

Wi-Fi service provider’s attention to security is

paramount. There will be unscrupulous actors ready

to take advantage of any vulnerability.

What happened to the Windsor Suites of

Philadelphia and over 600 other properties could

happen to any hotel whose Wi-Fi provider is not

compliant in security practices.

If security isn’t one of a Wi-Fi service provider’s key

one concerns, they’re leaving businesses open to

failure on a potentially catastrophic level.

Deep Blue Communications is a full service managed Wi-Fi provider to the hospitality, retail, and high user density markets. We design, install, and support Wi-Fi networks across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Providing 24/7/365 U.S. based help desk support to a portfolio of over 1,200 properties, Deep Blue maintains a superior level of customer support and active Wi-Fi network management.

Deep Blue’s passion for Wi-Fi drives it to continuously find innovative uses for Wi-Fi in areas of network monetization, business operations optimization, and elevated user experience.

Deep Blue Communications is preparing the way for a continuously connected world.

Deep Blue Communications7 Century Hill Drive • Latham, NY 12110 • 1-844-389-2718

sales@deepbluecommunications.cominfo.deepbluecommunications.com/engage

“We could not be happier with the quality of our now state-of-the-art wireless network, as well as the level of customer service.”

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