U.S. Department of Defense taps Trellix to defend against zero-day email threats

Trellix announced today the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Zero Day Network Defense Program has selected Trellix to protect more than 4 million email inboxes across the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Building on a nearly two-decade-long relationship with DISA, Trellix email protection advances the agency’s Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) adoption and will enable it to migrate on-premises infrastructure to the cloud.

Zero-day attacks are those exploited by cybercriminals before known malicious markers or vulnerabilities have been identified and where protections or patches are not yet deployed. Attackers use sophisticated phishing, spear-phishing, and malicious attachments to exploit zero-day attacks via email, and the growing use of GenAI by cybercriminals makes email attacks easier to develop, plan, and execute at scale.

“DISA supports DoD agencies in better conducting their missions while leading technology best practices and adoption across U.S. government agencies,” said Gareth Maclachlan, Networking and Collaboration Security General Manager, Trellix. “Without secure email solutions, organizations face the growing threat of sophisticated actors entering their infrastructure to conduct espionage, steal or damage data. We’ve seen this happen with Microsoft and the findings in the Cyber Safety Review Board report. Protection for unknown email threats is imperative for all organizations, and even more critical for the agencies protecting national security.”

The flexible email security solution from Trellix includes advanced integrations with Microsoft Office 365 and third-party cybersecurity tools, enhancing DoD investments while meeting stringent DoD security requirements, including FedRAMP High and IL5 certification. With Trellix Email Security, the DoD has the following benefits:

• Improved detection and prevention of nation-state attacks: Industry-leading hyper automated detection stops more advanced persistent and nation-state threats than any other offering on the market. Along with consistent visibility and telemetry into attacker campaigns, the DoD is empowered with threat intelligence required to inform future email security plans and investments.
• Reduced cost and maintenance: Cloud migration provides cost savings and ease of maintenance while ensuring the DoD has access to a flexible solution capable of operating in the cloud or on-premises.
• Accelerated ZTA compliance: ZTA is a security model assuming users and devices inside and outside an organization’s network have been breached and cannot be trusted. The Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity sets out to advance the nation’s cybersecurity posture through the adoption of ZTA compliant technology across the Federal Government. Trellix Email Security supports the tenants of ZTA by ensuring protection against zero-day email attacks.

Learn more about Trellix solutions for the public sector here.