Data protection and secure, reliable IT infrastructure for Captor Therapeutics

The challenge

Captor Therapeutics manages vast amounts of computational data that require in-depth analysis. One of the project’s key points was to make that data highly available to the company’s specialists in the most convenient and rapid way.

Because the data is sensitive, unprocessed information had to be secured and backed up, together with all other network resources. Remote workers needed easy access to it, and backup and cloud storage had to become faster and more effective, with a better user experience.

The goals:

• Secure and back up unprocessed information and all other network resources.
• Ensure easy access to data for remote workers.
• Increase the speed and effectiveness of backup and cloud storage solutions, and improve the user experience.

What we did

• Designed and implemented the IT infrastructure.
• Secured critical access to key platforms, using additional authentication steps (2FA/MFA) where possible for all administrative accounts, with proper documentation for the client.
• Secured wireless networks, and separated the location of workloads and their backups.
• Rebuilt the corporate network, replacing core network equipment with high-end redundant devices and configuring connections and tunnels to key environments.
• Rebuilt the company’s VPN for remote access, with automatic granting and revoking of privileges.
• Rebuilt the virtualization environment with replication, so workloads can be brought back online within minutes after a disaster.
• Migrated the production environment to the cloud, and planned a migration to an external server room with a cost estimate.
• Ran Day 2 Operations, including network monitoring and optimization, IT support and IT advisory.

How we built it

The work went in four steps: security first, then remote access, then the shortcomings slowing the company down, and finally the cloud and day-to-day support.

1. Security for sensitive data We secured critical access to key platforms with 2FA/MFA for all administrative accounts, secured wireless networks, and separated the location of workloads and their backups. After changes to the backup system for critical services, backing up and restoring takes a few minutes.
2. Remote access A large part of the staff works remotely. We rebuilt the corporate network on high-end redundant devices, the VPN with automatic granting and revoking of privileges, and a virtualization environment with replication that brings workloads back online within minutes after a disaster.
3. Help desk, monitoring and documentation Together with the client we identified what was slowing development. We created a help desk with task queuing, reporting and scheduling; corporate network and service monitoring with notifications for the IT team; and documentation of services, network configurations and workloads, maintained on a regular basis.
4. Cloud and IT support We moved or duplicated environments in the cloud, connected to local environments through a secure VPN tunnel, and planned a migration to an external server room with a cost estimate. A CodiLime team provided permanent, day-to-day IT support.

The IT environment is now dispersed across office, cloud and data center, with redundant network devices and a comprehensive backup policy. CodiLime also supported the company on all technical topics, including verification of and advice on vendor solutions.

In the client’s words

Captor Therapeutics covers all aspects of early-stage drug development to deliver therapeutics for life-threatening and life-impairing diseases. We have a lot of sensitive data that needs to be processed and analyzed, which requires the IT operations to be like a well-oiled machine. Partnering with CodiLime ensured their full support for securing our network infrastructure, processing and protecting data, as well as smooth day-to-day operations. We're highly satisfied with this cooperation, as we can focus on our business and biotechnology.

Anna Pawluk, PhD, MBA, Head of Operations, Captor Therapeutics