Johannesburg, 07 Nov 2011
School network administrators have ever-increasing threats to combat, both from internal and external sources. The enormous popularity of Web 2.0 applications (like Facebook and Twitter), the potential for data leaks, and the emergence of cyber-bullying have intensified the need for next-generation tools that can handle the harsh reality of today's security landscape.
High School Garsfontein required an education solution, allowing it to efficiently and comprehensively implement a wide-ranging network security strategy to keep its students safe. The requirements were to find an affordable product that is simple to deploy and maintain, help ensure compliance standards are met, and easily scale to accommodate growth.
“High School Garsfontein wants to ensure they do their best to provide all the latest technologies to students. The days of having access to a computer and working and sharing on a local network are far gone. Most of today's learning and interaction is done over the Internet. This also means students are exposed to the threats that come with the wider exposure and we need to manage this,” says Willie Voster from High School Garsfontein.
With the assistance of WatchGuard, an XTM Firewall Appliance was implemented at the school. WatchGuard education solutions provide a level of security and flexibility that allows schools to offer Internet access and network connectivity in a safe and controlled environment, while protecting confidential data.
Extensible threat management (XTM) security solutions from WatchGuard aggregate multiple security measures into a single, easily configurable solution. WatchGuard's XTM Firewalls protects school data while delivering reliable management, monitoring, logging, and reporting.
The purpose of implementing this security measure is to ensure that students can use the Internet without being exposed to the large amount of harmful content and threats. The WatchGuard XTM Firewall Appliance has the flexibility to protect users against all the newest network threats, and creates a safe and easy way for the students to interact with one another and to navigate the Internet safely.
By using a true Unified Threat Management (UTM) Appliance with features like WatchGuard's Application Control, the school is able to enforce who uses social network applications (like Facebook and Twitter) by selectively allowing, blocking, or restricting access to these applications by blocking network traffic based on source or destination.
It is critical that students are able to search for information on the World Wide Web without being exposed to harmful content. WatchGuard XTM Firewalls have built-in Safe Search enforcement. This feature overrides personal browser settings, making safe Web searching on your network a school policy rather than the student's choice.
The implementation of the WatchGuard XTM Firewall appliance will ensure that High School Garsfontein is protected against the biggest threats, namely spam, social network applications, network intrusion, viruses, and harmful Web content.
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