SonicWall Solutions for Education

Keeping Schools Safe and Secure

Easy-to-use, cost-effective security solutions allow schools to protect their networks and comply with government regulations without having to integrate separate devices and software. The Internet enhances the educational environment by bringing students opportunities for learning they wouldn't otherwise have, while also bringing substantial benefits to the school administration. SonicWall's solutions provide access to the Internet while protecting school networks from malware and hackers, while also stopping access to inappropriate or offensive content.

Keeping a Step Ahead of Attackers

Besides outside attackers determined to break into your school system’s network, internal attacks are also a constant threat. The students themselves, perhaps even unintentionally, can open a back door to attack by using unauthorized tools such as peer-to-peer music sharing applications or instant messaging. In addition to keeping dangerous content out of your system, SonicWall can also be used to keep a tight control over usage of these applications.

Keeping a step ahead of attackers is necessary to protect the students, and the network itself. And it’s also become a necessary part of compliance. The No Child Left Behind Act calls for reporting and accountability, and as a result, schools are starting to rely on data warehouses to hold sensitive student information. And the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) calls for all schools to install Web filtering technology. This filtering technology not only protects young people from offensive, exploitative or otherwise dangerous material, it also protects your network from attack. Many of the sites that are blocked at the source not only host material that may be offensive, they also host malware and spyware that can easily infiltrate your system.

SonicWall Solutions For Education

SonicWall solutions for education target a wide range of educational environments, with solutions tailored to smaller schools and larger districts alike. Content filtering, anti-virus and intrusion prevention answers the need to ensure that all content is safe, secure, and free from offensive material. Those services are integrated into the SonicWall security appliance with a unified management system, effectively removing a major management burden from your already overworked IT staff.

Comprehensive and easy to understand reporting is a vital part of the educational IT system, particularly when compliance with various state and federal regulations is absolutely essential. The integrated Global Management System (GMS) can be used to manage your entire district’s security system from a single location. Additionally, ViewPoint reporting software generates graphical reports, and can be used for demonstrating CIPA compliance and fine-tuning security policies as needed.

Secure Content Management

SonicWall’s content filtering solutions are highly accurate as well as affordable, and are well-suited to schools and school districts of any size. Content filtering runs on all SonicWall security appliances, featuring a constantly updated database of categorized Web sites. Dynamic onboard rating systems offer additional control, as does the ability to set controls for use of instant messaging, P2P and other potentially harmful applications. Staff, and sometimes students, require e-mail access, and SonicWall’s Email Security solution keeps SPAM, phishing, and viruses in check and away from your school’s networks.

SonicWall has two solutions for secure content management in the schools. The SonicWall Content Filtering Service (CFS) is suited to small and mid-sized schools and districts that require a cost-effective solution with minimal administration required. Because it requires no additional hardware or software, it is able to deliver strong, enterprise-class protection at an affordable price. The SonicWall Content Security Manager (CSM) Series delivers complete content security management, combining Internet content management with dynamic gateway anti-virus and anti-spyware. The CSM Series is an appliance-based gateway security and content filtering solution that incorporates real-time gateway anti-virus, anti-spyware and intrusion protection. The CSM appliance integrates behind any firewall, and can receive up-to-the-minute signature updates for real-time protection.