The Education Executive has published an interesting article summarising the findings of a survey of 1096 education employees on the use of digital technology within the education sector, carried out by Aruba, a division of the HP group of companies

64% of those surveyed said that digital technology improvements had been made in the last year, such as better connectivity, and as a direct consequence, 74% reported that productivity improved, 65% saw an improvement in wellbeing and 74% felt that it helped with developing new skills.

However, on the flip-side to this positive news is that nearly half (49%) of those questioned rarely consider the risks of working online or thought about cyber security. Although 91% agreed that cyber security was important.

Can you work smarter and stay safe?

You can’t ignore digital technology and you want the best for your school or college, particularly if it improves productivity and wellbeing.

Opening up your wireless network to staff and students or allowing personal devices and laptops to be used brings many advantages and with the right security culture in place, you can keep your networks safe.

We support many clients within the education sector through digital technology improvements and work hand in hand with them to develop an integrated approach to maintaining an effective security culture to ensure their site networks remain safe and secure.

Things to consider:

• A managed firewall and antivirus – to restrict access and maintain control over what people can browse
• Staff training – to raise awareness of cyber security risks, particularly with emails containing suspect links and attachments
• Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) – to defend against wireless threats
• Internet monitoring tools – to give you actionable visibly into student and staff usage

If you are considering making improvements to your connectivity and
would like any help or advice, we are here to help.
Please contact us on 02476 867 422 or request a callback.