Budget-Cut Blues and Network Security Necessities

What’s a school to do? Education budgets, especially in the United States, are being cut while network security threats continue to grow. School administrators and IT managers must meet growing compliance requirements, as well as face down the threats posed by students who have grown up on-line and know their way around network filters and blocks. Teachers, staff and students all have varying needs for access to the Internet and Web resources, but must also be monitored, provided secure connections and prevented from time-wasting or inappropriate sites. What’s a school to do?

For many schools, the first step is assessing their current network security configurations. Some points to consider when assessing the current network security system:

· Does the system achieve full compliance- such as with CIPA and other Federal and State requirements in the U.S. or BECTA in the U.K.?

· What reporting systems are in place? Efficient reporting functions can help save time and resources, reducing network security costs. How long does it take to run reports?

· Is it easy to monitor live logs as well as what’s been happening over the last 24 hours?

· Can you identify websites that might be potential time-wasters for staff and students, to save resources for those sites that promote instruction in the classroom?

Network security, when done right, should be a cost-saver. Likewise, when done right, network security is a productivity-booster. And, without a doubt, the risks and costs of an unsecured network are far greater than the expense of protection. So, while Benjamin Franklin (U.S. patriot, publisher, inventor, statesman and all-around intellectual) was famous for proving that lightning can strike a kite and shed light on the nature of electricity, he also famously said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Which does your school prefer? To be struck by lightning or to be protected from the viruses, worms, spies and dangers that lurk around the edge of your network? Network security is worth every penny, every pound and every dollar you invest in it.

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© Smoothwall, Inc., All rights reserved, 2011.

Sir Becta and Mr. Cipa - Comrades-in-Arms

The quote is attributed to George Bernard Shaw: “England and America are two countries separated by the same language.” (1)

Who knows? Perhaps it’s true. Nonetheless, there are many things that bind us together, despite Mr. Shaw’s rumination.

Here, for example, are two distinguished purveyors of Network Security, or if you will, Web Security. They are, Sir Becta and Mr. Cipa, similar in outlook, and contemporaneous in age. Both are focused on providing safety for school children and school administrators from the perils present on the Internet. Each is a creature of the legislative system of his respective country. In this case, Sir Becta, http://www.smoothwall.net/c/article/306/becta/ is British, borne of the House of Commons in 1998 (though recently destined to be "downsized" by budget cuts), while Mr. Cipa http://www.smoothwall.net/c/article/63/cipa/ is the offspring of the U.S. Congress, Senate and White House, circa 2000, and still very much his lively self, the law of the land (USA, that is).

Whether you ascribe to Mr. Shaw’s opinion or not about our two countries being separated by the English language, web security on both sides of the pond, especially for minors, is a vital part of society’s response to the threats and dangers lurking on the web. Responsible teachers, schools, administrators, boards of education, and the public (citizens like you and me) all form part of civil society’s efforts to protect children from pornography, pedophiles, cyber-bullying and other threats that can invade and threaten kids via an internet connection, a chat room, email or other means.

This is in essence what one British-born, American-bred company, Smoothwall, does for a living. We are both British and American, like Sir Becta and Mr. Cipa. And, we are committed in both countries and everywhere else we operate to providing our web filtering and network security solutions for the safety of minors, and the safety of everyone else, for that matter. So, rather than seeing the two countries as divided by a common language, Smoothwall sees the world and the Internet protected by a common set of network security solutions. Doesn’t it make sense to minimize our differences, and maximize our commonalities, for the benefit of our kids, and the protection of society?

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment. Care to converse or "tweet" with us? Please go to: http://www.Twitter.com/Smoothwall .

(1) source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_bernard_shaw_3.html)

©Smoothwall, Inc., All rights reserved, 2011.