April 2008 — News
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Taxing the System
"It's a unified platform," said Yin. The new release also includes the ability to scan Web site elements for viruses in real time and act quickly to avoid any spyware or malware imbedded in the site. About 5,000 organizations are currently using the platform--35 percent of which are in the educational field--and range in size from 50 to 50,000 users.The upgrade to the new appliance went smoothly for Poway USD, which backed up its existing system, restored it to the new one, and resumed its security operations. "A few quick changes, and we were back in business," said Ludwig. The district utilizes a feature that maintains antivirus protection at the firewall, effectively blocking "everything that tries to come in the door," said Ludwig.
At its simplest, the product tracks who is doing what online while blocking and unblocking sites as its sees fit, based on the criteria set forth by the school district. It also creates an archive, or "trail," of that activity--something Ludwig has used more than once to show parents what their children are doing online. "They can call us and ask what Johnny was doing online between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon," Ludwig explained, "and we can get that information quickly and present it to them."
The system also allows the district to authenticate its users and enables certain ones (such as teachers or administrators) to override the criteria and access sites that students cannot. If, for example, a health teacher is putting together a lesson plan on breast cancer and wants to view a YouTube video on the topic, he or she can override the system for a time period that ranges from five minutes to eight hours. "This feature saves us a ton of time," said Ludwig, "because I no longer get calls from teachers saying, 'I have a lesson I can't teach because you are blocking me.'"
Along with the initial hardware investment, USD pays about $2,500 a year in subscription fees that cover hourly database updates that are "pushed out" to the appliances, according to Yin, who singles out school districts as very likely candidates for such security options. "Unlike employees, students spend a lot of time trying to get around stuff that they're not supposed to get around," Yin said. "They tax the system the most, and it makes engineers' jobs much more complex than in the commercial environment."
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About the author: Bridget McCrea is a business and technology writer in Clearwater, FL. She can be reached at bridgetmc@earthlink.net.
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