As with every other facet of our lives, technology has dramatically revolutionized the world of education. In particular, the how and where learning occurs has been rapidly transformed and these changes have only accelerated. While the use of smartphones and laptops in classroom environments may have been frowned upon just a decade earlier, K-12 education spaces are now increasingly embracing remote and hybrid learning models and using technology to aid in curriculum. With these changes have come unprecedented challenges on the cybersecurity side that demand holistic yet cost-effective solutions to protect and enable students and faculty.

Let's look at the challenges faced in the K-12 environment and where solutions across SonicWall's ecosystem can enable a layered security approach to connect and secure modern learning.

Lack of Cybersecurity Expertise and Limited Resources

K-12 schools can be especially vulnerable to threat actors who, with increasing sophistication, are targeting schools. As threats become more advanced and persistent, rising security costs often plague K-12 organizations that are already struggling with limited resources. Many school districts have only a few people who are responsible for the IT needs of hundreds of students and faculty. These IT teams often lack the essential cybersecurity expertise needed to configure and maintain security posture across the many devices and accounts accessed across school districts.

Increased Attack Surfaces

As schools have pivoted to quickly adopting new technologies and more devices to support remote learning, attack surfaces have continued to increase. Chromebooks are taken to and from schools. Individual students, teachers and parents are simultaneously creating accounts to access school resources and networks. Substitute teachers need to be granted quick access to networks, resources and accounts frequently. This expansion of attack surfaces is inevitably leading to unauthorized access to school networks, insufficient visibility into network traffic and potential breaches or ransomware attacks.

Supporting Both In-Person and Virtual Learning

As schools have transitioned to supporting both in-person and virtual learning environments, the connectivity and security requirements needed to enable both have become increasingly complex. For students to learn on campuses, administrators need to juggle the responsibilities of ensuring reliable and fast wireless access to the internet and any school resources. At the same time, for virtual learning students and faculty need to remotely access resources while also being kept safe from threats and inappropriate content off school networks. Managing and monitoring both users that are on campus and remote is vital, yet difficult, with many security and networking solutions being siloed.

Compliance with CIPA

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires schools that receive federal E-rate discounts to meet several requirements. At the most basic level, CIPA requires the implementation of a content filtering tool to block access to obscene content online. Today, the many devices that are taken to and from campus present a challenge as traditional network level content filtering services are often inadequate and are needed at the endpoint as well.

SonicWall Protects Schools at Every Layer of Security

Given these challenges, it's clear that a layered security approach is key to securing K-12 environments and enabling modern learning. Siloed tools are no longer adequate and may eventually become a liability rather than an asset for IT teams to manage. SonicWall partners with school districts to provide a layered security approach to ensure the defenses needed in today's threat landscape while also enabling secure access to resources anywhere and anytime. SonicWall's ecosystem includes cost-effective and accessible security and networking solutions at all layers.

From firewalls, endpoint security, switches, access points and MDR offerings, here is how SonicWall's products provide a layered defense to enable learning while protecting faculty, students and staff whether they're learning on campus or from home:

• SonicWall's Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) come in a variety of scalable options that provide the security, control and visibility needed to maintain an effective cybersecurity posture all at a cost that protects limited budgets.
• At the endpoint, Capture Client is an easy-to-deploy, endpoint security agent powered by a dual-engine that provides a layered defense with protection, detection and response tools bundled in one agent.
• SonicWall Managed Extended Detection and Response (XDR) is our solution that provides a 24/7/365 SOC staffed by cybersecurity experts to manage tools and critical alerts on any day at any hour of the day. This service provides comprehensive protection and responses against a wide range of cyber threats that schools can be especially vulnerable to and alleviates pressure on already strained IT teams with top-of-line security experts.
• With SonicWave Access Points (APs), schools can ensure fast and secure internet access across campus, facilitating seamless in-person learning experiences. These provide performance, range, reliability and built-in security features for an enhanced learning experience as the number of connected devices expands in a K-12 environment.
• SonicWall Switches enable high-speed switching which secures connectivity for modern classrooms. They seamlessly integrate with the SonicWall ecosystem to provide a unified security posture while ensuring the best user experiences.

* Both SonicWall NGFWs and Capture Client have content filtering features bundled seamlessly without additional cost to make sure your security infrastructure is compliant with CIPA regulations. For devices that are taken home, Capture Client enables content filtering at the endpoint to restrict access to dangerous websites and maintain compliance both in and out of schools.

SonicWall: Your Partner in Learning

The integration of technology has fundamentally changed the learning landscape. These changes bring both opportunities and challenges for K-12 institutions. As schools implement hybrid and remote learning models, they face increased cybersecurity risks that demand robust, cost-effective solutions. By partnering with SonicWall and taking advantage of our comprehensive suite of security products, schools district administrators are empowered to create a continuously safe, flexible and conducive digital learning environment, ensuring that students and faculty are protected and supported no matter where they are learning from.

Learn more about SonicWall's K-12 solutions here.