Schools are frequent targets of cyber-attacks. In fact, the education sector is among the most targeted industries, facing a high volume of attacks. It is essential that schools prioritise strong IT security to protect sensitive data, ensure the safety of students and staff, and maintain the integrity of their educational systems. With increasing reliance on digital platforms for teaching, administration, and communication, schools handle vast amounts of personal information, including student records, staff details, and financial data. A breach in IT security could lead to identity theft, financial loss, or disruption of learning through ransomware attacks or system outages.
We partner RM for broadband and they naturally have all the required security accreditations such as ISO2700 and Cyber Essentials. Since they have been our broadband partner, they have won and been nominated for numerous awards. This includes winning Best Cyber Security at the ISP Awards.
I have provided a high-level overview of some our security features that we offer with HFL Broadband. It’s probably not a good idea to go into too much detail in the public domain so there are lots of things that happen behind the scenes, where it is not appropriate for me to elaborate on.
In partnership with RM, we provide:
IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) –This scans all inbound/outbound traffic via the Internet, spotting and blocking any attacks that may try to exploit vulnerabilities in Internet facing systems (such as web sites).
In-line AV/Anti-malware checking – As with IPS, this scans all traffic coming via the Internet. However, rather than blocking attempts to exploit vulnerabilities this blocks viruses and malware that may be being accessed and downloaded by students or staff from the Internet. For example whereby users have clicked on dodgy links within an email they have received, the security features will block viruses or malware being downloaded.
Protective Domain Name System (PDNS) – The National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) service is automatically turned on for all schools. This restricts access to known malicious or suspicious online websites that are known to host malware, ransomware, viruses, and other cyber security threats.
DDoS protection – The core network and all customer connections are protected by a cloud-based DDoS mitigation system. High volume DDoS attacks which would overwhelm any broadband connection are redirected to a scrubbing centre where attack traffic is dropped before clean traffic is returned to ensure normal operation is unaffected
Proactive partnerships – HFL liaises with the NCSC and receives alerts detailing any security vulnerabilities. When this occurs, HFL immediately contact the school in question.