As schools become more technology driven and give laptops and tablets to students, the need to properly secure every endpoint on the school’s network becomes significantly more challenging. To best protect the administrative documents, student records, and personally identifiable information (PII) that a school houses, a strong endpoint protection service is needed, and every school needs a reliable IT consultant to aid in the deployment and maintenance of that service. Every center for education deserves a partner in IT that can help them bring security to every device, add new devices every school year, and promote healthy device hygiene to ensure safety.
Security on all Devices
Even if a student’s tablet doesn’t immediately appear to be an access point for hackers to steal information from the school’s network, a foothold on a single device is all bad actors need to begin gathering needed information for future attacks. Every endpoint is a potential attack vector for malicious actors, so it is critical that any device used on the school’s network has the proper endpoint protection in place. With the right endpoint protection, the school’s IT staff can gain valuable insight into when attacks happen, the extent of their damage, and immediate steps for remediation.
Scaling Up Protection
K-12 schools must accommodate hundreds of students beginning their education at the school while others graduate and no longer need their devices. As the number of students fluctuates year to year, schools will need endpoint protection that is easily deployable on new devices, so they can scale their technology needs as the student population changes over time. A school’s managed service provider (MSP) must also be able to help the school keep track of their licenses for each protected computer to ensure costs remain as expected. The right endpoint protection in conjunction with a strong IT consultant can allow schools to be more agile in their use of technology without sacrificing security in the long run.
Enforcing Device Updates
A strong endpoint protection service will be able to protect and monitor student devices from outside threats while also ensuring each device has installed the latest security updates. With a large student body, it can become extremely difficult to ensure every device is up to date, so schools need endpoint protection that can enforce device hygiene. This way, malicious actors won’t be able to access the school’s network by using an exploit that has already been patched out.
Summary
Endpoint protection provides a crucial layer of protection for the devices used at a school, and the education sector can help improve its cybersecurity outcomes by implementing layered protection for all devices students and teachers use. However, this is not easily done, even with a school’s full IT staff. Schools should look into working with a local IT consultant who can help deploy, monitor, and maintain security solutions that keep students safe while they learn.
