K-12 Cybersecurity - Top Internet Security Software

K-12 school districts increasingly leverage digital tools to enhance learning experiences and support back-office functions. Many districts now rely on cloud-based services and must support an ever-growing number of mobile and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices that are entering the network.

Given the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) stored on these networks, the digital learning infrastructure requires a solution that delivers true end-to-end integration. The Fortinet Security Fabric, backed by the E-rate-eligible FortiGate next-generation firewall (NGFW), enables K-12 school districts to secure their entire digital learning infrastructure across the entire attack surface.

FortiManager delivers complete visibility on a single pane of glass, while FortiAnalyzer provides centralized policy management. Additionally, FortiSIEM provides K-12 network security information and event management (SIEM) for automated response and remediation to prevent breaches before they occur. It uses a leading security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) engine to respond to threats by leveraging tools from a school’s existing environment.

The Security Fabric provides school districts with complete protection for both north-south and east-west traffic, with integrations that protect every network edge from endpoint to cloud. In addition, digital infrastructures are protected against both malicious insiders and students who aim to access inappropriate services or areas of the network.

Public school districts are often comprised of numerous campuses for elementary, middle, and high schools, and many private schools also host multiple locations. Each and every campus across the K-12 school district needs high-speed networking and internet security for schools to efficiently deliver digital learning tools and support administrative efficiencies. Further, lean IT and security departments need to support the network needs across all campuses—schools rarely have dedicated on-site IT personnel.

A Fortinet Secure SD-Branch solution can provide individual schools in a district with strong internet connectivity and comes with built-in internet security for schools to protect mobile and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices from threats. In addition, FortiGate Secure SD-WAN delivers a robust, integrated, and automated approach that helps constrained IT teams achieve centralized visibility, configuration, and security management needed across campuses. All of this can be achieved with minimal hardware and simple, zero-touch deployment.

Intent-based segmentation also applies consistent policies across dynamic network environments, ensuring students cannot stream movies, games, or other content at inappropriate times. Unified phone and voice communications can also be integrated as part of a complete security solution.

A primary responsibility of every K-12 school district is ensuring the physical safety of students. This includes physical safety during school-sponsored activities and sports, as well as potential criminal activity on campus. Ensuring student safety requires a state-of-the-art surveillance and communication system that seamlessly integrates with the network.

Fortinet provides single-pane-of-glass management for both physical and cybersecurity functions so K-12 school districts can easily access all of their systems in one platform. Fortinet unified physical security and communications solutions include connected phones, speaker systems, and cameras and video surveillance recorders.

Video surveillance from Fortinet offers multiple streaming options that can deliver a live feed straight to a mobile device while providing an instant overview of a school’s security posture in one dashboard. In addition, emerging video technologies enable facial recognition and weapons detection, allowing schools to implement a proactive physical security posture.

Given the amount of critical personally identifiable information (PII) stored on K-12 school district networks, along with the increasing number of students that need secure internet access during class, school districts must adhere to many compliance and regulation standards.

The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) were enacted to ensure students cannot access inappropriate content and are protected from cyber threats. FortiGate next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) deliver powerful web filtering and network segmentation to provide unified policies across dynamic network environments and meet these regulations.

Online safety is a top priority for parents of K-12 students, and regulations like CIPA and COPPA require robust web filtering and network segmentation. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) compliance is also a huge priority for K-12 schools. The Fortinet Security Fabric approach enables safety and compliance policies to be applied consistently across the network and for audit reporting to be automated.

FERPA protects student education records, and regulations such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are designed to keep PII secure.

With FortiManager, IT staff gain a single pane of glass for management and reporting tools to ensure schools consistently meet compliance standards. In addition, FortiAnalyzer delivers analytics-powered security and log management for stronger breach detection, while the FortiSIEM security information and event management solution provides automated response and remediation to help prevent breaches before they occur.