The ability to use multiple passphrases on a single Service Set Identifier (SSID) has been in place for more than a decade; since that time, this method of access has grown in popularity and has seen increasing adoption from different Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Vendors.
Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) underpins most of these existing solutions. However, weaknesses with WPA2, coupled with the inability of WPA2 to operate on the 6GHz frequency, necessitate alternative solutions.
In the whitepaper below, Lee Wright, wireless engineer at Redway Networks examines both standards-based implementations of WPA2 and proprietary implementations of Multiple Pre-Shared Key (PSK) solutions using WPA2. Afterwards, the newer successor to WPA2, Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3), is examined, assessing why it is much more challenging to implement a multiple PSK solution using WPA3.
Lastly, this paper introduces an alternative solution to multiple PSK that provides security improvements over WPA2 and is compatible with 6GHz.
Please click on the image below to view the whitepaper.
Cyber Security is a top priority for small and medium businesses, who can no longer get by with standard solutions. SMBs need industry-leading protection. But a holistic SMB security solution must also provide affordable and flexible protection across the entire company.
Why SMBs need advanced security solutions
Over 50% of cyber attacks are aimed at small and medium-sized businesses and more than 80% are not financially prepared to recover from an attack. The average SMB IT team lacks staff resources to effectively manage cybersecurity and hybrid work. And troublingly millions of pounds each year is lost in data, IP, productivity, compliance, regulatory expenses, and staffing due to cyber attacks. There are some businesses, for instance law firms, who need iron-clad security as their firm cannot risk the legal and reputational consequences of a breach of confidential client data.
Why we recommend Cisco Security for SMBs
At Redway Networks, we recommend Cisco Security for our small and medium-sized business customers as Cisco’s flexible, cloud-led portfolio delivers solutions that grow and fit with our customers’ security journey – whether that’s cyber, physical or environmental. We provide a holistic approach to security solutions which are organised around Cisco’s three building blocks.
Enabling People – with Cisco Umbrella
Enhancing Work Spaces – with Meraki cloud-networking
Empowering IT Management – with Meraki Dashboard
We provide a portfolio of Cisco products, expertly designed to grow our customers’ business. We can provide highly-reliable, secure cloud-networks and security solutions including network switches, firewalls, wireless access points, SD-WAN, smart cameras and cyber security that protect your business against security threats so you can safeguard your business brand and growth.
Security solutions that get it right the first time
SMB’s face security threats on many fronts, and the more users, devices, and applications they add, the more vulnerable their network becomes.
With our cloud-security solutions you can protect your employees against threats no matter where they are working from and accessing the Internet. We provide password security that provides easy, secure access to Virtual Private Network (VPN), email, and any app that employees value, using multi-factor authentication. Our firewalls surround your network with a top‑line defence that detects and stops threats fast without slowing you down. Built on the award-winning cloud architecture of Cisco Meraki, the MX is a managed solution for unified threat management (UTM) and SD-WAN in a single appliance. Our end-point and VPN security protects users when they connect to the network and protect against advanced threats at every endpoint.
What is network security?
Network security is any activity designed to protect the usability and integrity of your network and data. It includes both hardware and software technologies. Effective network security manages access to the network. It targets a variety of threats and stops them from entering or spreading on your network.
How does network security work?
Network security combines multiple layers of defences at the edge and in the network. Each network security layer implements policies and controls. Authorized users gain access to network resources, but malicious actors are blocked from carrying out exploits and threats.
How do I benefit from network security?
Digitisation has transformed our world. How we live, work, play, and learn have all changed. Every organisation that wants to deliver the services that customers and employees demand must protect its network. Network security also helps you protect proprietary information from attack. Ultimately it protects your reputation. There are many types of network security solutions that you’ll want to consider, including Access control – not every user should have access to your network. To keep out potential attackers, you need to recognise each user and each device. Then you can enforce your security policies. You can block noncompliant endpoint devices or give them only limited access. We call this process network access control (NAC).
We’re often asked by our customers what are the main steps to creating a holistic security solution for their small and medium-sized business, so here’s our top 6 based on the Cisco Security Solution:
Understanding the different types of security solutions
1. Closely monitor your traffic.
Monitor the traffic coming in and going out your firewall and read the reports carefully. Don’t rely on alerts to flag dangerous activity. Make sure someone on your team understands the data and is prepared to take the necessary action.
2. Stay up to date on new threats.
Keep an eye on new threats as they’re discovered and posted online. We help our customers by regularly publishing information in our news letters.
3. Regularly update your frontline defence.
To prevent threats from getting in, your business must deploy a strong frontline defence at the edge of the network. Make sure your firewall and anti-virus software is secure by enabling regular updates.
4. Train your employees on security protocols.
Train employees on an ongoing basis so they understand any changes to your acceptable use policy. Also, encourage a “neighbourhood watch” approach to security. If an employee notices anything suspicious, such as not being able to log into an email account right away, he or she should notify the appropriate person immediately.
5. Protect against data loss.
Install a data protection solution. This type of device can protect your business from data loss if your network’s security is breached.
6. Additional security.
Consider additional security solutions that will further protect your network as well as expand your company’s capabilities.
If you’re an SMB who’d like to know more about protecting your business with Cisco Meraki cloud-networking and Cisco Umbrella, our team can give you honest, no frills advice, so Contact us today.
Digital transformation is vital for businesses today in staying competitive. With companies looking to save time and reduce costs, replacing outdated, legacy IT equipment with a cloud-first network is a key enabler to success. Businesses can benefit from the operational speed and agility made possible by cloud networking which enables them to adapt to changing work environments.
Modernise your IT and reap the new benefits of a cloud-managed business
As more businesses adopt a hybrid-workforce a cloud-managed IT infrastructure can drive business growth by boosting efficiency and innovation and enabling the delivery of better user experiences. If staff need to transition to remote work, a cloud-managed network can be easily extended and rolled out to all employees wherever they are located. And small IT teams can easily connect remote locations without having to rely on assistance from end users which supports business growth.
Your future success begins with the cloud
Future-ready, flexible, cloud-managed networks save time and ensure robust, secure connectivity for everyone, whilst providing the level of security, stability, and reliability everyone needs from their network. As the business grows, agility can easily be reached as existing and new offices can be connected easily and secured via the cloud. Office connectivity and ‘work pods’ can be seamless as cloud-managed wireless access points provide more reliable, faster WiFi connections with superior coverage. And additional offices can benefit from secure, reliable VPN connectivity which is where a cloud-managed security and SD-WAN system along with next-generation switches comes into its own.
Lean IT Teams
With smaller IT teams needing to be lean, they can’t be spending unnecessary time network troubleshooting which is why changing to a cloud-managed network that delivers the insight and analytics they need, means they are free to look at other high-priority IT initiatives that will support business growth.
Embarking on a successful digital transformation journey to modernise your business systems can seem an overwhelming task. That’s why finding the right IT infrastructure company to work with that has the experience to recommend the best cloud-managed solution for your business and can deliver a great project from start to finish, including design, configuration, installation, and support, is key.
The right partner can offer the best advice and insight to make complex IT navigation simple and make sure you meet your IT goals for a future-ready, cloud-first business.
A network that grows with your business
We provide the complete portfolio of Cisco Meraki solutions expertly designed and installed by our certified network engineers, so your business can simplify its IT and gain the many benefits of a Meraki cloud-managed solution.
– Hybrid work that scales your business and empowers your workforce
– Remote Workforce for improving connectivity and creating ideal user experiences
– Safe environments that unite physical security and cybersecurity to protect what matters most
– Smart Spaces that elevate the areas where employees and customers come together
All managed with the Cisco Meraki cloud-first platform, your business can build, monitor, and optimise everyone’s experiences.
To find out why a Meraki cloud-managed solution is the right fit for your business, get in touch with our team who can arrange a full demo.
Businesses today want exceptional experiences so its time to break up complexity and start a fresh with a cloud-managed network. Cloud-first networks change everything as they deliver dynamic, business-boosting experiences that move your organisation forward faster. A cloud-managed network will help your business improve efficiency, cost management and agility. It will give your business speed of deliver and the ability to change quickly and improve performance. A cloud platform is always on, always learning and always ready for what’s next.
Want to know why businesses work best in the cloud and what a cloud-first network looks like, or how you can start transitioning your own network? It all starts with a platform-based approach. We are Cisco Premier Integrator Partners who help our customers unify their IT and IoT experiences. We design, configure and install Meraki solutions that scale easily, automate operations, connect multiple domains securely, and enable an open ecosystem of partnerships.
Cloud-based networking
Businesses who adopt a cloud-first network strategy thrive. Older networks with full-stack on-premises technologies have become too rigid and expensive to keep up with the pace of today’s businesses. A cloud-first network changes everything. Your business can gain important advantages such as enhanced reliability, security, automation, remote management, multi-site visibility, and dynamic scalability. All of these work together to grow your business when and where you need it—without the high costs of private connectivity, or maintaining your own data centre. A cloud-first network gives you the flexibility to meet your customers’ needs now and quickly shift as their needs change, ensuring the best possible experience for them and your employees, no matter how business changes in the future.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Meraki platform is its sheer scale. Whether you have one office location or several, Meraki enables you to transition your network over time to suit your business. And no matter what you throw at it, the Meraki platform can handle it. Start by migrating one location and you’ll immediately realise just how easy it is. Unbox and plug in the IoT or network device and the Meraki platform will have your infrastructure up and running in minutes.
Need to deploy on a large scale?
The Meraki platform enables you to deploy tens of thousands of networks quickly through automation and simple configuration, accelerating your strategic business goals. Once your network is up, the Meraki platform can auto-scale to meet whatever traffic demands you have and provide the enterprise-grade capabilities you have come to rely on. That means that as you get used to the benefits of our cloud-first network, Meraki grows with you. Each location can have a unique configuration to meet the needs of your employees and customers while also meeting your corporate standards. And the Meraki platform will automatically absorb it into your overall cloud first network topology.
As your current networks have grown in scale and complexity, so have the challenges facing your network operations team. For even the most sophisticated teams, trying to identify, isolate, and remediate issues affecting network performance can be challenging. To counter this issue, Meraki uses machine learning (ML) to transform billions of data points across our entire cloud platform into meaningful insights and trusted recommendations. Our data lake—the largest networking dataset in the industry—aggregates all of this anonymised telemetry and feeds it through our machine-learning pipelines to generate the insights to keep your networks running optimally. One of the great benefits of Meraki’s machine learning is its ability to learn from situations your staff may not have thought of when deploying your new cloud network. Machine learning allows the network to learn as it manages traffic, giving you the ability to update policies as you go based on what the system is learning. This enables Meraki to provide powerful assurance capabilities for your wireless and wired networks, as well as WAN application health.
Enhance reliability and security
One of the most-asked questions about why businesses work best in the cloud and cloud-networking revolves around reliability and security. The Meraki platform has the highest reliability in the industry and a proven track record with multiple ways to keep your data secure. Part of what makes Meraki so reliable is its highly available redundant configuration. Data is replicated across multiple independent data centres, and there are nightly archival backups of your network configuration and statistical data. Meraki also provides 24/7 automated failover protection, which means customer-facing services failover quickly in the rare event an outage does occur. A power outage or natural disaster could strike at any time, but that doesn’t mean your customers need to suffer. The Meraki platform uses an out-of-band architecture to preserve network functionality for your employees and customers, even if connectivity to Meraki cloud services is interrupted. Once the connection to the cloud is re-established, the Meraki platform automatically updates the devices at the affected location—with minimal strain on your IT staff.
Meraki keeps your data segregated from other users and provides granular access control for the different networks and IoT devices in your environment, and we maintain some of the most stringent security and compliance standards in the world, including PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type II. Configuration data is encrypted in transit and at rest in the cloud, preventing unwanted changes and potential snooping. Meraki also has 24/7 automated intrusion protection, IP- and port-based firewalls, two factor authentication, and can restrict remote access by IP address and verify it by public key (RSA). Clearly, the Meraki platform can scale and innovate while enhancing network reliability and security. All of this helps amplify the effectiveness of your distributed teams – enabling your staff to do more in less time.
Ease of Operation
The user interface (UI) to the Meraki platform happens with our dashboard, which continues to set the industry standard for simplicity. It starts with an organisational view where you can see the overall health and performance of each network on a single page. This lets you quickly see any urgent issues that may need to be addressed or if similar issues are happening across multiple networks—a clear sign of a larger issue. From here, you can drill down as far as you want to go to get the information you need for true end-to-end visibility.
Want to see the configuration of switches at a certain location? The dashboard shows you the information graphically and allows you to replicate the configuration for a new location. Need to access analytics from a specific camera? The dashboard makes it easy to digest and understand. What about the performance of a WiFi access point at a certain location? The dashboard has that information too. Visibility within the dashboard allows you to view exactly where a client device is currently connected, whether to an access point, switch, security appliance, or even spanning outside your corporate network.
It’s also possible to view how the network components themselves are interconnected. The network topology view automatically maps network architectures, showing how Meraki security, switching, wireless, communication, and video surveillance devices are connected. Beyond individual client devices, the dashboard allows you to view macro trends, such as how applications are performing across your network and change settings to prioritise certain applications over others. For example, you can set policies that give priority to WebEx video traffic over email. You can also see how much bandwidth is being consumed over the entire network for a productive user experience (UX). The Meraki platform enables you to automate with APIs, customise with apps and deploy at your own pace, so its perfect for SMB’s as well as large organisations.
So if you want your business to work best in the cloud, contact us today.
With cyber attacks in education on the increase, we provide Cisco Umbrella (a cloud security platform that provides the first line of defence against threats on the internet) to help our education customers take the right steps to protect their networks and give students and staff safe online experiences from a single, unified solution. Cisco Umbrella provides an internet-wide layer of cybersecurity that both protects against malware infections, and prevents command and control callback infected devices from phoning home. With Umbrella, malware can’t get in to your school and threats can’t wreak havoc!
Cisco Umbrella DNS for Education is the easiest, most powerful way to secure your campus and proactively ‘see’ and protect users so they have the freedom to work anywhere safely. Umbrella enables IT administrators to seamlessly extend web filtering and internet security to all devices, even those that leave campus. At Redway Networks we can integrate Umbrella with your existing security stack and its low-touch deployment means you can have Umbrella’s cloud-based service up and running in a day, instantly delivering the best defence against ransomware and other malware. Additionally, the Cisco Umbrella Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) for Education package offers unmatched protection when a higher security posture is required. As more apps move to the cloud, educational compliance requirements now need more granular control and visibility into web traffic at a URL level, which Umbrella offers through a secure web gateway.
With nothing to download or install, Umbrella’s cloud-native, low maintenance solution is ideal for schools and is the smartest way to meet compliance and protect your students, teachers and 1-1 learning programmes. Its the easiest way to secure your campus and protect users, data, and applications in the cloud.
- Integrates with any firewall
- Reduces deployment and management overheads for a low cost of ownership
- Ensures educational and GDPR compliance
- Enforces acceptable usage policies instantly across all devices
- Protects students and school computers from the latest internet security threats
- Licenced on the number of staff
- Special prices for education
- Up and running in minutes
- No hardware to install
- Value for money
- Innovation
- Customer service
- Insurance cover
- Legislation compliance (including GDPR)
- Customer testimonials and reference checks
- Enterprise-grade hardware
- Extensive range of enterprise features
- Advanced analytics and reporting
- Advanced troubleshooting tool built-in
- Lifetime warranty on most indoor products, 1-year warranty on outdoor products
- Telephone and online support
- All Meraki products managed from a single easy-to-use cloud controller
- Intuitive user interface which is 100% Cloud (no hidden features on accessible via Local GUI or CLI)
Cisco Umbrella integration – why you need Cisco Umbrella alongside Meraki MR.
With the Umbrella and Meraki MR integration, you can deploy Umbrella in seconds across your access points and instantly gain protection against threats like malware, ransomware, and C2 callbacks. For additional control and convenience, you can apply Umbrella policies directly in the Meraki dashboard. The integration allows your customers to easily assign Umbrella policies to their Cisco Meraki wireless networks on a per-SSID basis or using Meraki Group Policies.
Forest of Dean Multi-Academy Trust Case Study
The Forest of Dean Trust, based in Gloucestershire asked Redway Networks to integrate Cisco Umbrella as a natural addition to its Cisco Meraki technology stack. The Trust wanted to improve student safeguarding with the control to manage its staff and students’ internet experience on and off the network. Emily Stigant is the Trust’s IT Manager, she says: “We’ve protected our network in every way and are giving our students safe online experiences under the Cisco Umbrella.” Read the full case study here.
If your school would like to take advantage of Cisco Umbrella, contact us today for your 21-day Free Trial.
At Redway Networks, we’re delighted to announce our supplier partnership to Everything ICT. This partnership demonstrates our commitment to providing future-ready IT infrastructures that enable schools to provide exceptional, digital learning and teaching experiences with seamless IT management.
Everything ICT is a cost-effective, compliant and convenient framework approved by DfE as part of its ‘Find a Framework’ initiative. Everything ICT represents more than 6,000 schools, colleges, universities and multi-academy trusts.
As a supplier to Everything ICT, we have gone through a rigorous assessment process that means we are pre-evaluated on areas such as:
We understand the process involved in working to frameworks and can offer an end-to-end service around your needs and timescales. From your initial conversation with us, through to ongoing network support, our extensive experience in education means we understand the specific financial, operational and educational requirements of schools. We have the insight to recommend the best-fit products for delivering secure, scalable networks that can be managed through one pane of glass.
We help schools replace their outdated legacy equipment and disjointed networks with the latest cloud-networking solutions that deliver a robust digital education experience for the next ten years. We can help you improve your education IT and school technology including WiFi networking switching, firewalls, cybersecurity and physical sectary. We pride ourselves on being customer focussed and will work with you to recommend the best solutions for your school to achieve its digital vision.
So if your school has been offered funding for a new, future-ready campus-wide network via DfE’s Connect the Classroom programme or you have a ICT procurement need, we’re here to help.
To find out more, please get in touch!
With cyber attacks front of mind for local councils and digital services increasing, managing your security infrastructure effectively and keeping safe from cyber-attacks has never been more vital. We help local councils stay safe with our end-to-end network security. With today’s digital transformation and remote working accelerating and more services online, cyber-attacks have increased ten-fold and IT teams are not only tasked with keeping the network secure but also with protecting end-user devices and ensuring the physical and online safety of the workforce. All these serious responsibilities, paired with limited resources, create a challenge for local council IT teams.
So how do you protect endpoints, networks, and staff?
At Redway Networks, we partner with Cisco Meraki to provide our local government customers with next-generation security managed through a single, web-based dashboard. This means you can simplify device, network, and security camera management through remote configurations, video monitoring, and application deployments. Your network will be safe from vulnerabilities, data will be protected, and your building will be monitored.
Network Security
Local councils were hit by 2.3 million cyber attacks in 2022 and are becoming regular targets for cyber-attacks with many lacking a cyber-security policy or the right training. Cyber criminals often gain access to private or sensitive data and threaten to share this information. The first line of defence comes by creating user-based policies that restrict who can access various parts of the network. With integrated intrusion protection and malware scanning, users can easily stop malicious threats and files before they enter the network while prioritising trusted applications with Layer 7 firewall and traffic shaping rules. With increased network visibility, you can track and shut down rogue access points, set up email alerts when rogues are detected, and contain rogue SSIDs, access point spoofs and packet floods. Most importantly, with Cisco Meraki’s cloud-managed MX security solution, you can ensure the latest firmware updates are pushed to the network automatically to guard against the latest security threats and vulnerabilities. Read our case study on client Horsham District Council to see how they moved to a next-gen network security solution that blocked over 150 attacks in its first 2 weeks alone.
Endpoint Security
As digital resources continue to grow and staff use more devices, endpoint security has become increasingly important. With an endpoint management solution, you can protect staff from accessing blacklisted sites, and downloading unknown applications by using content filtering and advanced malware protection. If a device is lost or stolen, especially one holding sensitive information, you can easily identify its location and retrieve it or wipe its contents remotely. Most importantly, by protecting all your council’s devices, the network can remain secure from common endpoint security vulnerabilities.
Physical Security
Like most business, council’s need to provide a safe workplace for all its staff and visitors without fear of trespassers or unforeseen incidents. With smarter security cameras, you can quickly identify when a person is where they shouldn’t be and view video analytics of activity to identify high-risk areas. You can also help deter incidents with the ability to quickly search recorded video and easily share with the police. With granular access controls and visibility from any Internet browser, management can view groupings of cameras, or a single camera, and act accordingly. Plus, with video data encrypted at rest and during transport, you get even more protection against cyber threats.
Future Proof your network and meet future demands
In addition to our powerful security solutions, we can help your local council replace all of its outdated legacy equipment with the last technology so you can empower your staff and improve customer service, through safe access to digital information. We supply Meraki’s cloud-based software as its powerful, yet easy to manage through one pane of glass. Our next-generation wireless solutions separate staff and public traffic so they all benefit from robust wireless connectivity. Our scalable network switches deliver visibility and control over your entire edge network and our IoT sensors monitor your IT infrastructure so you can make more intelligent decisions to reduce equipment replacement.
To find out how we can help your local council with all its infrastructure needs, contact us today.
At Redway Networks, we’re specialists in WiFi and known for our great WiFi design. It’s in our DNA and is the building blocks to a superior wireless network as however great the products, its the WiFi design that underpins the network performance. Wireless that’s poorly designed won’t be an asset but will affect the performance and security of your school’s network.
Post-Installation Surveys
We focus on the finer details and our in-depth knowledge of school wireless networks, quality of our professional onsite surveys (performed using Ekahau) and WiFi reports delivered in an extensive but easy to digest format, that sets us apart from other IT vendors.
A post-installation professional, onsite WiFi or troubleshooting survey will highlight coverage and if capacity meets your school’s requirements in addition to giving you the assurance moving forward that your new wireless network has been properly designed for current and future usage.
Extensive WiFi experience
Our certified network engineers have extensive experience within the education sector and will deliver a ‘gold standard’ service for WiFi surveys using Ekahau’s heat-mapping software – recognised as the world’s leading analysis tool.
Accurate WiFi Signal
When performing a post-installation Wi-Fi survey or a troubleshooting survey we can conduct both an active and passive WiFi survey. During an active survey, the WiFi adapter is connected to the WiFi access point to measure signal strength and noise levels, as well as round-trip time, throughput rates, packet loss, re-transmissions and roaming performance. However, an active survey will give your school a more accurate indication of WiFi signal. During a passive survey, the site survey application passively listens to WLAN traffic, measuring signal strength and overlap between adjacent WiFi access points. By performing both an active and passive WiFi survey, we can report on potential issues beyond just signal coverage and an active survey will give a more accurate indication of WiFi signal.
Spectrum Analysis
We can provide a complete spectrum analysis which includes the detection, measurement and recording of RF interference that could degrade the performance of your wireless network. Interference such as microwaves or legacy wireless devices can have a serious impact on your WiFi network . During a post-installation survey we perform a spectrum analysis to highlight any interference detection from devices that are not transmitting constantly. We will conduct WiFi throughput testing which enables us to go one step further in verifying the actual capacity of your school’s WiFi network. Whilst a WiFi survey accurately determines connected data rate, performing a throughput test is a more accurate method for determining your WiFi network performance. We will provide all relevant configuration settings to maximise the performance and stability of your WiFi including radio channels, antennas and transmit power levels of each wireless access point to provide the most stability for your new WiFi design or new wireless network deployment.
If your school or college would like to book a WiFi survey, contact our sales team today.
With an increased focus on security within education, keeping your school safe is easy with our end-to-end network security. With today’s students always digitally connected and preoccupied with completing online school assignments, they’re unaware that an entire network in the backend is making all this possible. Education IT teams are tasked with not only keeping the network secure but also with protecting end-user devices and ensuring the physical and online safety of students and staff. All these serious responsibilities, paired with limited resources, create a challenge for education IT teams.
So how do you protect endpoints, networks, and students, all at the same time?
At Redway Networks, we partner with Cisco Meraki to provide our education customers with solutions that span all three areas for the safest campus environment. We can help your school or college manage all its security solutions from a single, web-based dashboard. This means you can simplify device, network, and security camera management through remote configurations, video monitoring, and application deployments. Your network will be safe from vulnerabilities, student data will be protected, and students will be safe walking around campus.
Network Security
Nearly 80% of headteachers believe their school faces and increased risk of a cyber incident and schools and colleges are becoming regular targets for cyber-attacks and many schools lack a cyber-security policy or the right training. Cyber criminals often gain access to private student data or important research, and threaten to share this sensitive information. The first line of defence comes by creating group or user-based policies for students, teachers, and staff, and restricting who can access various parts of the network. With integrated intrusion protection and malware scanning, users can easily stop malicious threats and files before they enter the network while prioritizing trusted educational applications with Layer 7 firewall and traffic shaping rules. With increased network visibility, you can track and shut down rogue access points, set up email alerts when rogues are detected, and contain rogue SSIDs, AP spoofs, and packet floods. Most importantly, with Meraki’s cloud-managed MX security solution, you can ensure the latest firmware updates are pushed to the network automatically to guard against the latest security threats and vulnerabilities.
Endpoint Security
As 1:1 programmes continue to grow and students bring more devices to campus endpoint security has become increasingly important. With an endpoint management solution, you can protect students of all ages from seeing inappropriate content, accessing blacklisted sites, and downloading unknown applications by using content filtering, group policies, and advanced malware protection. If a device is lost or stolen, especially one holding sensitive information, you can easily identify its location and retrieve it or remote wipe its contents. Most importantly, by protecting all the devices that students and teachers use every day, the network can remain secure from common endpoint security vulnerabilities.
Physical Security
Schools are tasked with providing safe learning environments for all students and teachers, without fear of trespassers, poor behaviour, or unforeseen incidents. With smarter security cameras, you can quickly identify when a person is where they shouldn’t be and view video analytics of school activity to identify high-risk areas. You can also help deter threats and incidents with the ability to quickly search recorded video and easily share with parents and law enforcement. With granular access controls and visibility from any Internet browser, teachers, principals, chancellors, and even the fire department can view groupings of cameras, or a single camera, and act accordingly. Plus, with video data encrypted at rest and during transport, you get even more protection against cyber threats.
To find out more about our portfolio of security solutions for schools, contact us today.
Cisco Meraki’s cloud-based solutions can help transform digitalisation within local councils. When the pandemic hit and moved much of work and life online, it accelerated digital transformation and now as local councils shift to the ‘next normal’ they need to prepare for a more permanent digital world. In a recent Government survey, nearly half of respondents said bill payments, records management and public meetings will remain online post-pandemic, while around one-third said the same about licensing processes. Additionally, 60 percent of respondents believed a remote/hybrid workforce will be the way of the future.
A strong network foundation and cloud-based IT will be a big part of ensuring staff and citizens can successfully navigate a more digital government. So read on to learn how your local council can make the transition to an easy-to-manage cloud based network, and why you can’t afford to wait any longer to make the switch.
We partner with Cisco Meraki to provide its wide range of networking products including access points, edge and core switching, firewalls, CCTV and IoT. In our experience the valuable features for Meraki in local government include:
Improved IT Management
Many local governments have limited IT resources to support a large number of facilities, users and devices. Meraki’s cloud-based network can provide significant time and resource savings and allow IT teams to focus on more strategic work, especially when the entire network can be managed remotely from a single pane of glass.
Increased Network Security
Cybersecurity has always been an imperative for government, but the need for effective protection has intensified in the current remote work environment. And with further digitalisation of government services underway, the challenge and need are only growing greater. Consequently, cybersecurity solutions are one of the top three tools that local governments are most likely to adopt in the ‘next normal’ after the pandemic. A cloud-based network platform can greatly improve network security and should be a key consideration for any government organisation. For instance, Meraki’s cloud-based next-generation firewall capabilities give administrators complete control over user content and applications on their network.
Augmenting Facility Security
The physical security of government facilities and assets is another important part of the overall security picture for local councils. One way to bolster facility and asset security is through Meraki’s cloud based network, which supports smart cameras that provide reliable monitoring. Physical security has to complement IT security to make the entire operations and workforce more secure and a cloud-based model can combine IoT and IT security together.
Digitalisation Can’t Wait:
For local councils a cloud-based network that simplifies troubleshooting and monitoring and provides visibility across the entire network is essential, especially if the council has a small team and many facilities and services to support. Meraki is powerful yet simple to use so network admins can easily configure and support the switches without having in-depth knowledge. The flexibility of user authentication, ease of installation and the simplicity of firmware upgrades also make overall network management easy whilst providing secure access to the network.
If you would like to know more about Cisco Meraki for your council building, contact us today.