IT security boost as SnapperNet reveals NZ education discounts

Security firm Cyberoam and its New Zealand distributor SnapperNet, have announced a discount policy for schools, universities, academies and any other educational institutions throughout the country.

The companies say the move is an effort to help New Zealand educators avoid budget constraints becoming bottlenecks for security.

The ‘Cyberoam Education Pricing’ enables educators to purchase Cyberoam products and subscriptions at special, discounted prices.

According to Louisa Francis, Research Manager for IT Spending IDC New Zealand, despite budget cuts in the education sector, IT spending is one area that is remaining relatively unscathed in most local education providers.

“However, one area that is being impacted is decreasing IT headcounts, so while budgets are remaining static or increasing the internal resources available are decreasing,” she says.

“Budgets may not be shrinking but IT projects are up and this is placing enormous pressure on IT resources and infrastructures.”

This pressure can lead educational institutions to cut corners when it comes to IT security issues.

Richard Paul, Director for SnapperNet Distributors, says this poses a real danger for educators operating in 2014.

“The threat landscape is constantly changing,” he adds. “New malware is being created and if security solutions aren’t constantly maintained by vendors, their infrastructure is at real risk of attack.”

Paul says that educational institutions are particularly vulnerable because students use a huge amount of raw data and frequently aren’t as concerned about protecting passwords as business users.

“Students are savvy about getting around firewalls,” he says, “and often share passwords or show little concern for security issues.”

“Customers from the education sector comprise a major part of the Cyberoam users,” adds Alkesh Soneji, who overlooks the Australia and New Zealand market for Cyberoam.

“Cyberoam security solutions have enabled numerous educational institutions to maintain network security while keeping security investments low.

"Protecting students and other network users, from malware and inappropriate content, remains the primary need among educational institutes, and Cyberoam solutions offer user identification and control even in shared environments.”