Schools today want technology for their students. Classroom technology costs money. Thus, schools require funding from the government to purchase costly technology. The government has policies in place that do not allow schools to receive funding if those schools don’t properly show their classrooms are CIPA compliant. Simple as that.
Since the inception of the Children’s Internet Protection Act in 2000 there are more and more sophisticated measures that can be put in place to comply with the written regulations the government has enacted.
The next generation firewalls that are on the market today have the ability to identify applications regardless of port, protocol, evasive tactic or even SSL encryption while also providing user identification. Using your school’s database of users (Active Directory) this identification provides visibility and control of applications based on users and groups not just IP addresses. For more on the security measures found in these firewalls see, “11 Features to Look for in Your Next Generation Firewall.” So, firewalls are getting smarter which allows schools to feel more comfortable with compliance issues.
BUT, that is not all schools need to make sure their students are protected!
New mobile device management software allows even more granular visibility and control of the applications on the devices that are being used. 
With a proper MDM solution you have the ability to have a customizable dashboard that allows:
- Enrollment of any device with automatic policies mandated to be downloaded before said device is allowed access
- Setting up whitelist of websites and applications
- Setting up blacklists to block applications while the devices is on the network
- Locking & Unlocking Devices
- Fully or Selectively wiping devices
- Sending notifications to devices through email, text or pop up push notification
- Visibility to the devices that are enrolled with the MDM and a running history of all applications installed
- Alerts that show any devices that are non-compliant or applications on devices that are non-compliant
- Alerts showing if devices have been unenrolled
MDM solutions are becoming more affordable and much easier to manage and for the peace of mind it provides in regards to compliance, it’s tough to argue against. For further information on a proper MDM Solution contact us here. Our expert engineers have 8+ years experience and we know how to keep your students, your devices and your network running securely.
