Universities targeted by cyber criminals and state-sponsored hackers can fight back

With high numbers of students and visitors using multiple devices to access their networks and applications (and new users registering every year), universities face more problems than most when it comes to protecting their data and systems from cyber attacks. Hackers will target educational establishments because they are perceived to lack the budget and manpower to establish effective cyber security defences against unauthorised intrusion from both internal and external sources.

Interview: Andy Butcher, Sales Manager for Research and Education, Axians

Andy Butcher is the Axians Sales Manager responsible for the UK Research and Education market, and is focused on helping universities deliver carrier-grade network services and business efficiency to their academic stakeholders and students.

Q: How long have you been working in the higher education sector?

I have worked with the education sector since the later 1990s. My first major sale was to University College London where I won a contract selling computers. My background in building, surveying and dealing with specifications and tenders meant I fitted quite well into the market and I have mostly worked in HE since.

Ken O’Kelly has been a key consultant in Juniper Networks; UK and Ireland security business for the past four and a half years. He previously held various roles (latterly as a security architect) during a 14 year stint with Imtech ICT.

Ken tells Axians about Juniper’s latest software defined security network (SDSN) solution and how it will make life easier for  IT departments tasked with controlling network access for thousands of users.

Q: What is Juniper’s software defined security network (SDSN)?

SDSN is all about changing how you build the network. Traditionally organisations have tended to build security into the perimeter and everything outside that perimeter is untrusted and everything inside it is trusted. That is a bit of a challenge these days given that we all take our laptops and smartphones outside of that trusted barrier when we go home, where malware can infect them and vulnerabilities can be compromised. We then bring the device back inside the network perimeter and now it is trusted again and that gives any threat carte blanche to get around the network.