Cheltenham Ladies College’s hardware and software firewalls provide
protection against hackers while reducing the chance of offensive
material from the Internet reaching the students
Founded in 1853, Cheltenham's Ladies' College flourished under
the principle that the education of girls is as important as that
of boys. Today, the college has over 830 pupils, aged from 11-18,
and is one of the most famous boarding schools in the world. The
use of IT by pupils has been given a high priority in recent years
and is integrated into college subjects throughout the curriculum.
Given the educational opportunities offered by the Internet and the
college's commitment to IT, it was inevitable that the college
would want to give students Web access to help with a variety of
educational tasks.
Robert Homan, a teacher at the college, was given the
responsibility of handling the introduction of the Internet.
"Certain issues were uppermost in our minds," he said. "One was how
we would protect the students from unsuitable material. We are in
loco parentis and we have to make absolutely sure that they don't
view sites that we would consider undesirable and potentially
harmful to them, while, at the same time, allowing them the access
they need. Another important issue was how we would protect the
network as a whole from hackers." Although not from a technical
background, Homan was given training by security experts, Wick
Hill, in the basics of risk assessment as well as the day to day
running of the software and hardware firewall and data security
elements. The network at the college consists of some 250 PCs
running Windows 95, supported by 10 Windows NT servers on a 10/100
Mbit network. The network is connected to the Internet via the
university network SuperJanet. The college's boarding houses are
linked to the school network through a remote access server.The
college's approach to security was twofold. Firstly, it was decided
to install a firewall, the mainstay of any form of network
security. Secondly, a security policy was formulated with a clear
message about what was and was not allowed, and this was
communicated to all those using the network including
administration staff, teaching staff and pupils. Parents were also
made aware of the security policy and actively involved with it.
The WatchGuard SchoolMate Firebox chosen by the school provides
data security and is completely separate from the school's network.
The firewall software is located on the Firebox (the hardware
element of WatchGuard), which sits between the network and the
outside world forming a physical barrier. As there are no log-on
facilities on the firewall, it is exceptionally difficult for
hackers to get past it and access the network. This arrangement
provides a much higher degree of security than a traditional
software-only firewall, which resides on an organisation's
network.Besides the standard WatchGuard software, Homan chose a
number of additional options. One was historical reporting, which
provides reports on all sites accessed, details how long they were
accessed and who accessed them. This helps to deter anyone from
trying to use banned sites, as the reports will show exactly what
they have done. Other useful reports include the "Suspicious
Activity" report, which warns of any attempted security breaches
and exception reports, which list denied connection requests,
reboots, scan attempts and other activity logged by the firewall.
Homan also chose the web-blocker option that allows certain
categories of website to be blocked. Examples of the type of sites
blocked are satanic/cult, e.g. any material advocating devil
worship, violence/profanity, material containing frequent use of
words commonly accepted as profane or obscene and drug culture A
firewall in itself is not enough when it comes to security. A
proper security policy and other measures are necessary. The
college has a very comprehensive policy that is communicated to and
understood by administrators, teaching staff, pupils and parents
alike.
Future PlansCheltenham Ladies' College is still at a
relatively early stage in using the Internet. As Homan states: "The
potential isn't anywhere near being realised yet, but we plan to
use it much more in the future." Homan also foresees the college
establishing online links with other schools over the Internet,
e.g. with French schools that will give excellent language
practice. Whatever future use the college makes of the Internet,
the solid and thorough preparations already taken to ensure
security will stand it in extremely good stead when it comes to
protecting the students and the network from harm.
Compiled by
Will Garside(c) Wick Hill 1999