Like most institutions of higher education, The University of Tampa (UT) was consumed with fighting the escalating threats of software viruses, worms, and spyware. This continuous battle was a significant drain on IT personnel resources and a continuous risk to the student community. The university needed a way to ensure that their students were up-to-date with the latest security software, but did not have the personnel available to manage the thousands of student computers with their current infrastructure and budget.
The SafeConnect solution provided UT the ability to educate and enforce the institution’s acceptable use policies in the area of anti-virus, anti-spyware, and Microsoft security patch software. Users not in compliance with stated policies receive automated instructions on how to become compliant and meet required network access policies. Working with Impulse Point, The University of Tampa was able to automate endpoint security policies in a cost-effective manner with no additional personnel or significant change to their network infrastructure. “We justified the Impulse system as a result of Blaster and other viruses that took down our residential dorm network. We were manually shutting off port by port for each offender,” says Bill Arnold, Network Security Engineer at UT. “Since implementing the SafeConnect system we have not had to shut down any ports—this has been a major benefit for our help desk group and has contributed to a safer computing environment for our students.”
The Impulse SafeConnect™ system provides an open network access control (OpenNAC™) solution that easily integrates into vendor-diverse network environments. The inherent scalability advantages of SafeConnect’s distributed software architecture and managed support approach enables institutions to address their NAC enterprise requirements in a cost-effective manner.
SafeConnect OpenNAC offers an easy to implement and support endpoint policy management alternative that seamlessly connects into an institution’s existing multi-vendor infrastructure, and provides an evolutionary path to maturing NAC industry standards like IEEE 802.1x.
The solution provides the following capabilities:Isolates non-compliant users from accessing Layer2 and Layer3 network resources and limits user access to designated internal or external remediation domains, where it communicates the actions required to become compliant with the institution’s endpoint security policies and regain network access.
“Since deploying Safe•Connect, we have successfully protected our students from the security vulnerabilities that continuously threaten our residential dormitory networks.”
Donna Alexander, Executive Director, Information Technology, The University of Tampa
The University of Tampa is a private university delivering high-quality educational experiences to a diverse group of learners. Students participate in more than 80 programs of undergraduate and graduate studies rooted in a liberal arts tradition. Graduate programs in business, accounting, technology, and nursing exemplify the University’s commitment to the professions and to the community. Approximately 65 percent of full-time undergraduates live on campus. The MBA program is one of the largest in Florida and is one of the elite private schools in the Southeast to have AACSB accreditation.
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