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Cybersecurity Solutions For Schools | Cybersecurity in Education
Cybersecurity for Schools
Achieve A Secure Learning Environment
Difenda delivers A+ worthy cybersecurity solutions to protect schools from ransomware, data breaches and other advanced cyber threats. Our modular solutions enable schools to secure what they need when they need it.
Are You Struggling To Manage Multiple Cybersecurity Products?
Difenda’s NEW whitepaper: Consolidation and Simplification: The Future of Cybersecurity Management provides readers with proven steps to get the highest possible value from your Microsoft Security investment while simplifying the overall security environment.
The Current Situation
Support Student Success With A+ Security
As educational institutions rely more on technology and interconnected systems to drive efficiency, productivity, and innovation, multi-cloud environments are putting you more at risk for cyber attacks. All areas of the business are being targeted by threat actors. From admissions, and application services, to the pipeline between high schools and higher education, cyber incidents are imminent.
With 24/7/365 cybersecurity monitoring and threat protection you gain peace of mind that you are doing everything you can to protect the sensitive information of students, staff, and faculty while ensuring the continuity of operations for student success.
The Education Sector is Facing an Explosion of Cybercrime
In 2022 alone, schools faced:
88%
Rise In Ransomware
157%
Rise In Malware
34%
Rise In IoT Attacks
Bridging the Cybersecurity Gap in Education
K-12
Post- Secondary
K-12
School boards are facing greater cybersecurity challenges as they see more students, disperse classrooms, constrained resources and reduced budgets each year. K-12 schools need to secure email networks, cloud apps and endpoints while maximizing public funding.
In an environment of limited resources, education leaders should leverage security investments to focus on the most impactful steps. At Difenda our goal is to introduce tools and features that can create better security outcomes to inform business decisions without dictating where your data is stored, or locking you into a contract with services you’ll never use. Our modular and customized approach allows you to get only the services you need.
Post- Secondary
Colleges and universities are constantly adopting new technologies to enable smarter campuses and more inclusive learning. With that, higher education faces a multitude of threat vectors that vary depending on the business persona. The majority of the users of higher-ed systems are students, who typically use their own devices to access university systems. But faculty, staff, and alumi all pose additional risk to the security environment through personal or business owned technology and devices.
The security architecture for faculty, students and alumni requires alignment between network segmentation, optimal wireless environments, protected cloud-based applications and user identity security. Managing this all demands tons of internal resources and funding.
Difenda recognizes the different bandwidth and traffic patterns in each education persona and offers customized solutions so your can protect your business critical data and extend only necessary elements across larger domains like email.
Choose the Best Security Solutions For Your School
Already Invested In
Microsoft A5?
We’ll Meet You Where You Are In Your Journey
Optimize Microsoft Security A3 or A5 licensing capabilities, reduce costs, and ensure compliance with Difenda. By eliminating duplicate technology and identifying unused license capabilities, organizations can streamline their security environment and save money.
Whether just getting started or already deployed, Difenda can help Microsoft customers develop tailored guidelines for your company to do more with less. With this comprehensive roadmap, you will uncover technology you have already invested in and understand which Microsoft products and services address your technical and business needs.
TRUSTED BY EDUCATORS
What Other Schools Are Saying
College
IT Manager
“Difenda Managed Email TDR cybersecurity services have been a crucial aspect of our school’s cybersecurity measures. With the increasing reliance on digital communication, we needed a reliable and robust solution to protect our staff and student emails from cyber threats. Thanks to Difenda, we have been able to maintain a secure and safe digital environment for our school community.”
University
CIO
“Thanks to Difenda’s expertise and collaborative approach, we were able to optimize our existing Microsoft tools and implement effective cybersecurity measures to protect our entire email network. We now have more visibility into our systems and can focus on other aspects of our work while Difenda’s SOC takes care of threat response.”
Cybersecurity In Education FAQ
Difenda’s cybersecurity solutions can offer several benefits to the education sector, including:
Protection against cyber threats: Difenda’s cybersecurity solutions can help schools and school boards protect their networks, systems, and sensitive data from various cyber threats, such as malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Compliance with regulations: Educational institutions are often required to comply with specific data privacy and security regulations, such as FERPA and GDPR. Difenda’s cybersecurity solutions can help ensure compliance with these regulations and avoid potential legal and financial consequences.
Improved network visibility: the Difenda Shield provides greater visibility into network traffic, helping identify and mitigate potential security risks.
Reduced downtime: A cyber attack can result in significant downtime for an educational institution, disrupting classes and operations. Difenda’s solutions can help minimize the impact of a cyber attack, reducing downtime and minimizing disruption.
Enhanced student and staff safety: By protecting sensitive data and preventing cyber attacks, Difenda’s solutions can help ensure the safety and privacy of students and staff, promoting a secure and safe learning environment.
The #1 cybersecurity threat for schools today is ransomware attacks, often deployed through phishing attacks. 81% of Ransomware attacks occur in the education sector, with attackers targeting vulnerable systems and exploiting security weaknesses due to limited security resources to gain access to sensitive data.
Ransomware attacks can have a significant impact on schools, disrupting classes, operations, and the personal information of students and staff. It is crucial for schools to implement robust cybersecurity measures, such as regular data backups, network segmentation, and user education, to reduce the risk of ransomware attacks and other cyber threats.
Learn more about the state of ransomware in 2023 in our Guide to Ransomware Protection here.
Microsoft offers exclusive funding opportunities and incentives to their security partners who hold Advanced Specializations and certifications. These offers promote the deployment of their security solutions by expert security providers to their shared customers.
Difenda is able to offer these programs on behalf of our customers because of our longstanding partnership, our certifications, and our commitment to training our team in areas customers need support.
Discover more in our Microsoft & Difenda Funding & Incentives Guide here.
Ready to Get Started?
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Best in class Security Since 2008
FOUNDED
Paladion was established as a security consultancy, with its first office in Toronto, ON.
STATE OF THE ART C3
Our first security operations center opened in Oakville, ON to provide 24/7/365 security protection for our customers.
LAUNCHED THE DIFENDA SHIELD
Difenda takes an integrated and modular approach to cybersecurity with a unified platform that breaks through visibility barriers.
EXPENDED INTO THE USA
The cross-channel initiative aimed to grow Difenda's market share by offering businesses a way to simplify and consolidate their security program.
OUR TEAM DOUBLES
Difenda doubles our employees to help support the demand of our managed services.
OPENED US OFFICE
Difenda follows its strong entrance into the US market with a new office in Phoenix, Arizona.
LAUNCHED ON MICROSOFT MARKETPLACE
Difenda offerings achieve ‘Co-sell Ready’ status in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
MXDR FOR OT
Difenda launched MDR for OT powered by Microsoft Defender for IoT to help critical infrastructure companies reduce cyber risks.
MXDR VERIFIED
Difenda achieved Microsoft verified Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) solution status.
ENTERED THE MSSP MARKET
Paladion expanded its capabilities to successfully strategize, implement and manage different security technologies.
DIFENDA
Paladion rebranded to Difenda, establishing a new look reflecting its modern security approach.
EXCLUSIVELY MICROSOFT
Difenda became Microsoft security focused, beginning their cybersecurity first, Microsoft only strategy.
ESTABLISHED CISOC IN NB
Difenda set up a “cyber command center” in Fredericton, New Brunswick staffed with security experts.
EXPANDED INTO INDIA
Difenda expands remote workforce to India to support their ever growing needs for security in the tech industry.
JOINS MISA
Difenda became part of the MISA ecosystem of independent software vendors and managed security partners to better defend against a world of increasing threats.
LAUNCHED DIFENDA BUILD
We launched our first formal partner program to sell Difenda Shield directly or as a white-label offering.
WON 3 GLOBAL INFOSEC AWARDS
Difenda won global InfoSec Awards in Vulnerability Management, GRC and MDR.
NOMINATED FOR 2 MICROSOFT EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Difenda is a Security Service Innovator and Diversity in Security award finalist in the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards.
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