ManagedMethods: Working Smarter, Not Harder To Secure Data In Lean Times
California K-12 techs benefit from affordable cybersecurity and student safety automation technology
If you’re in K-12 education, you’re no stranger to doing more with less. Leading a district technology department can feel like an exercise in futility. Not only are you expected to maintain what equates to an enterprise-level IT infrastructure on a shoestring budget. But now you’re also the front line of defense against cybercriminals—both foreign and domestic.
If you’re a technology leader in K-12, this is where a company like ManagedMethods might be able to help.
With budget cuts looming, schools and districts throughout California are tightening their proverbial belts and figuring out how to work smarter with the limited resources available.
Tech teams in more than 30 districts in the state of California alone love our products’ reliability, ease of use, and lightweight construction which has minimal impact on the end-user experience. Take Manny Sanchez, Director of Technology at Azusa USD for example:
"Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 security tools will show you some analytics, but you really don't have the ability to take action on it quickly. Cloud Monitor allows me to see every aspect of what is going on in my cloud domains, then it lets me take action."
Why are Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 Security Important for K-12 Schools?
Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 security is crucial for K-12 schools to protect sensitive data, prevent cyberattacks, ensure continuous learning, and support modern learning environments. Implementing proper, cloud-based security measures helps create a safe and productive educational environment for students, teachers, and staff.
Securing your district’s Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 environment is crucial for multiple reasons. First, it protects sensitive student, staff, and district data, including personal information and academic records, W2s, electronic payments, and more. It also helps schools ensure compliance with legal requirements such as FERPA, CIPA, and COPPA.
Further, cloud security measures in Google and Microsoft help prevent cyberattacks like phishing, malware, and ransomware, which can compromise sensitive data and disrupt school operations.
A common misconception is that phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks don’t impact Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. In fact, phishing attacks can lead to credential theft, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information stored in Google and Microsoft drives and shared drives. Malware can corrupt or delete critical files, spread infections through shared documents, and create backdoors for further unauthorized access.
The majority of cyberattacks—including ransomware—begin with phishing emails. And where are those emails being opened and clicked on? That’s right, your users’ Gmail or Outlook accounts—both located in the cloud.
Take Manny Sanchez’s story, for example. "Using Cloud Monitor, we quickly started seeing fewer phishing emails as it became easier for us to properly track who was sending out that email,” he said. “More importantly, it allowed our staff and students to know that illegitimate emails weren't getting through."
Is My Firewall Good Enough?
No.
Firewalls, while essential for network security, are not sufficient to protect data stored in cloud services like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
The main reason is because Google and Microsoft 365 are cloud applications, which operate outside the traditional network perimeter, making them inaccessible to firewalls designed for local network protection. The widespread access provided by these cloud applications, by the nature of their infrastructure, bypasses firewall restrictions because they’re not within your network.
Further, firewalls cannot prevent insider threats or phishing attacks targeting authorized users. Modern cyber threats often use sophisticated methods to bypass firewall defenses, and firewalls are not equipped to manage application-level attacks. Additionally, cloud services facilitate external sharing and third-party integrations, which firewalls cannot effectively control.
The dynamic and distributed nature of cloud infrastructure, with its use of dynamic IP addresses and geographically dispersed data centers, further complicates firewall protection. Therefore, comprehensive security for these platforms requires additional measures such as multi-factor authentication, data encryption, access monitoring and controls, and regular security audits.
How Can ManagedMethods Help?
ManagedMethods is the only company providing K-12 specific cybersecurity and safety for Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and online browsing. Our products make cybersecurity and safety easy and affordable for IT teams in California working to keep your students, staff, and communities safe.
With our Cloud Monitor and Content Filter platforms, you can gain the visibility and control you need to monitor, alert, and respond when time is of the essence—no proxy, no agent, and no special training needed.
Cloud Monitor is a central command center for managing cybersecurity and student safety risks in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Through automated controls, it helps prevent data security breaches, account takeovers, ransomware, and phishing attacks, while also detecting student safety signals.
“When I first saw the Cloud Monitor demo, I realized it's everything I had at my previous district rolled into one,” Manny Sanchez, Director of Technology at Azusa USD shared. “The visibility and control it would give me into Google Workspace was amazing, so I immediately said, 'I love it. Let's do what we have to do to get this kicked off.'”
Content Filter is our web filtering solution, offering a modern, scalable, and user-friendly solution tailored to the unique needs of schools. Its cloud-based architecture ensures quick deployment with no complex installation required. Unlike on-premise solutions that can struggle with high data volumes due to limited server capacity, Content Filter is lightweight and highly scalable, so your students and teachers won't be slowed down.
“Content Filter is so lightweight that we were able to run it at the same time as our existing solution without impacting our end users’ experience. We were set up in about 15 minutes and we started seeing results almost immediately. We were able to report on activity and see what students were attempting to access,” Manny recalled. “It was also impressive that it had no impact on our end users when running both web filters at the same time. It’s a no-brainer for us.”
ManagedMethods is proud to be a Petabyte level sponsor of the Corporate Affiliate Program with CITE for the 2024-2025 school year. CITE member discounts are available to all current CITE member districts.
Get started just like Manny and over 30 other districts in California have. Sign up for your 30-day free trial, with no obligation and no payment information required, and experience the benefits of cybersecurity and student safety that you will love—and can afford.
"You don't know what you don't know,” Manny advised. “Unless you have the budget to hire somebody to monitor your environment 24/7, you need solutions like Cloud Monitor and Content Filter by ManagedMethods to help you do it."