University of
ConnecticutUConn Firewall Strategy
The challenges of protecting a University environment are many and varied. There are several needs, threats and challenges that are (in varying degrees) common to the full spectrum of educational institutions, from primary and secondary schools through higher and adult education. These include protection from viruses, worms and spyware, secure connectivity from remote locations, compliance with Federal regulations, maximizing utilization of bandwidth and protection of administrative resources and students from hackers.
Our primary difficulty lies in maintaining an open collaborative environment that is both secure and reliable.
UITS has taken an innovative approach in network and host security by installing firewalls that combine the common capabilities of stateful inspection with the uncommon ability to scan network traffic, in real time, for viruses and network intrusion attempts. The principal idea is to identify and stop only malicious traffic, while allowing legitimate traffic to flow as expected. This approach provides two significant benefits to the UITS and the University:
The network is configured with fewer restrictions; allowing the community to use the network as they are accustomed, while enabling UITS to provide the protection that is required.
UITS can take a proactive approach and prevent hosts from becoming infected by a virus or compromised by a hacker, rather than reacting to events that cause a loss in productivity or data.
The database of virus and attack types is constantly updated in real time by the vendor, so as new threats and variants are released the University is automatically and immediately protected.
For information regarding the types of viruses and attacks that have been prevented by the firewalls please review the links on the left. You will need a current NetID to obtain access to these reports.
Updated: 10/11/2006