Fortinet Secures IIMK's Network Infrastructure

IIM Kozhikode (IIMK) is considered to be a well known management institute not only in India but also around the world. The institute undertakes numerous initiatives with an aim to groom future business leaders. It has taken various steps to provide world class infrastructure to its students.

The institute has deployed Fortinet security solutions in a bid to provide a secure network to its students and faculties.

Difficult to handle threats over network

IIMK was using a Linux-based Firewall solution to protect its network from spam, virus and other kind of attacks. However, as the user base grew, the old system was unable to meet the security requirements of the user community (students and faculties). The IT team was also finding it increasingly diffcult to deal with the various threats emanating from the network. Students can access the network from anywhere inside the campus. Due to high levels of interfacing with the external networks, it became imperative for IIMK to protect its network from all content based threats and monitor and control the usage of internet by its predominant student community.

According to Ashok Pathak, systems manager, IIM Kozhikode, “In order to protect the data available though our network, our old Linux based solution was not sufficient enough. With the increase in the usage of internet, the threats are also increasing. Furthermore, since the content filtering software resided on another server, manageability and latency were also becoming major issues for the IT team. So we decided to deploy some kind of a security solution which could help us to not only protect our data, but also overcome internal and external threats with some kind of reporting facilities.”

Fortinet scores over others

IIMK was looking for a unified threat management solution with bandwidth management capabilities. The institue examined the solutions of various vendors like Cyber Roam, SonicWall and WatchGuard, before going in for Fortinet.

Says Pathak, “Fortinet scored over others because its unified security solution can adequately address all our network security needs. The reporting and bandwidth management features are excellent.”

Nortek was chosen to execute the project, which was concluded in six months time at a cost of Rs 12 lakh. IIMK has deployed Fortinet FortiGate-500 A enterprise class with antivirus, web filter, spam filter and FortiReporter for report generation purpose, which is supported by FortiGate. It has taken licenses for 500 concurrent users.

Comprehensive Network and Content protection

Fortinet FortiGate multi-threat security appliances are providing comprehensive network and content protection through the integration of essential security applications and services-including antivirus, firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention (IPS), anti-spam, anti-spyware, web filtering and traffic shaping.

The systems are updated automatically by Fortinet’s FortiGuard Subscription services, which provide continuous updates to ensure protection against the latest viruses, worms, Trojans and other threats-around the clock and around the world. The FortiGate-500A Antivirus Firewall provides performance, flexibility, and security necessary to protect today’s growing enterprise networks.

Pathak reinstates, “Fortinet addresses every aspect of the security problem, providing superior multi-threat network and client protection, management and reporting solutions for us. We are also getting reports on the number of viruses, bandwidth usage, Web usage and protocol usage which are very important for us to take appropriate decisions. We are not worried about the ROI and data and network protection matter a lot to us.”