XFILTER – BEYOND FILTERING
- Traditional Web Filter Solutions Are Not Enough for Education Establishments
- Updated Legislation and Standards means Tougher Controls
- Active Monitoring and Behaviour Tracking required
- Increase Security and Enable Education Compliance with the XFilter Web Filter Solution
TRADITIONAL FILTERS ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENTS
Traditional web filter solutions are point-in-time comparisons to a categorised list of websites. Whilst this prevents users in education establishments from seeing inappropriate material, they ignore the bigger threat of internal hacking or theft of personal information.
The Prevent Duty and Online Safety
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, passed in 2015, contains a duty (known as the Prevent duty) which means that schools, childcare providers and further education establishments, along with prisons, local authorities and NHS trusts, are under a legal obligation to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”, with teachers and staff responsible for identifying signs that children might be vulnerable to radicalisation.
Going Beyond Blocking & Filtering
Schools and other education establishments have been predominantly focused on filtering website content and blocking website categories in an attempt to satisfy duty of care requirements around online safety and cyber bullying. However the Keeping Children Safe in Education guideline (KCSIE) which was updated in September 2016, actually warns of the risk of over-blocking leading to “unreasonable restrictions as to what children can be taught with regards to online teaching and safeguarding.”
With the enhanced auditing requirements needed to meet KCSIE and the Prevent Duty, schools now have to look much deeper into internet and social media traffic to identify potential children at risk.
XFilter web filtering solutions by Infosec Partners allow you to move beyond simple blocking and filtering to provide increased security, enable compliance and enhance your Safeguarding abilities.
