'Safe Data Education' campaign from Sophos hailed a
success as schools sign up to security
1,000 schools in the UK have now installed anti-virus software
following Sophos's 'Safe Data Education' campaign rolled out
earlier this year.
The scheme, launched only six months ago, offers schools the
opportunity to purchase anti-virus protection for £1 per licence.
It was introduced in response to the government's 'Internet For
All' pledge and provides schools and colleges with a comprehensive
security policy, through the installation of site-wide Educational
Anti-Virus Licences.
"I have seen computer viruses and the damage they can do," said
Sally Craigen, headteacher of Lemington First School, the 1,000th
school to sign up to the Sophos campaign. "We now store the
majority of our pupil records on PCs. At only £1 per licence, it's
not hard to justify the cost of protection."
"The long-term price schools would have to pay if they lost data
would be horrendous," said Helen Cavanagh, general advisor (ICT) at
Newcastle LEA. "Computer security is an area I'm sure many
headteachers had not fully considered before, but one they should
have some knowledge about. Sophos has not only raised awareness of
this issue, but also made protection financially feasible."
"We have been absolutely delighted by the success of our
campaign," said Petra Merne, marketing manager at Sophos. "Now that
Blair has announced extra funding for the National Grid for
Learning campaign, it's more important than ever that IT firms
inform schools that surfing the Net can have negative
consequences."
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.