Fast-growing University Protected from Persistent, Malicious Attacks

• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Application Security
• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security

• Education

• Business Operation
• Facility Management

• Intrusion Detection Systems

• Cybersecurity Services
• System Integration

The Universiti Malaysia Perlis faced significant challenges in protecting its network and data from sophisticated attacks. The university needed to ensure uninterrupted online access, support a multi-application environment, and prevent the loss of personal and sensitive data. Additionally, the solution had to be scalable, easy to install, and manage. The university was subject to SQL injection attacks five to ten times per hour, making it imperative to find a robust security solution. The primary challenges included blocking constant attacks, ensuring the security of inbound, outbound, and peer-to-peer communications, preventing data loss, and scaling to meet the needs of a growing university.

Universiti Malaysia Perlis, located in Perlis, Malaysia, is one of the country's fastest-growing higher education institutions. Over the past decade, the university has seen a remarkable increase in enrollment, growing by about 7,500 percent. As a leading engineering university, it operates multiple application servers, web services, and informational websites used by students, staff, and the general public across more than 30 different campuses. The university's Information and Communication Technology Center (ICT) is responsible for ensuring network performance, scalability, and uninterrupted online access while protecting the multi-application environment from any loss of confidential data.

To address these challenges, Universiti Malaysia Perlis implemented the Barracuda Web Application Firewall and Energize Updates. The Barracuda Web Application Firewall is designed to block sophisticated web-based intrusions and attacks targeting applications hosted on web servers and the sensitive data they access. It scans all inbound web traffic to block attacks and scans outbound traffic to provide effective data loss prevention. The firewall uses a full reverse-proxy architecture, offers malware protection for collaborative web applications, and includes built-in Data Loss Prevention (DLP) features. Additionally, it does not charge per-user or per-server fees and is available as a virtual appliance. The ICT Center evaluation team determined that the Barracuda Web Application Firewall would meet the university's demanding, long-term infrastructure requirements. The firewall ensures secure, encrypted communication between university students and lecturers and web applications using HTTP and HTTPS protocols. A dashboard provides instant visibility into attack statistics, system performance, traffic, resource usage, and other information helpful for troubleshooting and management. Barracuda Central experts work 24x7 to monitor and block the latest Internet threats, delivering protection against previously unknown threats within minutes of their discovery via Energize Updates.

• The Barracuda Web Application Firewall provided protection from constant SQL injection and other malware attacks, ensuring the network is always up and running.
• Confidential data is kept safe, preventing any loss of personal or sensitive information.
• The solution is easy to manage and monitor, allowing IT administrators to oversee web applications across the network efficiently.

• Enrollment increased by approximately 7,500 percent over the past decade.
• The university is subject to SQL injection attacks five to ten times per hour.