Maricopa Community Colleges offers free antivirus software
Students and employees now have access to free antivirus software after the recent system outage that moved back the start of classes after spring break by a week.
The Maricopa Community College District negotiated a partnership with Sophos Home, an award-winning security software that offers advanced protection against malware and security of privacy data on up to 10 devices per user as part of the district-purchased license.
According to MCCCD spokesperson Matt Hasson, the district sorted the Sophos purchase before the network outage, but it wasn’t until the cyberattack happened that the rollout was accelerated.
“Of course, we treated this matter with the highest priority because we have to maintain security,” he said.
The outage was caused by suspicious activity detected on the network during spring break on March 16 after which the districts’ technology experts immediately disconnected all access to the system. It remained shut down for two weeks.
The district brought the system back online on March 29, yet it continues to encourage students, faculty, and staff to follow additional protection measures. New district security protocols include mandatory password resets, two-step identification and free antivirus protection for personal devices.
“Because of the pandemic and remote work and classes, more stakeholders than ever are using personal devices to attack our systems,” said Hasson. “That software is just another tool that helps everyone keep our network safe because, you know, this type of thing happens frequently.”
The initial results of still-ongoing investigations show the cyberattack was contained, and experts have found no evidence that any data was compromised.
“The reason we were able to do that is because of the continued investment in our security,” said Hasson. “But this happens a lot.”
According to the district’s website, students must have a valid institutional email and a personal device to download the software. Each user’s license will expire after graduation or separation from the Maricopa Community Colleges. The district will communicate any changes to the license agreement with Sophos.
Instructions on how to install the antivirus software can be found on the MCCCD website, and video tutorials are available through the Sophos YouTube channel. For technical support after installation users can go to the Sophos Support website.
“The more we do collectively to protect our systems, the better it is for all of us,” said Hasson. “That way there’s no impact and we’re safe, and we can do what we’re over here to do.”
