CUSTOMER CASE STUDY

Sayfol International School
Kuala Lumpur Embraces
Sophos Intercept X for its
Endpoint Protection and Overall
Seamless IT Experience

Customer-at-a-Glance
Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur
Industry
Educational institution
Number of Users
2,000 students, teachers, and staff
Sophos Solutions
Sophos Central Endpoint Advanced
Sophos Intercept X

Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur A customer success story

Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur is an
institution of learning in Malaysia. It provides
education with high academic standards andplaces a strong focus on discipline and academic
studies for over 2,000 students from 60 different
countries around the world. The multi-layered
institution turned to Sophos in July 2017 to improve
its existing endpoint security as part of their
ongoing efforts to improve the overall IT system
and infrastructure for its students, teachers,
and staff, as well as the parents of students.

‘What’s great
about Intercept
X is its root
cause analysis,
which provides
my team thenecessaryvisibility.’
Andrew Wong
IT Manager
Sayfol International
School Kuala Lumpur

Challenges
ÌÌ Previous endpoint security products proved unreliable
and inadequate, leaving the school susceptible tomalware attacks and potential data lossÌÌ Desire to expand user services, such as secure Wi-Fi, to students
and staff while still protecting users from modern threatsÌÌ Need for increased time and effort spent on
important, school-wide technology initiatives

What is the current state ofend-to-end security?
IT Manager Andrew Wong is responsible for all aspects of IT andsecurity across the institution, from managing student portals toensuring the health of the overall IT infrastructure. Wong currently
works with one other staff member in the IT department, and he places
great importance in having reliable security control tools to help histeam manage and monitor the overall state of security across theinstitution. Coming from a corporate background, Wong believes that
deploying a 24/7 comprehensive security solution is crucial to allow
the department to focus on other areas that fall under IT. This goal
includes preparations to extend the current IT infrastructure to meetthe expansion plans for the school’s overall management system. Wongand his team are also responsible for providing their managementwith regular monitoring logs and reports, as well as proposals for
upgrades and improvements to the current IT infrastructure.

Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur A customer success story

When he first joined Sayfol International in mid 2017,
Wong’s first task was to find a solution to some of thefundamental security challenges the organization
faced. Before the switch to Sophos, the institution
deployed a competitor’s home edition antivirus
software for its endpoint protection, which provided
limited features. According to Wong, the solution
not only failed to run regular scans – it also did notdetect or remove malware completely, which thencompromised other PCs used by students. Some of theteachers were also at risk of losing valuable teachingmaterials as a result of using compromised devices.
“Our biggest issue stemmed from students using
compromised USB drives. Malware was often notdetected by the competitor’s software despite supposedly
regular scans,” said Wong. “As a result, we had security
issues across all the other PCs in our environment. It
also affected our entire network, which also included
the CCTVs. Additionally, we couldn’t find the root
cause and often ended up taking time to manuallyclean and reformat each PC. Unfortunately, the issue
persisted. This became a daily issue for us and took
away precious time from more important tasks.”
On the front-end server and web gateway levels, theIT department uses a competitor firewall solution.
However, the team is finding it hard to navigate its
complicated user interface and management controls
and so they intend to switch in the near future.
“I’m finding it a little complex,” said Wong. “Every firewallis the same. However, different brands come withdifferent interfaces. This particular one requires more
steps than usual to carry out tasks. However, I believethat there are clear benefits in using both the endpoint
protection and the network firewall security that comefrom the same provider. This may influence my decisionon which firewall protection solution I will deploy next.”

How do you make theswitch to Sophos?
When he started working with Sayfol International,
Wong knew his first priority was to tackle the security
issues at the user level. When the school ordered more
PCs and devices, he decided to switch the existinghome edition software to Sophos Intercept X endpoint
protection and Sophos Central Endpoint Advanced.

Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur A customer success story“When I first joined, I said there is no way this outdated
process can continue. I refused to allow these issues
to affect the rest of the IT infrastructure,” explained
Wong. “I’ve used many competitor brands in the past,
but nothing comes close to my experience using
Sophos, thanks to a recommendation from a Sophos
vendor. It has been six years now and my opinion is still
the same. In fact, the solution has become even moreadvanced over the years. Today, Intercept X comes withsome of the most groundbreaking features, including
the credential theft protection,ensuring students’and teachers’ passwords are completely safe without
the possibility of falling into the wrong hands.”
For Wong, one of the most useful features in Sophos
Central Endpoint Advanced solution was the Peripheral
Control, as it helped manage access to removable
media and mobile devices used by students. It blocks
all compromised USB drives and devices and keeps
the PCs malware free. Similarly, using the Cloud
Edition of the endpoint solution keeps users awayfrom malicious URLs and sends an alert to the IT
department for immediate action when needed.

How does Sophos makeeveryone happier andmore productive?
In the past, Wong and his team spent hours reformatting,plugging, and unplugging devices on a daily basis.
However, since the institution started using Sophos
endpoint solutions, all systems have been stable,
showing zero slowness or lag time. Even the school’s
bandwidth performance has improved overall.
“Our management team is extremely happy now. The
teachers are pleased with the increased productivity.
Sophos has proven to all of us to be the most effective
solution. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I stepped
into the computer lab, unless it has to do with power
failure or hardware malfunction,” declares Wong.
Since switching to Sophos, Sayfol International School
experienced improvement beyond their expectations.
Since their Sophos deployment, the school has
seen almost a 100% decrease in IT issues.
“Sophos has even brought down any issues weexperienced on the network level, which is huge relief.
There has not been a single incident of down timeor lag since we switched to Sophos. We are quite‘Our management team is extremely
happy now. The teachers are specificallypleased with the increased productivity.’
Andrew Wong
IT Manager
Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur

impressed with the benefits we’ve experienced thus
far,” explains Wong. “The improvements we’ve madeto our endpoint protection has improved our entire
school infrastructure. And, we are glad to be using anendpoint protection solution that has received some ofthe highest performance scores ever seen in third-partytesting. Sophos is definitely the right security for us.”
Sayfol currently has 68 licenses of Sophos Intercept Xand Sophos Central Endpoint Advanced and is looking
to increase to 100 by end of the year. Unlike previous
security solutions used by the school, Sophos has all
the functionality the organization needs in one place:the ability to check internet connections in real time
to block known threats, out-of-the-box policy controls
to minimize risk of infection from malware, andantivirus for swift detection and removal of viruses.

Why does choosing the rightprotection solution matter?
Wong believes that it is important for corporations toconsider their options wisely when it comes to choosing
the right protection. According to him, choosing themost affordable solution may please the management,
but it may not guarantee a smooth IT journey.
“It’s always important to allow time to try and test
the product before purchasing it. That’s my approachand it has worked well. It is also helpful to show yourmanagement the benefits and ROI from their investment.
It’s time to do away with the ‘this is better than nothing’mindset and decide thoroughly on the solution that candeliver unparalleled defense against threats,” states Wong.

Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur A customer success story

According to Wong, the back-end support from Sophos
is just as important as the solution itself. In the past, hehas had his concerns about the level of support he would
receive based on certain issues he faced reaching out
to his former security vendor. However, Wong is now
more confident after working with this distributor andSophos Support. He knows that with Sophos he will getthe proper support and follow-up when he needs it.
“When I first deployed Sophos, I ran into some
unfamiliar issues. Sophos sent their principal engineer
directly to our office to help us understand thesolution better and showed us around the software
so that we were more confident using it. It’s the littlegestures that make a big difference,” clarifies Wong.
According to Wong and his team, with fewer end-user
issues on his plate, he is able to spend more time on
upcoming initiatives, including implementing top-up value
on microchipped smart cards for upcoming technology.
Sophos is a win for the students and for the teaching staff
as well. The IT team is able to provide users improved
protection and access to upgraded services, both withgreater convenience. This includes guest Wi-Fi for theparents to access their children’s student portal to review
performance, subjects, and feedback from teachers.
“In future, the full features of the school system willallow students and parents to access the respective
portal as well as the Wi-Fi for assignments andresearch. Thanks to Sophos, we are able to provide
them seamless, problem-free experience when usingthe computer labs and Wi-Fi. What’s great about
Intercept X is its root cause analysis provides my teamwith the necessary visibility into threats, along instantmalware removal, to ensure no attack remnants remain.
I couldn’t ask for a better solution,” verbalizes Wong.

Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur A customer success story

What’s next?
The school is currently looking into centralizing its IT
infrastructure further and may consider engaging asingle vendor for its endpoint and network levels. WithSophos’ excellent track record at the school so far, Wongis confident in his ability to persuade his managementon the benefits of switching its current competitor
firewall brand to Sophos XG Firewall. Planning for thefuture, Wong and his team see value in Sophos Security
Heartbeat™, which enables endpoints and firewalls toshare intelligence in real time across a trusted channel,
allowing for stronger and more effective protection
against advanced malware and targeted attacks.
Wong is also looking to secure 80 to 100 additional
licenses for Sophos Intercept X and Central Endpoint
Protection to cater to upcoming expansions. He isconfident with Intercept X, with its unique combinationof advanced techniques that stop the widest rangeof attacks necessary to keep the organization’scurrent devices protected. It also stops active
breaches while eliminating hacker safe havens,
online extortion, and the latest ransomware attacks.
With Wong and his IT team leading the way, Sayfol
International School is at the forefront of security.
“We are excited for what’s next, because now
we are using cutting-edge technology. WithSophos, we can confidently head into the future
regardless of what it brings,” concludes Wong.

‘We are quite
impressed withthe benefits we’ve
experienced withSophos. The
improvements
we’ve made to ourendpoint protection
have improved
our entire school
infrastructure.’
Andrew Wong
IT Manager
Sayfol International School Kuala Lumpur

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