Palo Alto Networks platform underpins Wellington College’s smart campus of the future

For more than 15 years, Wellington College has trusted Palo Alto Networks to provide a secure, simple learning experience and defend against complex threats. AI-powered automation has also helped this leading British school cut security administration by 40%, freeing resources to concentrate on strategic tasks.

^®Wellington College is one of the UK’s – and indeed the world’s – great co-educational boarding and day schools. Set in 400 acres of parkland, the College is home to a blend of breathtaking original architecture and modern state-of-the-art facilities to provide the best possible educational environment for pupils.

The College is a leader in digital learning; in recognition of its innovative use of IT in the classroom, it was awarded ‘Microsoft Showcase Schools’ status for the eighth year in a row in 2024. The Wi-Fi network extends campuswide and offers state-of-the-art connectivity, safety, and security. The College expects all 1,100 pupils to bring an E Ink (electronic ink) tablet to all lessons. These factors have enabled the college to deliver on its promise to be a completely paperless environment for the past eight years.

“We want our pupils to have frictionless, intuitive experiences. It’s part of making Wellington a more inspiring and interesting place to live and learn,” says Tony Whelton, the College’s Director of IT.

Being at the cutting edge of education technology brings challenges. As any education establishment might, the College faces a barrage of complex cybersecurity threats. Tony explains, “Traditionally, it was standard threats, like cyber-phishing scams. Now, the attacks are more sophisticated, sustained, and targeted, such as ransomware and social engineering threats.”

Tony and his team are also challenged to meet diverse statutory regulations surrounding pupil safeguarding. “Evidence-based compliance is crucial in education. A strong compliance programme enables the College to protect data and provide evidence-based adherence to regulations set by the Department for Education, NCSC, and other parties.”

All of this demands balance. On the one hand, Wellington College needs robust and resilient cyber controls to protect its pupils. On the other, it cannot allow security controls to get in the way of modern digital learning. “Cybersecurity is best when it’s invisible,” says Tony.

Reflecting its visionary approach to cybersecurity, Wellington College was one of the first organisations in the UK to partner with Palo Alto Networks, and Tony was there to make it happen. “We met the Founder, Nir Zuk, and came away impressed by Palo Alto Networks’ product roadmap, the passion its people had for cybersecurity and their focus on our success. When we first trialled the firewalls, it was eye-opening to see the vulnerabilities passing through the network. Compared with the firewall we had previously, it was a step change into the future.”

That was 15 years ago; such vulnerabilities are now a thing of the past. Today, Wellington College uses two Palo Alto Networks ML-Powered Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) in an active/active environment with failover. Together, they provide complete, unified monitoring of all data and devices passing through the 400 acre campus.

The NGFWs are complemented by an array of integrated Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS), which add an additional layer of visibility and protection, using Precision AI to defend against the latest attack techniques. Uniquely, AI security powered by Precision AI can detect and prevent the acceleration of polymorphic threats. Advanced URL Filtering and Threat Prevention are especially relevant in this unique education environment, providing additional security controls to prevent phishing attacks in real time, as well as cutting-edge prevention capabilities for Red Team tools, such as Cobalt Strike commonly used in ransomware attacks.

This simple, modern network security strategy is safeguarding Wellington College and all associated personal information across cloud, network, and endpoint devices. The advantages include that it:

• Safeguards pupils and staff from today’s and tomorrow’s cyberthreats: Modern, connected network security strategy enables consistent security regardless of location. It protects sensitive student and staff data; defends against malware, ransomware, phishing and other threats; and supports a safe online learning environment.
• Reduces firewall management by 40%: Network security automation, AI, and other intelligent functionality enables the IT team to focus resources away from manual security administration to more strategic tasks. “Palo Alto Networks automates more than 90% of monitoring and response activities, reducing firewall administration by 40% compared with our previous platform.” This is crucial in an education environment in which cybersecurity skills shortages are a continual challenge.
• Simplifies and streamlines protection across the attack surface: AI and machine learning (ML) reduce the volume of alerts and enable granular control over network traffic. “The dashboards are very impressive. As the Director of IT, I have a snapshot view of the network – instant colour-coded threats show me immediately where the problems are and which applications are most at risk.”
• Provides customised management and compliance across the digital estate: The College can confidently stay ahead of emerging risks and ensure compliance with internet usage policies. “We can flexibly adhere to all safeguarding legislation and meet new requirements,” says Tony