Macquarie University secures IP

11.07.2006
Australia's Macquarie University has just completed a security systems overhaul in the wake of an audit last year which found weaknesses in its infrastructure.

As part of the overhaul the university has inked a A$1 million (US$750,000) deal with Nortel Networks Inc. and channel partner 3D Networks Pte Ltd. to replace multiple firewalls and ad hoc security gateways.

It was replaced with a network of secure routers connected to a central firewall for all incoming and outgoing traffic.

Peter Hole, the university's infrastructure services manager, said a mandate has been passed to protect intellectual property (IP) at the research institution.

"We store a large amount of sensitive research and commercially viable data on our network," he said.

"Considering we support more than 30,000 students, all of whom have equal access to the network, we have the dual challenge of creating an environment that fosters experimentation and learning while protecting against unauthorized traffic originating from our users."