Building a Secure Network during the COVID-19

Our university updated its network to improve security and network stability in 2021. The new network has introduced UTM (Unified Threat Management) with the necessary licenses and bandwidth to allow all members to make VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections for remote work and remote lectures. The UTM appliance is equipped with security functions such as DLP in addition to access control by IP address. In order to support HyFlex (Hybrid-Flexible) lessons, we added wireless access points to each lecture room, but it did not work well. If the channel was not adjusted, it was unable to connect temporarily in a classroom where many devices trying to connect. However, by adjusting the channel and output, the WiFi can be used comfortably. In addition, as the opportunities to use the network for classes and on-campus events increased, it was difficult to adjust the schedule for stopping the network and replacing equipment, and it was difficult to update the network. In this paper, we will report what kind of design was done to build a highly secure and highly available network within a limited budget, and what kind of difficulties were encountered in the construction work.