Tabani's School of Accountancy (TSA) x Maxicon Solutions
Maxicon Solutions and Tabani’s School of Accountancy (TSA) collaborated to fortify TSA’s IT infrastructure and enhance their network capabilities following a ransomware attack. The partnership began with a comprehensive IT and network audit to identify vulnerabilities and assess risks within TSA’s existing infrastructure. TSA had experienced a ransomware attack, highlighting significant vulnerabilities in their network and IT infrastructure. The attack underscored the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures and infrastructure upgrades to mitigate future risks and safeguard sensitive data.
Project Information
- Client Name Tabani's School of Accountancy
- Start Date Nov 30, 2021
- Location Karachi, Pakistan
Project Challenge
Ransomware Attack Fallout: The aftermath of the ransomware attack posed a significant challenge for TSA, as it highlighted vulnerabilities within their network and IT infrastructure, necessitating urgent remediation to mitigate future risks and ensure data security.
Complex Network Environment: TSA’s network environment encompassed multiple buildings and campuses, resulting in a complex infrastructure that required meticulous planning and execution to implement effective security measures and network upgrades seamlessly.
Legacy Infrastructure Compatibility: Integrating new security solutions and network upgrades with TSA’s existing legacy infrastructure presented compatibility challenges, requiring careful assessment and implementation to ensure seamless functionality and minimal disruption to ongoing operations.
Security and Compliance Requirements: TSA needed to adhere to stringent security and compliance standards, including data protection regulations and industry-specific requirements, adding complexity to the implementation process and necessitating thorough adherence to regulatory guidelines.
User Adoption and Training: Introducing new technologies and solutions, such as virtualization and mobile applications, required user adoption and training initiatives to ensure that students, faculty, and staff could effectively utilize these tools to enhance productivity and collaboration.
Budget Constraints: Limited budgetary resources posed a challenge in procuring and implementing advanced security solutions, network upgrades, and mobile application development, requiring careful resource allocation and prioritization to maximize the effectiveness of available funds.
Technical Expertise and Skill Gap: Overcoming technical challenges and addressing skill gaps among TSA’s IT staff required training and knowledge transfer initiatives to empower internal teams to effectively manage and maintain the implemented solutions in the long term.
Network Scalability and Future-Proofing: Designing and implementing a network infrastructure that could accommodate TSA’s future growth and evolving technology needs posed a challenge, requiring scalability and future-proofing considerations to ensure that the infrastructure could adapt to changing requirements over time.
Addressing these challenges required a collaborative approach, strategic planning, and technical expertise to successfully implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures, network upgrades, and innovative solutions to meet TSA’s operational and security objectives effectively.
Solutions:
IT and Network Audit: Maxicon Solutions conducted a thorough audit to assess TSA’s network and IT infrastructure, identifying vulnerabilities and conducting a risk assessment to evaluate potential security threats.
Fortigate 100E Firewall Implementation: Maxicon Solutions deployed Fortigate 100E firewall to fortify TSA’s network perimeter and protect against cyber threats, ensuring enhanced security and threat detection capabilities.
Network Segmentation and VLAN Communication: Multiple network segmentations were implemented to isolate critical systems and enhance network security. VLAN communication was established to optimize network traffic and improve overall network performance.
Centralized Wifi System with UniFi Access Points: Maxicon Solutions deployed a centralized Wifi system utilizing UniFi Access Points and Mesh Technology, ensuring seamless and reliable Wifi coverage across TSA’s campus buildings.
Network Infrastructure Upgrade: TSA’s network infrastructure was upgraded from Ethernet to Optical Fiber, enhancing data transfer speeds, reliability, and scalability.
Site-to-Site IP-Sec VPN Deployment: Maxicon Solutions established Site-to-Site IP-Sec VPN connections over Fortigate, connecting TSA’s main campus with other campus locations securely and efficiently.
Virtualization with VMWare ESXi: Critical applications such as the Student Portal, Databases, Accounting Software, and ERPs were virtualized using VMWare ESXi, optimizing resource utilization and improving system performance and scalability.
Mobile Application Development: Maxicon Solutions developed a comprehensive mobile application for TSA’s students and faculty, featuring functionalities such as Recorded Class Lectures, Class and Exam Schedules, Results, Announcements, and a separate portal for faculty members. The application was built using React Native and made available on the Play Store.
Outcome:
Enhanced Security Posture: The implementation of Fortigate firewall, network segmentation, and VPN connections significantly enhanced TSA’s security posture, reducing the risk of cyber threats and unauthorized access.
Improved Network Performance: Upgrading TSA’s network infrastructure to Optical Fiber and implementing VLAN communication improved network performance, reliability, and scalability, ensuring seamless data transfer and communication across the campus.
Efficient Virtualization: Virtualizing critical applications using VMWare ESXi optimized resource utilization, improved system performance, and enhanced scalability, enabling TSA to efficiently manage and maintain their IT infrastructure.
Seamless Mobile Experience: The mobile application developed by Maxicon Solutions provided students and faculty with a seamless and intuitive platform to access important information and resources, enhancing communication and collaboration within the TSA community.
Long-term Partnership: Maxicon Solutions established a support contract with TSA for ongoing maintenance, monitoring, and support services, ensuring continued reliability and security of TSA’s network infrastructure and IT systems.
In conclusion, the collaboration between Maxicon Solutions and Tabani’s School of Accountancy (TSA) resulted in the successful implementation of comprehensive cybersecurity measures, infrastructure upgrades, and innovative solutions, empowering TSA to enhance operational efficiency, improve security, and deliver an enhanced digital experience to students and faculty.