HENNGE One is Adopted for Deployment of PPPAP and Large File Sharing Mechanism
Strengthening Email Security and Improving Business Efficiency
Surugadai University is a general university with a campus in the lush green city of Hanno. Based on its founding spirit of “education with love,” the university continues to nurture a wide range of human resources who will play a central role in local communities in today’s globalized and information-oriented society through small-group seminar education in which students and faculty engage in repeated discussions, and detailed career support that addresses each individual student. The university is also focusing on the digitalization of the learning environment by deploying 10G networks and Wi-Fi6 on campus, and has adopted HENNGE One as a mechanism for de-PPAP measures and large file sharing for faculty and staff work. HENNGE One was adopted as a system for de-PPAP and large-volume file sharing for faculty and staff work.
We interviewed Mr. Takuya Wada, who is in charge of IT infrastructure development at the university.
Large file sending and PPAP – challenges in email workload and security
— Please tell us about the background and reasons for considering the introduction of this system.
We often saw staff members having a hard time, for example, when deploying a video file introducing a company for career support. The university had no official system for sending such large files, and each staff member had to deal with it differently, for example, using an external free service to send the files. In addition, since we often handle personal information of personnel, students, and others, each individual had to manually send a ZIP file with a password and the password separately, so-called PPAP. While we felt that this was an issue in terms of workload and security, the Digital Agency announced its policy to discontinue PPAP in November 2020, and we began to seriously consider introducing the service.
HENNGE One was selected for its ease of operation and future deployability
— What were the key points you focused on when selecting a service?
Since this is a service used by faculty and staff, we placed particular emphasis on the ease of use and simplicity of operation, as well as the fact that even those who are not familiar with IT could handle it without problems.
— After comparing various services, what were the deciding factors in selecting HENNGE One?
We found HENNGE One to be the easiest to use. Users will stop using the system if they find it difficult to use once, so the easiness of operation was the most decisive factor. Also, the file capacity of up to 2 gigabytes at a time was reassuring. In addition, HENNGE One offers a full range of e-mail security services, so I thought it would have a high potential for future development. We thought that HENNGE One could be deployed smoothly even if we wanted to start with a non-PPAP system and then implement total e-mail security in the future.
Smooth deployment within the university and natural spread of use without bias among departments
— How smooth was the introduction and deployment of HENNGE One on campus?
We prepared during the summer vacation in August 2021 and started using the system in the new semester in September. In preparation, we used HENNGE’s support to set up the initial settings, such as the number of characters for passwords and the retention period for uploaded files. We were able to put together a simplified user manual in one day, so there was no heavy workload to install the system. We announced the system on the university’s portal site and introduced it during information security training for all full-time faculty and staff at the university. After that, we received almost no inquiries from users about the use of the system, and the deployment went very smoothly.
The system is also linked to BI tools and groupware, and the SSO functionality facilitates smooth deployment within the company.
— How many accounts are using the system?
Approximately 250 staff and faculty accounts are using the system.
— What is the degree of use of the system within the university and what has been the response from users?
The use of SSO has spread naturally without any bias among departments and seems to have penetrated quickly. In particular, the Career Center, which had been struggling with the high frequency of large file sharing, welcomed the use of the system very much. Faculty members also appreciate the convenience of the system, as they often send large files for research presentations and other occasions. In addition, departments that handle personnel and student information, such as the General Affairs Division and the Student Support Division, also frequently use the system as a secure mechanism regardless of file size.
— Please let us know if there are any features that you actually use and find useful.
The function that notifies us by e-mail when a file we have sent has been downloaded is very useful. In addition, there is a function that allows us to disable the downloading of files in the event of accidental transmission, which gives us peace of mind.
De-PPAP, improved convenience and security of e-mail operations
— Please tell us about the benefits of using HENNGE One.
We no longer have to use external services, compress files, and send passwords separately. It is very significant that we were able to provide an official and secure PPPAP-free mechanism that greatly improves operational efficiency related to e-mail transmission. The fact that the system does not require much time and effort for operation and management, and that we can use it as a matter of course without any inquiries, is also a great achievement. While increasing security often reduces convenience, I think HENNGE One is a tool that provides both security and convenience.
— Are there any features you would like to use in the future?
We are considering using HENNGE Secure Download, which automates the detachment of attached files and URLs for downloading when sending e-mails, to further improve work efficiency. In addition, we would like to utilize HENNGE’s e-mail filtering function as a countermeasure against doppelganger domains*, which are a regular problem in the education community.
*Domains that closely resemble and misidentify well-known, high-traffic companies, organizations, and services. Emails misdirected to similar domains could lead to information leaks.
Educational institutions have a strong email culture, and improvement is highly effective
— Do you have any advice for educational institutions suffering from similar problems?
Although various communication tools have become widespread recently, the e-mail culture is still strong in educational institutions. Since the frequency of use of e-mail is high, improving the e-mail environment will greatly improve operational efficiency and enhance security.
— Finally, what are your expectations for HENNGE?
We expect HENNGE to continue to provide solutions that are easy to implement in the education industry and accessible to everyone. We also look forward to providing a community-like forum where IT professionals in higher education can exchange information.