Case Study: Los Angeles Community College District achieves secure, granular application access and improved visibility with Palo Alto Networks

Nation’s Largest Community College District Successfully Battles ‘Security Tsunami’ with Palo Alto Networks®

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), the nation’s largest community college system serving a quarter‑million students across Los Angeles County, faced a “security tsunami” as pervasive apps, mobile devices and cloud services outpaced its aging perimeter defenses. LACCD needed much better network visibility and control to safely enable application access, protect student and staff data, and move beyond a disruptive block‑everything approach.

LACCD replaced its legacy firewalls with Palo Alto Networks PA‑4000 Series (PA‑4020) next‑generation firewalls, using user/group‑aware policies tied to Active Directory plus threat prevention and URL filtering to inspect applications and stop data leakage. The deployment delivered granular application control, real‑time visibility and reporting, faster incident resolution, and consolidated devices and workflows—lowering costs, easing administration, strengthening compliance, and allowing safe, flexible access to the online tools faculty and students need.

Los Angeles Community College District

Jorge Mata

Chief Information Officer