Home » Security Bloggers Network » Beyond the Firewall: Evansville Christian School Deploys Smarter Google Workspace Security & Safety

Beyond the Firewall: Evansville Christian School Deploys Smarter Google Workspace Security & Safety

by Katie Fritchen on April 7, 2025

How the School’s IT Team Gained Visibility, Prevents Cyber Threats, and Protects Student Data with Cloud Monitor

Evansville Christian School in Newburgh, Indiana, supports about 1,100 students and 200 faculty and staff. Like many K-12 schools, they have foundational cybersecurity tools in place, including a firewall and GoGuardian for content filtering and student monitoring. But, they needed a solution to secure their Google Workspace environment.

“Before Cloud Monitor, we had no real insight into what was happening in our Google Workspace. Now, we have full visibility and control, which allows us to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to cybersecurity and student safety.”

—Cassy Gobin, Chief Technology Officer, Evansville Christian School

“We knew people were improperly sharing personally identifiable information (PII), and some students were probably taking advantage of the tools. But we didn’t have the visibility and control we needed to identify and mitigate those kinds of risks,” says Cassy Gobin, Chief Technology Officer at Evansville Christian School.

To address this issue, Cassy and her IT support admin, Chris Hirsch, soon began looking into ManagedMethods to learn how its Cloud Monitor platform could enhance their cybersecurity posture and improve student safety in Google Workspace apps such as Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Shared Drives.

Challenges

Like many in K-12, the school’s IT team lacked the visibility and control needed to proactively manage risks in Google Workspace. “Unless there was an alert that came through Google’s Admin console, we simply didn’t have visibility into what was going on,” Cassy explains.

“As a private school, we don’t have access to the same state-funded cybersecurity resources that public schools do, so we have to be very strategic about our investments. Cloud Monitor is a justifiable and effective way for us to strengthen our security and safety posture without breaking the budget.”

—Cassy Gobin, Chief Technology Officer, Evansville Christian School

One of Cassy’s biggest concerns was data security, particularly data loss prevention or the improper sharing of personally identifiable information (PII). “We were aware that people were probably sharing PII through email, but we had no way to identify or prevent it,” says Cassy. This lack of oversight put student and staff data at risk and created compliance concerns.

Another pressing issue was students using unauthorized third-party apps with their school credentials. “Students were signing up for apps using their school email accounts, which meant they were sharing school-associated data in places we hadn’t approved,” Cassy recalls. Without a way to manage or restrict app permissions, this posed security, safety, and productivity challenges.

Email security was also a growing concern. The IT team had no streamlined way to identify and remediate compromised accounts, phishing attempts, or accidental mass email distribution.

“We weren’t looking for a massive, complex system—we needed something that would help us make progress on our cybersecurity goals and give us the insight we required that was easy to use and would fit in our budget,” Cassy explains.

Results

Since implementing Cloud Monitor, Evansville Christian School has significantly improved its ability to monitor and mitigate security threats and student safety risks. “Now, we can see what’s going on in our domain, and it helps hold people accountable to better data security practices,” Cassy states.

Major advantages they’ve experienced so far have been the ability to lock down compromised accounts, delete phishing emails, restrict third-party app access, and fix improper sharing of sensitive information quickly.

“Even with GoGuardian, there are things that Cloud Monitor picks up that GoGuardian doesn’t. The student safety alerts have been a game-changer for us—we can identify concerns in real-time and get students the support they need before issues escalate.”

—Cassy Gobin, Chief Technology Officer, Evansville Christian School

As the primary person responsible for Cloud Monitor alerts, Chris ensures that risks are identified and mitigated promptly. “Chris is the one actively keeping an eye on things and making sure any flagged risks or alerts are remediated and communicated appropriately,” Cassy explains. His work is instrumental in maintaining the security and integrity of the school’s Google environment.

In one case, a staff member’s email was compromised by an attacker in Russia, leading to lateral phishing emails being sent from their email to everyone in the domain.

This type of attack is particularly dangerous because the emails come from inside a school’s domain, where they usually aren’t flagged by phishing filters. They’re also more effective at tricking recipients into clicking phishing links or sharing sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial details. This often leads to further breaches or financial fraud.

“Using Cloud Monitor, I locked down the account and then revoked all those emails and deleted them from inboxes very quickly,” Chris recalls. “That saved us a ton of time and protected our staff and students from further exposure.”

“The incident helped us realize that we had risk exposure in an area that we thought we had locked down,” Cassy recalls. “Using Cloud Monitor, we set up tighter restrictions around account access from uncommon locations.”

Evansville Christian School also benefits from Cloud Monitor’s student safety alerts. “We have found that there are a lot of things that Cloud Monitor picks up that GoGuardian doesn’t,” Cassy explains.

Cassy recommends working with ManagedMethods’ customer success team to implement best practices and customize the platform for your specific needs. In the early stages of implementation, Cassy and Chris worked with ManagedMethods’ team to refine policies and organize notifications.

“At first, it was a little overwhelming. It felt like throwing cups of water at a fire. But now we get down to zero alerts every day,” says. “We went from thinking we’d never get a handle on it to knowing we’ve got it under control.”

For Evansville Christian School, the investment in Cloud Monitor has been invaluable. “Every week, there’s an incident where we say, ‘This is way worth it,’” concludes. “Can you really say that student safety isn’t worth the cost?”

Want to learn more about how Cloud Monitor and Content Filter can improve your school’s cybersecurity and safety? Claim your free Google Workspace and/or Microsoft 365 security and safety audit today.