One policy layer for council offices, libraries and public WiFi
A council runs town halls, depots, libraries, leisure centres and care teams, often across dozens of sites. Shield blocks phishing, malware and ransomware at the lookup on staff networks at every site first. Public WiFi in libraries and community buildings gets family-safe filtering to the IWF bar, and each site carries its own policy, with no hardware to fit.
Guest WiFi policy
- Adult contentBlocked
- GamblingBlocked
- Safe Search on Google, Bing and YouTubeEnforced
- Streaming at busy timesLimited
Allow list
bookings.examplemenu.exampleBlock list
rival-venue.exampleWhat is at stake
Many sites, one council, one target
Ransomware on council services
An infected laptop calling its C2 server can take housing, benefits and payment systems offline for weeks.Public WiFi in libraries
Anyone, of any age, can use library computers and WiFi, and the council carries the duty of care.Staff spread across the area
Social workers, planning officers and wardens work from cars, homes and residents' front rooms.
How Shield fits
A policy for each site and service
- Council staffThreat defence first, with rules by Entra ID group and domains registered in the last 30 days blocked.
- Libraries and public WiFiIWF-standard filtering, family-safe categories and Safe Search, with a branded block page.
- Schools estateFiltering that helps schools meet KCSIE and the DfE filtering and monitoring standards, with a policy per school.
- Mobile staffLaptops and phones get the same threat-first rules whenever they join a council network, at any site.
See everything Shield stopsLocal government WiFi on Purple Access
Proof
Standards councils can point to
- 10 days
- earlier warning of new malicious domains than standard blocklists
- IWFfiltering on public WiFi meets the Internet Watch Foundation bar
- Friendly WiFistandard met for family-safe filtering in libraries and community buildings
- Cyber Essentialscertified, alongside ISO 27001, GDPR and CCPA
FAQ
Questions we hear from teams like yours
Do we need hardware at each library and depot?
No. Each site points its router, firewall or DHCP at Shield, and nothing needs installing on public devices. Where buildings run segmented VLANs, the relay shows each device's internal IP, so you know which machine made a lookup.
Can libraries have different rules from council offices?
Yes. Policy is set per network, SSID, VLAN and site. Library public WiFi can run family-safe categories and Safe Search, while staff in the same building get threat-first rules set by Entra ID group.
How does Shield help with Cyber Essentials and the CAF?
Shield gives you a documented control that blocks malware and phishing domains, with logs and scheduled reports as evidence. Purple holds Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001. Your assessment still covers devices, patching and access.
What does Shield log about residents on public WiFi?
Shield sees the domains a device looks up, not the content of what it sends. Raw query logs are kept for 9 days, and you can stream them to your SIEM to keep them as long as your policy requires. Purple holds ISO 27001, GDPR and Cyber Essentials, and we send the documentation your DPO needs before you start.
Can the public get round it with a VPN?
One-click app blocking covers VPN and proxy apps, so you can block them on library and public WiFi. Content categories and Safe Search then apply to all users on that network, with a branded block page explaining why.
Other industries
Central government
Threat defence for departmental estates, agencies and remote officials, with evidence for Cyber Essentials and the CAF.Airports
Threat defence for airport operations and staff, with family-safe passenger WiFi proven at AGS Airports.
Decide what your network reaches, free for 30 days
Tell us which networks and sites you run and who is on them. We map a policy to each one: staff, guests, students, residents and IoT. Then point one network at Shield and see what it stops for 30 days, before you pay anything. Running change control? We plan a pilot on one site with your team instead. No hardware to install.
- We map your networksA Purple expert maps your networks, your venues and the people on each, and answers your questions on bypass, outages, data handling and integrations.
- You get a policy for each oneStaff, guests, students, residents, IoT and paid tiers, each with the policy it needs.
- You prove it, then get your tailored quote30 days free on one network, or a pilot on one site planned with your team, then Shield priced standalone or as an add-on to your Access plan.
Your policy map
Tell us your networks. We map a policy to each one.
A Purple expert comes back with a policy for every network and group you run, from the team that has run content filtering since 2012 and runs WiFi for 80,000+ venues in 90 countries.