K-12 School District Gains Full Visibility into Connected Assets

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Challenges

  • Lacked comprehensive visibility into devices connecting to the internal network
  • Had no way of deriving detailed, accurate, and up-to- date information on devices, including their vulnerabilities and security posture
  • No reliable data to help the board and superintendent make informed decisions on security budget allocations

Results

  • Provides total visibility to managed devices and unmanaged BYOD across the entire environment
  • Monitors and classifies devices in real time for fast, granular reporting
  • Speeds time to identify improperly secured and rogue assets for faster detection and response
  • Creates minimal network impact while collecting data
  • Helps justify security investments based on hard data
  • Reduces the number of security tools needed, saving time and costs

Armis lays the groundwork for a consistent and effective security foundation.

This fast-growing K-12 public school district in Cleveland, Texas, had virtually no security in place, other than a patchwork of disparate products. At the suggestion of a trusted technology partner, Cleveland Independent School District deployed Armis to gain visibility to all devices on the network. By deploying Armis, the school district had the crucial data they needed at their fingertips, which enabled them to move forward with a well- thought-out security strategy.

Cleveland Independent School District in Cleveland, Texas has recently experienced explosive growth—and this expansion is not showing any signs of letting up. When Director of IT Nguyen Bui joined the district two years ago, the district had 6,700 students. The student population is now 11,000 students across seven schools, and plans are in place to open four more schools this year.

Bui quickly discovered that the district lacked a cohesive infrastructure and a consistent approach to security in its environment. There was a collection of piecemeal solutions from multiple vendors across the campuses that didn’t necessarily work together or provide any visibility into managed and unmanaged devices on the network.

As Bui points out, “At the time, there was no way to assess the total security of the district. Some campuses were more secure than others. What my team and I set out to do is to get a picture of what we were trying to protect and where the weak points were.”