Industry
Education
Employees
600+
Region
United States, North America
IT environment
Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Google, VMware
THE CHALLENGE
Secure internet access for thousands of students, including remotely
Utah’s Murray City School District (MCSD) takes pride in using technology to close the homework gap. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MCSD sent each student home with a Google Chromebook for remote learning via the district’s LTE network. Securing access to thousands of endpoints for students, from kindergarten up to grade 12, required a robust solution to defend against ransomware and other cyber threats, including those powered by AI.
“Having computers and free internet in all students’ hands can be a security risk. Kids naturally want to explore, so we knew we needed top-notch security protection and automation to guard against ransomware campaigns and other cyber threats,” says Jason Eyre, Technology Department Coordinator for MCSD.
With the XDR capabilities of TrendAI Vision One™, MCSD has a sharper understanding of what’s happening inside its IT environment.
Eyre felt the district’s previous security solution wasn’t robust enough for their evolving needs. Neither was their previous vendor’s support capability, which excluded newer macOS systems, leaving teachers at a higher risk of malware infection.
THE SOLUTION
Getting eyes on cyber risk with TrendAI™ Apex One
MCSD turned to their integration partner, Teknologia, for a solution that raised the bar in terms of macOS support, cost, and above all, customer service. Teknologia Enterprise Solution Architect Ira Ulibarri noticed that TrendAI™ kept appearing in his research. He remembered previously receiving excellent customer support when using TrendAI™ solutions.
“The support experience is critical. You don’t want to be on the phone for an hour, which is what had happened with other solution providers,” says Ulibarri.
“When we reached out to TrendAI, they were immediately engaged and responded quickly and appropriately. We felt this was a vendor we could work well with.”
Jason Eyre
Technology Department Coordinator
Murray City School District
Eyre says he was impressed with the early detection capabilities offered by TrendAI™. “I was immediately impressed by the company, the demo, and their position in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™,” says Eyre. “TrendAI™ is a leader when it comes to early detection and protection against new threats—and the speed at which it goes from finding a new threat to rolling out new protections was a differentiator.”
The responsiveness and support Eyre’s team sought was evident from the start. “When we reached out to TrendAI™, they were immediately engaged and responded quickly and appropriately. We felt this was a vendor we could work well with,” he adds.
We are pleased with the user experience. There’s no latency or frustration. We have one place to look for things, so we always feel like we’re informed.”
Technology Department Coordinator, Murray City School District
Jason Eyre
Disruption-free deployment
The district implemented Apex One in December 2020. Eyre says customization and easy configuration made the process smooth.
“The deployment was simple and didn’t impact the teachers’ work. TrendAI went the extra mile to ensure that we never have to do this ourselves again. It has been one of the best sales engagements I’ve ever experienced,” says Eyre.
Getting to root causes faster
The district’s security team also likes that Apex One includes endpoint encryption and extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities from TrendAI Vision One™. “XDR helps us with the root cause analysis to understand what’s happening in our environment,” says Eyre.
TrendAI™ also brought in partner XentIT to build an uninstaller for the district’s old security product. “The uninstaller worked on 95% of everything we had so we could roll out the new TrendAI solution very quickly,” says Eyre.
RESULTS
Protection of education endpoints, students and teachers, and learning
MCSD was one of the few U.S. school districts to provide free high-speed internet access when the pandemic began, earning coverage on NBC’s “Today” show and several other news outlets. It protects more than 900 endpoints with Apex One and has now deployed the versatile security solution on its desktops as well.
“Apex One alerts us immediately about potential security incidents. This is one of the features we find most beneficial. It helps us understand when threats are happening,” says Eyre. “We are also pleased with the user experience. There’s no latency or frustration. We have one place to look for suspicious activity, so we always feel like we’re informed.”
He adds that the combination of TrendAI Vision One™ with Apex One enables his small team to respond to anything they encounter. “The way the products work together is great. I’ve looked at other solutions where you must buy lots of other products you may or may not use. The bundling and the way TrendAI™ products are packaged make them easy to understand, navigate, and buy,” says Eyre.
MCSD protects more than 900 laptops with Apex One and has extended that security to desktops as well.
The district’s no-cost internet program has been a success story that others are hoping to emulate. They’ve recommended TrendAI™ solutions to neighboring districts. “We need to lead and help our peers in education so they can bring to their students and parents the best educational experience they can have,” says Eyre.
ABOUT TRENDAI™
TrendAI™, the global AI security leader and enterprise business unit of Trend Micro, empowers organizations with full AI visibility and consolidated security that inspires confidence, drives innovation, and eliminates risk. AI Fearlessly.
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