Rapid7 Case Studies Empowering Security in Education: Blue Valley School District's Partnership with Rapid7

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	Empowering Security in Education: Blue Valley School District's Partnership with Rapid7 Rapid7

Empowering Security in Education: Blue Valley School District's Partnership with Rapid7

Rapid7

Technology Category	Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries	Cities & Municipalities Education
Applicable Functions	Human Resources
Use Cases	Cybersecurity Tamper Detection
Services	Cybersecurity Services Training
Challenge	Blue Valley Unified School District in Kansas, with over 23,000 students and 3,100 staff spread across 35 schools, was committed to providing a safe digital learning environment for its students. However, the district faced significant security challenges. In August 2019, the district was targeted by a successful ransomware attack, prompting a comprehensive security assessment of its vast application and network infrastructure. The district's cybersecurity team identified ransomware attacks, visibility, and staffing as the key challenges. Ransomware attacks were a constant threat, especially given the perception that public school districts have limited budgets and manpower. Visibility was another issue, with the small team struggling to maintain a comprehensive view of the district's security landscape. Staffing was also a concern, with many school districts unable to invest in the necessary staffing and software to deal with the demands of today's cybersecurity environment. Read More
About Customer	Blue Valley Unified School District is a large educational institution in Kansas, encompassing more than 23,000 students and 3,100 staff and teachers spread over five high schools, nine middle schools, and 21 elementary schools. The district is committed to integrating technology into its curriculum and instruction, with a 1:1 device-to-student ratio from kindergarten onwards. The district is also committed to providing safe learning environments for its students, protecting all district devices and online student activities through a cloud-based filtering system 24/7. However, the district faced significant security challenges, including ransomware attacks, visibility, and staffing, which led to the implementation of the Rapid7 Insight Platform. Read More
Solution	To address these challenges, Blue Valley's cybersecurity engineer, Evan Nichols, implemented the Rapid7 Insight Platform. This included InsightIDR for detection and response, InsightVM for vulnerability management, and InsightConnect for automation. The platform was chosen for its ability to handle large amounts of data and perform much of the heavy lifting required in cybersecurity. The team started with detection, using InsightIDR to assess the district's security needs. InsightVM was used to scan data center assets as part of the district's shift to a zero-trust model. InsightConnect was used to address the district's manpower shortage by automating incident response. The Rapid7 Insight Platform provided the team with the visibility they needed to oversee and protect their challenging environment. It also allowed them to monitor a wide range of sources and perform custom parsing and log event sourcing faster than with other products. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Cities & Municipalities

Education

Applicable Functions

Human Resources

Use Cases

Cybersecurity

Tamper Detection

Services

Cybersecurity Services

Training

Challenge

Blue Valley Unified School District in Kansas, with over 23,000 students and 3,100 staff spread across 35 schools, was committed to providing a safe digital learning environment for its students. However, the district faced significant security challenges. In August 2019, the district was targeted by a successful ransomware attack, prompting a comprehensive security assessment of its vast application and network infrastructure. The district's cybersecurity team identified ransomware attacks, visibility, and staffing as the key challenges. Ransomware attacks were a constant threat, especially given the perception that public school districts have limited budgets and manpower. Visibility was another issue, with the small team struggling to maintain a comprehensive view of the district's security landscape. Staffing was also a concern, with many school districts unable to invest in the necessary staffing and software to deal with the demands of today's cybersecurity environment.

About Customer

Blue Valley Unified School District is a large educational institution in Kansas, encompassing more than 23,000 students and 3,100 staff and teachers spread over five high schools, nine middle schools, and 21 elementary schools. The district is committed to integrating technology into its curriculum and instruction, with a 1:1 device-to-student ratio from kindergarten onwards. The district is also committed to providing safe learning environments for its students, protecting all district devices and online student activities through a cloud-based filtering system 24/7. However, the district faced significant security challenges, including ransomware attacks, visibility, and staffing, which led to the implementation of the Rapid7 Insight Platform.

Solution

To address these challenges, Blue Valley's cybersecurity engineer, Evan Nichols, implemented the Rapid7 Insight Platform. This included InsightIDR for detection and response, InsightVM for vulnerability management, and InsightConnect for automation. The platform was chosen for its ability to handle large amounts of data and perform much of the heavy lifting required in cybersecurity. The team started with detection, using InsightIDR to assess the district's security needs. InsightVM was used to scan data center assets as part of the district's shift to a zero-trust model. InsightConnect was used to address the district's manpower shortage by automating incident response. The Rapid7 Insight Platform provided the team with the visibility they needed to oversee and protect their challenging environment. It also allowed them to monitor a wide range of sources and perform custom parsing and log event sourcing faster than with other products.

Impact #1	The implementation of the Rapid7 Insight Platform significantly improved the district's security operations. The platform provided the team with the big-picture and deep visibility they needed to oversee and protect their challenging environment. The easy-to-navigate searches in InsightDR made it easy to surface the data they wanted to see. The platform also helped manage their workflows more effectively, with tailor-made workflows allowing the team to rest easy knowing their environment was secure. The automation capabilities of InsightConnect empowered the team to handle incident response in an automated way, addressing their manpower shortage. The team was impressed with the easy setup of the Rapid7 platform and its ability to integrate with other products, such as their Cisco product for network traffic analytics. Overall, the Rapid7 platform helped the district meet all its security goals, providing the necessary visibility and detection analytics.

Impact #1

The implementation of the Rapid7 Insight Platform significantly improved the district's security operations. The platform provided the team with the big-picture and deep visibility they needed to oversee and protect their challenging environment. The easy-to-navigate searches in InsightDR made it easy to surface the data they wanted to see. The platform also helped manage their workflows more effectively, with tailor-made workflows allowing the team to rest easy knowing their environment was secure. The automation capabilities of InsightConnect empowered the team to handle incident response in an automated way, addressing their manpower shortage. The team was impressed with the easy setup of the Rapid7 platform and its ability to integrate with other products, such as their Cisco product for network traffic analytics. Overall, the Rapid7 platform helped the district meet all its security goals, providing the necessary visibility and detection analytics.

Benefit #1	Rapid7 Insight Platform was deployed in less than a week, enabling quick response to security needs.
Benefit #2	Rapid7 Insight Platform provided cost-effective security solutions, offering a lot of capabilities within the district's budget.
Benefit #3	Rapid7 Insight Platform eliminated the need for on-premises storage and systems, reducing costs.

Benefit #1

Rapid7 Insight Platform was deployed in less than a week, enabling quick response to security needs.

Benefit #2

Rapid7 Insight Platform provided cost-effective security solutions, offering a lot of capabilities within the district's budget.

Benefit #3

Rapid7 Insight Platform eliminated the need for on-premises storage and systems, reducing costs.

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Overview

Empowering Security in Education: Blue Valley School District's Partnership with Rapid7

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit