The Royal College of Art Strengthens Device Security With Absolute Secure Endpoint
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a highly influential postgraduate institution of art and design. Based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses across South Kensington Battersea and White City, the organization exclusively offers postgraduate degrees in art and design to students from over 60 countries – and it is the only college in the United Kingdom to do so. In 2020, the RCA was placed first in the art and design subject area in the QS World University Rankings for the sixth year in a row and is regularly cited as a world-leading education institution. Its alumni include David Hockney, James Dyson, Ridley Scott, and Alan Rickman.
Managing and Securing Remote Learning Environments
When the RCA initiated a review of its information security practices, the institution identified device management as a crucial area for improvement. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in remote working and learning, having the ability to gain full visibility into the status of the device estate became a top priority.
Under lockdown rules, the institution closed all of its campuses, and teaching, learning, and assessment activities continued wholly online. The growing popularity of the RCA in terms of students and staff meant that the organization needed to seek new ways to manage its 550+ laptop estate. Absolute Security was called in to ensure high standards of security were in place across its Windows-based fleet.
At a time when remote working and learning is seen as the new normal, being able to track and protect all devices within your laptop estate is more important than ever.
How They Did It
Tracking and Recovering Devices
The RCA implemented Absolute Resilience, which is part of the Absolute Secure Endpoint product suit, to manage its entire fleet of Windows-based devices. The capabilities delivered by the product enabled information security managers to identify and discover unused or missing laptops, as well as easily recover and re-activate devices in question.
Keeping Cyber Protections Up-to-Date
The organization can now quickly update security scripts across Windows-based devices, meaning it can ensure encryption and cyber protection systems are installed, up to date, and running. In addition, the IT team has full visibility into the status and health of devices, meaning it can plan for upgrades and updates as and when required.
Defending Against Hostile Threats
Blackman continued: “The Absolute solution which we implemented has delivered everything we hoped for and more, giving us complete visibility into security risks and enabling us to protect endpoints from hostile threats with the latest encryption and anti-malware technologies. At a time when remote working and learning is seen as the new normal, the importance of being able to track and protect all devices within your laptop estate is more important than ever.”
The Absolute Secure Endpoint solutions which we implemented has delivered everything we hoped for and more, giving us complete visibility into security risks and enabling us to protect endpoints from hostile threats with the latest encryption and anti-malware technologies.
Continual Support and Protection
As part of the partnership, Absolute’s services team and cybersecurity experts is providing ongoing support and consultancy, enabling the RCA to continue to protect its device estate and ensure the latest cyber protection updates are installed.
For the RCA, Absolute Secure Endpoint:
- Enables information security managers to identify unused or missing laptops as well as easily recover and re-activate those devices
- Quickly updates security scripts across Windows-based devices, allowing it to ensure encryption and cyber protection systems are installed, up to date, and running
- Provides full visibility into the status and health of devices, allowing it to plan for upgrades and updates when required
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