- Customer Profile: Higher education; 14,000 students
- Goals: Protect students’ personal information & ensure privacy
- Solution: PGP® Whole Disk Encryption secures laptop data; PGP Universal™ Server provides central policy & key management
- Deployment: Smooth; within budget
- Benefits: Data security; room to grow
Baylor University chose PGP Whole Disk Encryption to safeguard sensitive information and help protect students’ privacy.
Baylor University is the largest Baptist university in the world, with a 735-acre campus and almost 14,000 students from all 50 states in the U.S. as well as from 70 other countries. Its nationally recognized academic divisions offer 146 undergraduate, 73 master's, and 22 doctoral degree programs plus a juris doctorate program in the School of Law.
Universities hold a great deal of personal information about their students and other constituents that needs to be safeguarded. Baylor employees had taken notice of the recent newspaper headlines about security breaches at other organizations and the impact on their public reputation. These incidents, along with a range of applicable legislation and best practice in higher education, reinforced Baylor University’s need to keep sensitive information secure.
Protect good reputation. As outlined in Chapter 48 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, if a security breach were to occur, Baylor would need to immediately notify any individuals affected. This requirement is similar to the provision in California Senate Bill 1386, the first state law requiring businesses to notify affected individuals when their personal information is disclosed due to a security breach. If needed, managing the notifications and resolving any issues could have a significant financial impact on the university as well as create unwanted negative publicity.
Safeguard laptops. Many staff members at Baylor use laptop computers to increase their productivity and efficiency. The portable nature of laptops makes them more susceptible to loss or theft, however, potentially leading to the exposure of sensitive information. Baylor needed a way to safeguard this information and prevent such exposure or leakage.
Limited resources. Baylor required a data encryption solution that could be easily managed with little oversight by the IT staff and would integrate well with the existing infrastructure. In addition, the university wanted a solution that could be expanded easily as future encryption needs arose, rather than need to be replaced.
Demanding environment. Equally important, Baylor needed encryption software that could accommodate the needs of today’s sophisticated academic users. With both PC and Mac systems as well as workstations shared by multiple individuals on a daily basis, Baylor required an encryption solution that would ensure users could work without interruption and were also confident of their privacy.
Baylor carefully evaluated three data encryption solutions and ultimately chose PGP Whole Disk Encryption centrally managed by PGP Universal Server to protect laptop data with full disk encryption. “We compared all the key features and could see that the PGP® solution offered the most solid technology. We knew it would make our day-to-day lives easier,” says Baylor’s Information Security Officer, Jon Allen. The university also identified PGP Universal™ Gateway Email as a possible solution to secure emails in the future as they enter and leave the network.
Proven technology. “We wanted software that had been tested in the real world,” says Allen. “It is well-known that PGP® technology provides a solid security platform that has been proven effective repeatedly over time.” Before making his decision, Allen spoke to other PGP customers and after hearing about their positive experiences, decided to test the software in the university’s environment. “We threw every scenario we could think of at the software, and were very pleased with the results,” Allen adds.
Compatibility with existing infrastructure. Baylor had already invested a significant amount of resources into setting up a Microsoft Active Directory infrastructure. As Allen explains, “We knew PGP Universal Server would be able to integrate with our existing environment, saving us the time and expense of creating a duplicate infrastructure or being forced to replace the present setup.”
PC or Mac. A large university such as Baylor typically requires a variety of computers to meet the needs of students, staff, and faculty. “Although PCs make up the majority of our workstations, we also have a percentage of Macs. We needed to be able to safeguard both types of systems, and PGP Whole Disk Encryption offered that capability,” says Allen.
Lower operational costs & minimal maintenance. Baylor was looking for a solution that would not require a good deal of ongoing support. When a user lost his/her passphrase, for example, the university wanted a way to resolve the issue quickly. “The process for handling lost passphrases with PGP Whole Disk Encryption is much more streamlined than with competing software,” says Allen. “There is less room for error in this situation, and we knew the PGP solution would make things easier for us and for our help desk.”
Room to grow efficiently. When future encryption needs arise, Baylor’s investment in the PGP® Encryption Platform will provide the flexibility to deploy and manage multiple encryption applications cost-effectively from a single management console. For example, when email security becomes a concern, Baylor can simply add the PGP Universal Gateway Email application to the existing platform. The university will not need a separate or additional infrastructure and operational costs will be lower because both PGP products share a common management architecture.
Partnership. According to Allen, “We didn’t want a software vendor, we wanted a technology partner. We could see the commitment PGP Corporation has to the technology and to a partnership with us. The company understands our long-term goals and was willing to take on the challenges of the higher-education market. That was a very important factor in our decision.”
PGP Universal Server and PGP Whole Disk Encryption are now an important and integral part of Baylor University’s information security system. Baylor acquired the solution through a PGP® Certified Solution Partner (CSP). “We do a lot of business with this reseller, and they were extremely helpful during this project,” says Allen.
Easy start. According to Allen, PGP Universal Server setup was easy: “We set the server up quickly and right on time, which allowed us to focus on fine-tuning PGP Whole Disk Encryption to our specific environment.”
PGP Support. During initial software setup and testing, Allen worked closely with the PGP® Support organization. “Overall, we were very pleased with the performance of the software. There were a few issues that arose because of unique higher education requirements; however, PGP Support worked with us to resolve them quickly and accurately, allowing for a smooth deployment,” Allen says.
Transparent to users. Even in Baylor’s multi-user shared environment, PGP Whole Disk Encryption remains transparent, performing encryption and decryption in the background. “I’ve had zero complaints from users,” Allen reports. “They’re able to do their work as before, and most say they don’t even notice the software.”
Minimal use of resources. Allen and Adam Sealey, Baylor's network security analyst, are the people users call if they have any problems. “We’ve had very few calls from users,” says Allen. “The only reason users call is because of forgotten passphrases,” Sealey explains, “and we’re able to fix that issue easily within minutes.”
Productive peace of mind. In the past, some of Baylor’s staff had expressed concern about traveling with their laptops. Although their productivity depended on this mobile flexibility, they were anxious about the possibility of system theft or loss. As Becky King, Baylor’s interim CIO, explains, “A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders since PGP Whole Disk Encryption was installed on my laptop. It’s a tremendous benefit to be able to take my laptop wherever I go and not have to worry.” Allen adds, “Now, if someone loses a laptop, we don’t have to be concerned about sensitive information being exposed and can avoid unnecessary costs and potential headaches both for us and for our students.”
Within Baylor’s budget and unique environment, PGP® encryption software has provided a low-maintenance way to safeguard sensitive information now while proactively laying the foundation for future security needs. Allen summarizes: “In PGP Corporation, we found both a strong, long-term data security solution and a solid partner at the same time.” |
