Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

**Cybersecurity**
Education

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Cybersecurity at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts was pretty good, but it was based on standard antivirus technology. With the risk of cyber-attacks increasing and threat actors seeing schools as a ‘soft’ touch, the school invested in a next-generation cybersecurity solution from Ricoh. It has improved protection for pupils, staff and the school, made security management easier saving both time and resources.

Executive Summary

Name	Tring Park School for the Performing Arts
Location	Tring, Hertfordshire, UK
Size	220 staff, 360 pupils
Activity	Education

Challenges

Schools facing growing cyber-attack threat
Existing security tools not fit for purpose
Build next-generation cybersecurity defence

Solution

Ricoh Cybersecurity
Ricoh RansomCare from BullWall
Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
via CrowdStrike

Benefits

Delivers a cloud-based, next generation security posture
Improves security management and control
Makes it easy to secure and manage
remote devices
Meets more taxing insurance criteria
Access to an ecosystem of cybersecurity expertise

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Challenges

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts has an impressive list of alumni including Lily James (Cinderella, Mamma Mia), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars), Ella Henderson (singer-songwriter), Joe Griffiths-Brown (Hamilton, Frozen, Phantom of the Opera) and Drew McOnie (Olivier Award-winning choreographer); alongside a full academic curriculum which has also sent graduates to Russell Group Universities including University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

As one of the UK’s leading performing arts schools; the school offers rigorous training in the performing arts, that is combined with an extensive academic programme of study to pupils aged 7 to 19. But the school’s standing in the world of performing arts has not separated it from the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks that education

institutions face. Cybersecurity has become a growing issue in schools because they are seen as ‘soft’ attack targets and a perceived lack of adequate protection. The Covid-19 pandemic and remote learning only added to the complexity of keeping staff and pupils safe.

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Luckily Tring Park has not suffered a successful breach, thanks mainly to the diligent work of Stuart Cook, IT Director at the school. But the school is still constantly hit by incidents such as spam and spoofing emails and individuals trying to impersonate staff.

Although Tring Park does not have high-value assets, it is still vulnerable to attackers interested in accessing accounts systems and stealing credentials. Other risks include staff, pupil and parent data being targeted in ransomware attacks and sophisticated phishing email campaigns which may catch users when they are tired and less vigilant.

“The worst attacks are the persistent ones where attackers want to get into your network and just sit there and see what is going on. They might not do anything for six months or a year. But these are the ones that keep IT managers like me up at night,” said Stuart Cook.

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

The school was using a standard antivirus platform that provided adequate protection, but it was on-premise and the school is transitioning to cloud services. Rising threat levels persuaded the school to consider next-generation cybersecurity that offered stronger, more in depth security.

Stuart Cook said, “You can never make yourself 100% secure, but you can reduce risk with things like security training and better systems and processes. We take a balanced and flexible approach to cybersecurity so that staff and pupils are protected but not restricted from accessing the services and information they need to teach and learn.”

Stuart Cook first came across Ricoh when looking at print solutions. Ricoh put an impressive proposal together, but Stuart decided to choose a print supplier that was associated with the school’s IT service provider.

However, he was impressed with Ricoh’s attitude, professional approach and the fact that Ricoh chose to stay in contact with the school even after missing out on the print contract. When it came to finding a cybersecurity partner, the school turned to Ricoh again. A decision Stuart Cook described as a ‘no brainer’.

Ricoh won the cybersecurity contract because its solution offered
a blend of product functionality, backed up by a good support
infrastructure. I also liked the way Ricoh communicated with us
and the depth of expertise and experience of the whole team.
The full package made us feel these are the products we want,
and these are the people we want to deal with. I wanted to do
the best I could for the security of the school.

Stuart Cook,
IT Director, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Solution

The school has implemented a Ricoh cybersecurity solution comprising two security applications: Ricoh RansomCare from BullWall and CrowdStrike Falcon endpoint detection and response (EDR). Deployment was managed jointly between the school and Ricoh.

CrowdStrike replaces traditional anti-virus platforms with industry-leading protection combining machine learning, artificial intelligence, behavioural analytics and proactive threat hunting. This is delivered from the cloud via a single lightweight agent providing protection even when endpoints are offline.

RansomCare is often described as the ‘last line of defence’ against ransomware. Other solutions focus on preventing an attack. But if those prevention measures fail RansomCare is there to stop encryption taking place, removing the need for costly downtime and recovery. Deployed together these solutions work in harmony with other tools as part of a layered approach to cyber defence.

Ricoh’s support during solution roll-out was very good and done in stages with great communication. With CrowdStrike we had a roadmap to configure the best deployment for our environment.

Stuart Cook,
IT Director, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Knowing that our devices are safe and secure and not having to physically check every so often has been a huge improvement in security management. It is saving time and resources that can be better spent elsewhere.

Stuart Cook,
IT Director, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

When choosing a solution, the school looked at several, mainly antivirus products. “Traditional security tools work by comparing an incident to a predefined list of known threats. This is OK, but how do you detect a new threat or someone in your network. Unless you’ve got teams of people to go looking - and we don’t - these incidents are hard to find. RansomCare and CrowdStrike scan your environment looking for any activity that doesn’t look right,” said Stuart Cook.

Traditional security tools work by comparing an incident to a predefined list
of known threats. This is OK, but how do you detect a new threat or someone in your network. Unless you’ve got teams of people to go looking - and we don’t - these incidents are hard to find. RansomCare and CrowdStrike scan your environment looking for any activity that doesn’t look right.

Stuart Cook,
IT Director, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

“Knowing that our devices are safe and secure and not having to physically check every so often has been a huge improvement in security management. It is saving time and resources that can be better spent elsewhere,” said Stuart Cook.

Because of the partnership with Ricoh, the school has on-going access to Ricoh and its ecosystem of cybersecurity expertise. “I can engage with Ricoh and its partners on general cybersecurity issues and know that I am dealing with experienced and expert teams. As the school gets to a point where we need more professional services, I know I have the backing of a great team to help build on what we are doing,” said Stuart Cook.

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Cybersecurity insurance used to be a tick-box exercise but because of increasing risk it has become a multi-point certification process to demonstrate the school has a business-class cybersecurity programme with tools, proactive processes and documentation in place. The Ricoh solution is a key part of the programme.

“The Ricoh cybersecurity solution is a core foundation for Tring Park School. If we are not protecting the school, the staff, pupils and parents in our care, the whole organisation could fall over and take months to get back,” concluded Stuart Cook.

Ricoh Solution/Products

Ricoh Cybersecurity

Ricoh RansomCare from BullWall

Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
via CrowdStrike

Ricoh deployment services

Ricoh consultancy services

The Ricoh cybersecurity solution is a core foundation for Tring Park School.
If we are not protecting the school, the staff, pupils and parents in our care,
the whole organisation could fall over and take months to get back.

Stuart Cook,
IT Director, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Case Study | Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Benefits

The Ricoh solution has become an essential part of day-to-day operations
at Tring Park School, helping to keep systems safe and running.

“The Ricoh cybersecurity solution gives the school reassurance that it has a dual layer defence against cyber attacks like ransomware as well as protecting our local and cloud-based file storage repositories. Because it is a cloud-based, next generation solution it doesn’t matter whether staff and pupils are working at school or remotely, it is watching their devices and keeping them safe,” said Stuart Cook.

Because the school now has a more robust cybersecurity posture, Stuart Cook is confident about loaning out devices to staff and not seeing them for long periods of time. Devices are protected 24/7 wherever they are located and are monitored, in real time via a dashboard. Before Stuart Cook might only see a device once a term to open it up and check the antivirus was working properly.

ABOUT RICOH

Ricoh is a leading provider of integrated digital services and print and imaging solutions designed to support digital transformation of workplaces, workspaces and optimize business performance.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh’s global operation reaches customers in approximately
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Photography credits: Theatre shots taken by Ben Gregory-Ring, Dance shots taken by Johan Persson.

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