Seminole County Public Schools found 15% more assets with runZero, illuminating the unknowns on their network

Serving 66,000 students across 70 schools, Seminole County Public Schools district increasingly struggled to manage the diverse and constantly expanding array of IT, OT, and IoT devices on its network.

The district’s information services team turned to runZero, a user-friendly and cost-effective CAASM platform. runZero discovered 15% more assets than the team was previously aware of, helping them ensure they could see everything on their network. The Platform also empowered them to resolve vulnerabilities much faster, while freeing up staff time by eliminating many manual tasks.

runZero’s comprehensive asset discovery capabilities and clear network topology visualization inspired upgrades to the network architecture by highlighting the need for greater segmentation. Overall, runZero has strengthened the school district’s security compliance, asset management, and exposure management, while improving the efficiency of their security operations team.

Problem

Seminole County Public Schools district needs to efficiently manage and secure a vast and ever-changing array of network-connected devices across 70 schools, which serve 66,000 students and 10,000 staff. This includes IT, OT, and IoT devices used for educational and facilities purposes, ranging from printers to thermostats to Raspberry Pis, as well as students’ personal devices like smartphones and insulin monitors. The district’s information services team, led by Tom Condo, struggled to keep track of all assets and swiftly manage vulnerabilities due to limited resources and the high cost of many asset management tools.

Solution

Seminole County Public Schools implemented the runZero CAASM platform, which provides swift and comprehensive network scans and asset management. Crucially for the district, runZero can find and report on all types of devices — IT, OT, and IoT — across cloud, on-premise, mobile, and remote environments. Implementation was quick and straightforward thanks to runZero’s intuitive interface, automated features, and the excellent support provided by their expert team.

Outcomes

Implementing runZero allowed Seminole County Public Schools to discover 15% more assets by identifying 12,500 previously unknown devices. The platform's detailed asset data facilitated rapid vulnerability mitigation and supported budget approval for critical upgrades. Additionally, runZero enabled better network segmentation, improved security compliance, and saved substantial staff time, enhancing overall network security and operational effectiveness.

Why runZero?

“runZero is one of the most efficient scanning tools I've seen. Many tools take a long time to scan and they miss devices. Whereas runZero is so fast and very thorough. It shows a wealth of information about pretty much every open port on every facet of every device, and the interface is very intuitive.”

— Tom Condo, Supervisor of Information Services Operations