Sherburn High School is a mixed comprehensive school in Sherburn-in-Elmet in Selby, North Yorkshire, England. It has around 760 pupils aged 11 to 18 years.
The Challenge
Avoid password sharing and sessions left open to better secure the network
Sherburn High School implemented UserLock in 2001. Back in those days, they were looking for visibility over user accounts to be able to see from where they were logging in. They also wanted to be able to automatically shut down machines at the end of the day. At that time, there wasn’t anything out there that could give them the ability to do that.
Nowadays, their needs have evolved and they use UserLock for more reasons. The main reason is that they want to keep their network secure by stopping password sharing and avoiding session left open from both students and staff.
Students being students don’t like to keep anything secret and this includes their network details. Sherburn High School IT Team found out that students were sharing login information, logging on to the network as someone else and leaving sessions open.
On the other hand, staff were leaving accounts logged in all over the network which was a big concern as students could then use the computer and have access to files and folders they are not allowed to see.
They needed to be able to restrict number of concurrent sessions. Some of what they needed could be done with Active Directory but they saw it would be insufficient.
The Solution
A simple and non-disruptive solution that goes beyond Active Directory
UserLock allowed The Sherburn High School IT Team to restrict number of concurrent sessions to one for students and two for the staff. This helps to avoid password sharing because students are directly affected if someone else logged on to their account, the system just does not work for them. UserLock also offers the option for users to remotely logoff any existing open session so that students aren’t blocked because of a session left open.
UserLock offers real-time visibility and insight into all users’ logon and logoff activity across the entire network which allows the IT team to see how machines are used and better manage resources.
They then configured automatic alerts and reports to receive them directly into their mail box. Real time alerts on specific connection event allow them to instantly react to suspicious access behavior. Automatic reports provides the IT Team with a central audit across the whole network.
We’ve been using UserLock for so long and would struggle to be without it – it’s certainly embedded in our network now. Some of the features we use can be done via Active Directory but Userlock goes that one step further and allows further granular restrictions.
Tim Hobson
Network Manager at Sherburn High School
The Benefits
Visibility on the network & reduced risks of security issues
Thanks to UserLock, the Sherburn High School IT team has been able to reduce password sharing among student and decrease number of sessions left open which contributed in better securing the network.
Full visibility and insights into all logon events has also allowed the team to better manage resources and secure access.
Overall, the network is much better secured with UserLock. Indeed, whether its student pranks or more serious insider attacks, access to the institutions critical data/resources is now always identifiable and attributed to one individual. This discourages malicious actions and makes all users more careful with their trusted access.
We’ve been using the software since 2001. We couldn’t be without it. At the heart of the network is where UserLock sits.
Tim Hobson
Network Manager at Sherburn High School