Weatherford School District
Increases visibility, detection, and response with Trend Vision One™ Platform
OVERVIEW
Weatherford ISD has relied upon Trend Micro to help keep their 1,200 staff and more than 8,200 students secure since 2021. As the district’s IT environment evolved, so too have their cybersecurity needs. Executive Director of Technology Cody Lee sought more proactive security measures—and knew that Trend would be the ideal strategic partner to help him achieve a consolidated view of the district’s entire IT infrastructure.
Trend has become part of our team, making sure we’re comfortable with the tools and they’re deployed properly. Without Trend’s support, the tools would not be as effective as they are today.
Cody Lee
Executive Director of Technology, Weatherford ISD
Industry
Education
Employees
1,200
Region
United States, North America
IT Environment
Microsoft Office 365 and 90 servers
Solutions
- Consolidates data into easily understandable action items so the district’s IT team can prioritise small actions for big improvements
- Improves network detection and response capabilities for increased visibility across the district
- Automates investigation and response for quicker and more efficient incident resolution
CHALLENGES
“We become more security focused each year,” says Cody Lee, Executive Director of Technology, Weatherford ISD. And with cyberattacks on K-12 schools on the rise,1 his small security team focuses on remaining vigilant against threats across the district’s enterprise-class network, wide perimeter, and endpoints.
A crucial concern for Lee is protecting the people who make up the school district—which he does through ongoing training and education. “As you think about the physical security side of things, you think about making sure that a door shuts securely behind you,” Lee says. “The same thing happens in our digital world— we’ve got to make sure that all the security steps we take along the way are done to make sure that we don’t make a mistake that could allow an attacker in.”
Trend Vision One allows me to operate much more efficiently with a much smaller team.
Cody Lee
Executive Director of Technology, Weatherford ISD
WHY TREND
As statewide physical and cyber security regulations evolve, Weatherford ISD must stay one step ahead. “When we started this journey with Trend, we were researching products to stay ahead of what we saw coming,” adds Lee. “When new security regulations were rolled out, we realised we were well ahead of the curve. Now we’re keeping the momentum going.”
When new security regulations were rolled out, we realised we were well ahead of the curve. Now we’re keeping the momentum going.
Cody Lee
Executive Director of Technology, Weatherford ISD
SOLUTION
Weatherford ISD’s partnership with Trend has been a key component of enhancing their security posture. “Trend has become part of our team, making sure we’re comfortable with the tools and they’re deployed properly,” says Lee. “Without Trend’s support, the tools would not be as effective as they are today.”
The Trend Vision One platform provides a single-pane-of-glass view into the district’s security landscape. By leveraging the capabilities of ASRM, data from across the district helps Lee and his team identify and mitigate potential security risks before they can escalate into incidents. “What makes the Trend Vision One platform work so well is that there are tools that cover every aspect of what I need to secure. They all feed into Trend Vision One, getting that data in front of me as fast as possible,” says Lee. “Tools like ASRM not only tell us they’re going to protect us but prove they’re protecting us by showing us the data along with the risk.”
RESULTS
The Operations Dashboard within Trend Vision One breaks down huge amounts of data into specific areas, enabling Lee and his team to concentrate their attention on tasks that will make the biggest improvement in the district’s security position. “Trend Vision One allows me to operate much more efficiently with a much smaller team,” says Lee.
With our Endpoint Security solution, Lee has gained actionable information on data never before available to him. “I’m now getting feedback from the network sensors all the way to the endpoint sensors, each of which are analysing every little bit of data that’s going in and out and allowing us to customise and tighten our controls,” says Lee.
ZTSA also helps the district maintain secure access to essential data. “We’ve got to enable people access to data so they can do their jobs, and ZTSA has been a revolution,” says Lee. “I worry less about where people are in the network because I’ve got their machine and any data being transmitted natively protected.”
WHAT'S NEXT
Lee and his team plan to expand their partnership with Trend to enhance the district’s zero-trust framework and firewalls to protect against advanced threats from third-party applications and external users. At the same time, Lee’s primary focus remains on protecting people.
"I think our biggest focus in the foreseeable future is how to make people as productive as possible with as little critical data interaction as possible,” says Lee.
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