Privileged access in Education sector : protecting knowledge and the identity of tomorrow's stakeholders

The challenges : Educating and protecting the next generation

The education sector is increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, with specific challenges:

• Exposed sensitive data : Schools and universities manage large volumes of personal and research data, making them highly attractive targets for cybercriminals.
• Growing regulatory requirements : GDPR and NIS2 now impose a strict framework for data and system protection.
• Vulnerable digital infrastructures : Digital learning environments (ENT), collaborative platforms, and open networks significantly expand the attack surface.

• Managing a multitude of identities : Handling access for thousands of students (who change every year) and hundreds of external contributors.
• Securing sensitive research data : Laboratories work on patents, inventions, and innovations, in fields such as defense or healthcare, making them prime targets for industrial espionage.
• Ensuring continuity with lean teams : Often, a single administrator must manage hundreds of virtual servers.
• Separating networks : Educational (open and risky) vs. Administrative (critical).

• Total isolation of your school's information system : Don't let access to a library or computer room become a gateway to your critical servers. PROVE IT compartmentalizes usage: each contributor accesses precisely what they need (application, folder), without ever exposing your entire network.
• Traceability in the service of research and reputation : In an academic world where intellectual property is paramount, PROVE IT turns monitoring into evidence. In the event of a suspected data leak or incident on a digital learning platform, you have an irrefutable audit trail (who, what, when, how) to react quickly and protect your intangible assets.
• Simplified and automated access lifecycle management : With numerous contributors and students each year, plus external service providers, managing access to your information system is a daily challenge. Thanks to its native integration with your directories (LDAP/AD), PROVE IT automates security: a disabled account in your directory means an immediate revocation of all its privileged access. Zero oversights, zero residual vulnerabilities.
• Peace of mind in the face of regulatory requirements : Compliance is no longer a technical constraint, it's a built-in feature. Our solutions natively integrate encryption and alerting systems, enabling you to meet national standards for public institutions without burdening your internal processes. In the event of an audit, the bastion becomes a genuine proof-of-compliance tool.

A solution that adapts to your needs

To accommodate the budgetary constraints of educational institutions, PROVE IT is available both as a purchase (capital expenditure) and as a subscription (operating expenditure).

Real-world challenges faced by our customers

How did PROVE IT address their needs?

• Access centralization : Deploying PROVE IT gave École Polytechnique a single, protected, and monitored entry point for all sensitive external provider access.
• Replacement of third-party tools : The institution progressively replaced solutions like TeamViewer with secure Remote Desktop (RDP) connections via the bastion.
• Secrets management : Using PROVE IT's digital vault to store system passwords prevents their disclosure.
• Monitoring and documentation : Recording typed commands (SSH) and sessions (RDP) through the bastion ensures full traceability and facilitates documentation.

Concrete results:

"The bastion host allows us to avoid sharing our infrastructure passwords. Each service provider has their own password, and our system passwords are stored in PROVE IT's secure vault. [...] It's a clearly identified, protected, and monitored entry point." — Baptiste Desprez, CISO, École Polytechnique

• Infrastructure security : Reduced attack surface through firewall rule consolidation and credential protection.
• Provider autonomy : "On the Remote Desktop side, everything is transparent and users appreciate no longer having to open TeamViewer or similar tools — service providers are fully autonomous."
• Quality support : "The Rubycat teams are very responsive and available. [...] They are open to improvement suggestions."

How did PROVE IT address their needs?

• Service provider access control: Systematic use of the bastion for the approximately fifty external providers (managed service providers, remote maintenance teams) supporting the university on a daily basis.
• Guaranteed action traceability: Implementation of an inbound connection inventory with session video recording through the bastion.
• Robustness and sovereignty: Selection of a certified French solution to ensure the security of critical equipment.

Concrete results :

"Compliance with standards and regulations, particularly with the upcoming NIS2 directive, was an essential aspect for us — and Rubycat met those criteria! PROVE IT strikes me as a reliable and secure solution for effectively managing access to critical information system assets." — Stéphane Branchoux, Head of Systems, Networks & Security and CISO, University of Perpignan

• Simplified incident analysis: In the event of an issue, video recordings make it easier to identify the root cause.
• Adapted pricing model: The session-based licensing model proved more affordable and better suited to the university's structure.
• Scalable solution: An interface rated intuitive and straightforward by the teams, with regular updates based on user feedback.
• Local support: Fast exchanges with a responsive support team based in France.