Point Loma Nazarene University Secures Privileged Account Passwords with Secret Server

University IT Department Increases Security of Sensitive Data for Students, Staff, Donors and Alumni

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Apr 28, 2015, 08:00 ET

LAS VEGAS and WASHINGTON, April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Interop – Thycotic, a provider of smart and effective privileged account management solutions for global organizations, today announced that Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is using Secret Server to securely manage privileged account passwords to strengthen the protection of sensitive data of students, staff, alumni, applicants, donors and community members.

Point Loma Nazarene University Secures Privileged Account Passwords with Thycotic Secret Server

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Founded in 1902, PLNU is a Christian liberal arts college in San Diego. The university's mission calls on its students to embrace a well-rounded education. Serving more than 3,500 students, many of whom live on campus, university leaders strive to create a safe, comfortable environment that allows students to excel and make the most of their time at the school. Prior to using Secret Server, the university's IT department was managing its important privileged account credentials in a number of disparate ways, leading to inefficiency. In order to further comply with federal and state regulations such as HIPAA and FERPA, the university turned to Thycotic to help better secure important account information and provide access to the fewest number of users possible.

"When we began looking for a solution that would enable us to better manage our important account credentials, we knew that the solution we chose would need to be easy to implement and wouldn't affect the flow of work that we currently have," said Joseph Alcorn, systems administrator at Point Loma Nazarene University. "Thycotic's Secret Server allows us to meet all of our security requirements, without needing to install a bandwidth-hungry agent on every device on our campuses. We were able to get everyone up and running almost immediately."

"My staff no longer have to spend time doing boiler-plate work to help ensure that our accounts are safe and secure," adds Corey Fling, CIO at Point Loma Nazarene University. "With the tools that Thycotic's Secret Server provides, I am confident that our environment is better protected without wasting man-hours or system resources."

The university has been using Secret Server to secure privileged account credentials for six years and as the IT department has grown to support multiple new campuses, the solution has been able to easily scale as more and more services and their related account passwords are needed. Adopting Secret Server has also fostered a more security-conscious environment within the university, with users becoming more apt to use much more robust, unique passwords for all of their accounts, leading to a further increase in protection. Accountability has also seen an increase as Secret Server provides easy access to logs of which users have used which credentials in the event of a security issue.

"Universities continue to be very difficult to secure properly unless you have the right tools in place, because by their very nature, they are made up of a large number of continually moving parts," said Jonathan Cogley, founder and CEO of Thycotic. "The nature of the data that they keep on students, staff and alumni also make them a highly attractive target for cybercrime. With Secret Server, schools like Point Loma Nazarene University get the peace of mind that the credentials from their highest value accounts are secure and that in the event of a security issue, access logs will allow them to identify any guilty parties immediately and with ease."

Thycotic is showcasing the capabilities and security features of Secret Server live at Interop, April 27- May 1, 2015 in Las Vegas. Visit Thycotic at booth number #1858, and reserve your one-on-one time with a privileged identity security expert at the conference by emailing [email protected].

About Point Loma Nazarene University

Point Loma Nazarene University exists to provide higher education in a vital Christian community where minds are engaged and challenged, character is modeled and formed, and service becomes an expression of faith. Being of Wesleyan heritage, the university aspires to be a learning community where grace is foundational, truth is pursued, and holiness is a way of life. Point Loma Nazarene University is known for being forward-thinking. At PLNU, academics, faith, and community are all vital. Students benefit from this balanced approach to education and leave PLNU prepared to think, act, and contribute to the world. In addition to more than 60 undergraduate areas of study, PLNU offers graduate program regional centers throughout Southern California and serves more than 3,500 students.

About Thycotic

Thycotic IT security and password management solutions empower companies to remove the complexities associated with proper access control and management of privileged accounts. An Inc. 5000 company, Thycotic is trusted by more than 3,000 customers worldwide – including members of the Fortune 500, enterprises, government agencies, technology firms, universities, non-profits and managed service providers. To learn more, please visit thycotic.com.

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