Peace of mind for one of Denmark’s largest technology colleges thanks to Absolute

• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Endpoint Security
• Cybersecurity & Privacy - Security Compliance

• Education

• Facility Management

• Remote Asset Management
• Remote Control
• Theft Detection

• Cybersecurity Services
• System Integration

Over a period of a year, the college suffered from a number of thefts and 56 devices were stolen. These thefts were frustrating for the college as not only was it was proving expensive to replace the laptops each time they were stolen but it could take up to 20 working days for a replacement to be delivered. This had a real impact on the teaching staff as they struggled to prepare for lessons without a laptop. Syddansk Erhvervsskole decided to look for a solution that would enable it to quickly recover its laptops in the event of theft.

Odense, one of Denmark’s largest towns is situated in the heart of the country and it is where technology college Syddansk Erhvervsskole is located. Made up of two schools merged into one and situated on two sites, 100 km apart, the college has approximately 5,000 students and 700 staff. As a technology college, the use of computers is widely encouraged. Laptops are an integral part of delivering and receiving an education at Syddansk Erhvervsskole, and the college has 4,000 in total, but a recent spate of burglaries forced the college to take proactive steps to secure the safe return of stolen laptops.

Absolute was recommended by Dell as the ideal solution. “We first heard about Absolute from Dell. It recommended the software to both aid prevention and recovery,” said Dennis Nellebjerg, system administrator, Syddansk Erhvervsskole. Syddansk Erhvervsskole has Absolute licences for many of its laptops and the software was activated by Dell at the build stage. The college has actively promoted the fact that its laptops are protected by Absolute in a bid to prevent further thefts. “We want everyone to know that our laptops are protected by Absolute so there is no temptation to steal them. However, it is hugely reassuring to know that if our laptops are lost or stolen, we will almost always get them back,” concluded Nellebjerg. Persistence® technology is embedded in the firmware of devices at the factory. Once the Absolute software agent is installed, Persistence technology is activated. Persistence triggers an automatic reinstallation if an Absolute software agent is removed from a device. The software agent reinstalls even if the firmware is flashed, the device is reimaged, the hard drive is replaced, or if a tablet or smartphone is wiped clean to factory settings. If a laptop is stolen, the software provides detailed evidence to the Absolute Investigations team who work with local police to track and recover the device. Absolute is also able to remotely delete any sensitive data saved on the laptop thus ensuring that this data can’t be accessed by any unauthorized users. Although teaching staff and students are asked not to save sensitive information on their laptops, Syddansk Erhvervsskole was recently able to take advantage of this service when five of their stolen laptops were located in Saudi Arabia. As the recovery of these devices proved difficult, the college requested that Absolute perform a remote deactivation, rendering the laptops useless to the thieves.

• REDUCTION IN THEFT: By making people aware that the laptops are protected, there is less temptation to steal them.
• INCREASED STAFF PRODUCTIVITY: With fewer thefts and faster recoveries, there is less downtime for staff.
• COST SAVINGS: Less money is required to purchase replacements.

• 56 devices were stolen over a period of a year.
• The college has approximately 5,000 students and 700 staff.
• The college has 4,000 laptops in total.