The Challenge
A prestigious research university with thousands of employees and students relied on password-based EAP-PEAP MSCHAPv2 authentication for campus Wi-Fi. Despite its scale, the institution lacked the security of a mature public key infrastructure (PKI) and certificate-based authentication.
The environment reflected two decades of layered decisions: three mobile device management (MDM) platforms, an existing NAC platform, and a separate BYOD onboarding tool for the large transient student population. The university wanted to consolidate tools, not add another product.
They had used the original SecureW2 supplicant agent from the 2000s — a legacy product from a different era. When SecureW2 resurfaced as a market leader, the team reached out to inquire about a new service contract. SecureW2 now offers managed cloud PKI, Cloud RADIUS, and JoinNow MultiOS onboarding in one platform, addressing every need for the customer under one vendor.
The Solution
For five months, a cross-functional team spanning networking, endpoint engineering, and security conducted a multi-session evaluation and early implementation. The scope covered four workstreams:
- Replacing EAP-PEAP with EAP-TLS for managed and BYOD devices
- Evaluating whether SecureW2 can replace the existing BYOD onboarding tool and potentially supplement the incumbent NAC
- Delivering certificates across three MDM platforms
- Managing certificate lifecycle for thousands of students cycling through every year
The Results
With evaluation complete and early implementation underway, the university is moving toward a campus-wide rollout of certificate-based authentication — consolidating tools and swapping out legacy infrastructure to patch security vulnerabilities.
- Three MDM platforms accommodated. Certificate delivery paths have been mapped for all co-managed environments.
- Student lifecycle management planned. The system will handle provisioning and revocation at scale for each incoming and graduating class.
- Tool consolidation under evaluation. SecureW2 is being assessed as a replacement for the existing BYOD onboarding tool and potential supplement to the incumbent NAC platform.