Fukushima City Board of Education Aims to Build Secure School Operations Environment, Adopts Cybertrust's Device Certificate Management Service

Fukushima City Board of Education Aims to Build a Secure School Operations Environment, Introduces Cybertrust's Device Certificate Management Service

Cybertrust Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yuji Kitamura; hereinafter, Cybertrust) announces that the Fukushima City Board of Education (Fukushima Prefecture) has adopted "Cybertrust Device ID" (hereinafter, Device ID), a device certificate management service, to strengthen security in Chromebook environments for teachers. This implementation achieves robust access control, including multi-factor authentication, as stipulated in the "Guidelines for Educational Information Security Policy" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as security measures that schools should implement.

Background of Introduction

In 2025, the Fukushima City Board of Education distributed Chromebooks to all teachers and transitioned to a cloud-based work environment with the aim of promoting DX (Digital Transformation) in school operations and strengthening security. For utilizing Windows applications, they considered having two devices—Chromebooks for educators and Windows PCs for school operations—or using VDI via VMware. After comprehensively weighing security, convenience, and cost, they introduced Windows 365 Cloud PC. A new challenge then emerged: access management to control Windows 365 usage exclusively on Chromebooks managed by the Fukushima City Board of Education. Furthermore, there was a demand for an environment that could be operated smoothly without increasing the burden on teachers, while also enhancing security.

Process of Introduction

To address these challenges, FCOM Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture; President: Masahiro Saito), which has supported the Fukushima City Board of Education in building its ICT environment, began investigating solutions capable of multi-factor authentication and device restriction. Among several products compared, they evaluated "Device ID" highly for its clear track record of implementation on Chromebooks and its ability to achieve security measures defined in MEXT guidelines while keeping operational load low, leading to its adoption.

"Device ID" is a device certificate management service that prevents unauthorized access by distributing device certificates only to authorized devices. Since certificates are managed in a way that prevents export, copying to unmanaged devices is also prevented. Furthermore, automatic certificate distribution is possible, triggered by Google account login when using a Chromebook, and the fact that it requires no user operation was also a decisive factor in its adoption.

Effects of Introduction

For the introduction, 1,650 Device ID licenses were procured, and installation was carried out remotely without collecting the Chromebooks already distributed to teachers. The deployment was completed with only administrator operations, and almost no inquiries from teachers occurred, achieving a smooth implementation.

The introduction of Device ID has primarily yielded the following effects:

- Access control to virtual machines (Windows OS) limited to managed devices. - Strong access control through multi-factor authentication and device authentication in compliance with MEXT guidelines. - Realization of a secure and comfortable work environment by making school operations location-free in a secure environment.

As a result, the Fukushima City Board of Education can now perform secure school operations while balancing security and convenience.

Future Outlook

In the educational field, there is a demand for the development of location-independent work environments while ensuring security, from the perspectives of promoting DX in school operations and work style reform. The Fukushima City Board of Education plans to continue developing ICT environments that support the efficiency of teachers' work while ensuring security.

Multi-factor authentication image when using Windows 365 in a Chromebook environment.

About Cybertrust Device ID

"Cybertrust Device ID" is a device certificate issuance and management service that enables strict device authentication by verifying device identification information and registering device certificates only on devices authorized by administrators. It supports a wide range of devices including Windows, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android devices, and Chromebooks. Administrators can reliably distribute requested device certificates to the corresponding devices, and by allowing only devices with registered device certificates to access the destination network, it prevents unauthorized access and builds a secure service usage environment.

For more details on "Cybertrust Device ID," please refer to here.

Related Web Sites

Fukushima City Board of Education "Cybertrust Device ID" Case Study https://www.cybertrust.co.jp/case/deviceid-fukushimashi-kyoikuiinkai.html

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