Edinburgh Napier university has partnered with a security operations centre provider amid rising cyber threat levels in the higher and further education sector.
The university has worked with Acumen Cyber and HEFESTIS to deliver 24/7 proactive threat detection and response via Acumen’s state-of-the-art, CREST-accredited security operations centre (SOC).
According to the recent Cyber Security Breaches survey, the higher and further education sector is a prime target for nation-state actors and cyber criminals seeking to steal academic research or compromise personal and financial data.
Acknowledging the severity of the threat, ENU identified a need to proactively enhance its cyber defences by partnering with a security expert that could oversee and manage a key element of its security operations. While the university had existing in-house defences, it recognised the need for 24/7 coverage to guard against sophisticated threats.
Claire Taylor, director of information services at Edinburgh Napier University and chair of higher education information directors scotland (HEIDS), said: “Cybersecurity is critical to the safety and integrity of our operations, but given the diversity and complexity of our environment, we needed to find a partner with the capability to secure it effectively. We determined that Acumen was our partner of choice.
“Handing over this critical, time-intensive component to trusted experts provides a round-the-clock service we could not deliver ourselves, and has freed up internal resources to focus on strategic security projects that benefit students and staff, while significantly bolstering our cyber defences.”
Following a competitive tender process involving global security providers, ENU identified Acumen Cyber as the ideal partner, offering competitive pricing, tailor-fit security and deep expertise within the higher and further education sectors. This sector-specific knowledge brings valuable insight that significantly enhances the university’s cyber resilience.
The partnership is also supported by HEFESTIS, a sector owned, not-for-profit organisation that provides shared cyber security services to universities across the UK.
Last month, HEFESTIS and Acumen announced a new collaboration to better equip the higher and further sector with the expertise and market-leading security solutions needed to protect their complex environments and data from cyber attacks. ENU is now benefitting from this valuable collaboration. ENU consulted with HEFESTIS as part of the tender process and received full support for Acumen, with the HEFESTIS team recognising the unrivalled expertise it could provide to the university.
Mark Robertson, CEO of Acumen Cyber. said: “We are absolutely delighted to announce our new partnership with Edinburgh Napier University. Not only is our team protecting the infrastructure of one of Scotland’s most important institutions, we have also established a new programme to engage more closely with the next generation of cyber talent.
“We have plans to sponsor PhD research, offer work experience placements and run a graduate programme to bolster our internal team with the unrivalled cyber talent that ENU continuously produces. This isn’t just a partnership between two Scottish organisations, this is about bolstering the Scottish digital economy, creating new jobs and ultimately improving the country’s cyber defences.”
Source: Futurescot