A staged implementation ensured early wins for Deakin.
To make the most of what’s on offer, the university has commenced a two-stage onboarding process. First, it’s prioritised the implementation of products that are going to deliver maximum value with minimum effort. For example, Cisco Umbrella was one of the first cyber security products the university rolled out, because it very quickly and easily provides a robust first line of defence against cyber threats.
This was followed by the deployment of Cisco Email Security, which protects against phishing and threats coming in via email. Next on the roadmap, Deakin University will be implementing the products designed to protect against more advanced threats, such as Stealthwatch, Identity Services Engine and next-gen firewalls.
Given the number of people using Deakin’s IT network, and the mix of functions they’re using it for, the university needed flexibility in the security controls it could apply. It might want to prevent undergraduate students from accessing plagiarism sites, but allow academics researching the subject legitimately to have access.
A blanket, high-level approach was impractical, so Deakin now has flexibility. The university also uses Cisco's Cyber Range in a teaching capacity, both to
educate students and up-skill staff in how to defend against cyber warfare.
“Cyber Range allows you to be both attacker and defender, so you can practice from both sides of the attack,” explains Warren. This has helped equip students for the workforce, while also ensuring university employees are highly skilled in this area.
Overall, Deakin University now has a greater level of confidence in its cyber security efforts. It also appreciates that it’s been able to achieve this very simply, by leveraging the expertise of a strategic partner, rather than expending the resource and energy required to be proficient in this domain itself. “It’s really naive for anyone playing in the disruptive digital space not to invest the same research and hard work into the cybersecurity space,” says Confalonieri.
Stage 1: First line of defence against threats: Cisco Umbrella Stage 2: Protection against phishing and email threats: Cisco Email Security Stage 3: Protection against advanced threats: Stealthwatch, Identity Services Engine, Next-Gen firewalls
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