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Higher education technology organisation aims to guard against incidents that can cost £2 million each
A service to help universities “guard against multiplying cybersecurity threats” has been launched by Jisc, the UK higher education sector’s technology and digital organisation.
Jisc said its new security operations centre, which launched on 31 March, will “relieve pressure” on universities’ own teams responding to cyber threats and attacks.
In a survey of its members, Jisc found that institutions dealt with hundreds of cyber incidents, including 11 major ones, during 2024.
Jisc’s technology team told Research Professional News that the cost of a single major cyber incident at an individual institution is around £2 million, adding that this was a “conservative average” and did not include consequential losses or any penalties that might be imposed by the Information Commissioners Office.
In late 2023, the British Library was hit by a major ransomware attack, which kept catalogues offline for nearly three months and could cost the library up to £9m.
Additional security
David Batho, director of security at Jisc, said: “The UK education and research sectors are subject to increasing cyberattacks on a daily basis, disrupting learning, research and critical operations.”
Batho said the security operations centre was “a commitment to a safer digital future”.
Jisc said the centre will provide “24/7 protection, threat detection and rapid incident response”, adding to the cybersecurity measures already in place as part of the Janet Network, a service provided by Jisc for collaborative research and education used by 20 million people in the UK.
Batho said: “Jisc’s unique position as the provider of the UK’s national research and education network means the security operations centre has been built specifically to provide tailored protection for education and research institutions.”
“Through advanced threat detection and response capabilities, we’re empowering the education community to innovate with confidence,” he added.
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