A new security operations centre (SOC), launched by the UK’s National Research and Education Network, Jisc, will help the country’s education and research sectors protect themselves from cyber attacks.
Higher education institutions and research funders have been the target of an increasing number of cyber attacks in recent years, leading to disruption, financial and intellectual property loss and reputational damage. In 2024, Jisc said that it had dealt with hundreds of cyber incidents affecting its member organisations, including 11 major incidents that ‘severely impacted’ business-as-usual.
Jisc already provides the Janet Network – a stable, high-speed connection with its own layer of cyber security protection and support – to the UK education and research sector.
However, the new SOC – which has been built specifically to provide tailored protection for education and research institutions – will continuously analyse live traffic data across the Janet Network enabling it to identify unusual activity and potential threats in real time and provide rapid incident response, ensuring that cyber security threats are detected and contained as quickly as possible.
‘The UK education and research sectors are subject to increasing cyber-attacks on a daily basis, disrupting learning, research and critical operations,’ said David Batho, director of security at Jisc. ‘This specialised security operations centre is more than just a service; it’s a commitment to a safer digital future… Through advanced threat detection and response capabilities, we’re empowering the education community to innovate with confidence.’
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