At Acumen Cyber, we are committed to protecting the education sector from the growing threat of cyber attacks. That is why we have partnered with HEFESTIS, a not for profit shared service organisation jointly owned by UK colleges and universities, to provide institutions with the expertise and security solutions needed to safeguard their data and systems.
Addressing the Cyber Security Challenges in Higher and Further Education
Higher and further education institutions are prime targets for cyber criminals. The UK government’s most recent Cyber Security Breaches study revealed that 86% of further education colleges and 97% of universities have experienced breaches or attacks. These incidents, often carried out by financially motivated hackers or nation state actors, have caused significant disruptions, resulting in network shutdowns, student impact, and compromised personal data of millions.
Many institutions struggle to secure their environments due to limited resources and funding. Their infrastructure is complex, incorporating SaaS applications, cloud hosted data, and independent technical ecosystems across departments. This makes implementing a cohesive security strategy challenging. With thousands of students and staff accessing networks daily, phishing attacks are a major risk. A recent attack on a large research intensive university, executed through a single phishing email, compromised the data of millions of students and NHS patients.
Our Partnership with HEFESTIS
Through our collaboration with HEFESTIS, we are delivering enhanced cyber security services to UK universities and colleges. HEFESTIS already provides vital shared information services, including CISO support, Data Protection Officers, and Enterprise Service Management. Our partnership allows them to expand their offering by integrating our next generation Security Operations Centre (SOC) services.
By joining forces, we are providing institutions with cost-effective access to:
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24/7 real time security monitoring by our expert security engineers
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Advanced threat detection and rapid incident response
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Market leading security solutions tailored for the education sector
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Seamless integration with HEFESTIS’s existing security and compliance services
A Smarter Approach to Cyber Resilience
Our shared service model ensures that universities and colleges benefit from continuous security monitoring and proactive threat detection without the complexity of managing cyber security in house. This allows institutions to focus on their core mission, education and research, while we take care of their security needs.
Brian Henderson, CEO of HEFESTIS, shared his thoughts on our collaboration:
“We are excited to launch our new partnership with Acumen, which we believe will provide universities and further education colleges with the technical tools and expertise needed to monitor, detect and remediate threats. HEFESTIS is a trusted voice in the UK education sector and we work with universities and colleges across the country to help improve their security and drive cyber resilience. We believe the most relevant next step is to offer SOC services through Acumen, which will augment and support the task of running security in house and will significantly bolster security across the sector, with it being managed 24/7 under the expert guidance of our partner, Acumen.”
At Acumen Cyber, we operate a people powered, CREST accredited SOC, underpinned by best in class security technology. With extensive experience securing the complex environments of higher and further education, we provide institutions with the expertise needed to safeguard their digital assets, ensuring that as their environments grow in size and complexity, security remains a top priority.
Mark Robertson, CEO of Acumen Cyber, reinforced our mission:
“In the last few years, the UK’s education sector has faced an unprecedented number of cyber attacks that have shattered the safety of systems, compromised the sensitive data of staff and students and placed many institutions in limbo. Our new partnership with HEFESTIS will help support universities and further education colleges to better defend against cyber attacks. Blending our expertise and cutting edge security tools with HEFESTIS’s industry knowledge, we will work together to improve defences across the sector, making it harder for attackers to access systems and launch devastating attacks.”
With this partnership, we are taking a significant step forward in strengthening the cyber security posture of the UK’s higher and further education sector. Institutions can now access enterprise-grade security solutions tailored to their unique needs, ensuring they remain protected against evolving cyber threats.