University of Hull

University of Hull achieves 24/ 7 cyber security coverage with Phoenix Protect – Active Response

Introduction

As one of England’s oldest universities, the University of Hull has a proudly progressive history combined with modern, up to date facilities at its leafy campus outside the city centre.

With 2,000 staff members and over 12,000 students, the university is committed to providing a secure and conducive learning environment. Over the years, the university has developed a strong relationship with Phoenix, starting with Adobe licensing in 2013 and expanding to various IT solutions, including numerous Microsoft licensing and hardware.

Key facts

2,000 staff, 12,000 students
Phoenix solutions involved in the project: Phoenix Protect – Active Response Managed Security Service and Microsoft Sentinel
Sector: Higher education
Over 60,000 security alerts generated and handled by the SOC in the first 12 months, of which nearly 4,000 were deemed ‘high severity’

The service we get from the Phoenix SOC exceeded our expectations. The responses we get from the security team could not be more comprehensive.”

Carl McCabe, Interim Cyber Security Manager – University of Hull

Solution

The university adopted Phoenix Protect – Active Response, which is a managed security service from Phoenix based on Microsoft Sentinel, the vendor’s cloud-based security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution. Microsoft Sentinel provides cyber threat detection, investigation, response, and proactive hunting, with a bird’s-eye view across the organisation.

As a managed SIEM service from Phoenix, the university gained access to Phoenix’s Security Operations Centre (SOC), which consists of a dedicated team of Cyber Security Specialists who work as an extension of the university’s IT team, monitoring its IT infrastructure for threats 24/ 7 and responding to incidents as they occur.

With 24/ 7 SOC services, the university immediately gained a team of dedicated security experts, without having to build and train such a team itself. As an extensive user of Microsoft products, the implementation of the SOC into the university’s IT infrastructure was seamless, with easy integration of native Microsoft Defender services and relevant alerts generated from day one.

Image of two university students working in a library

Knowing that security is taken care of overnight is a huge benefit. Prior to the Phoenix SOC we were vulnerable outside of working hours, so you never knew what you might face when you came into the office each morning. Now we have the peace of mind that we are protected 24/ 7.”

Carl McCabe, Interim Cyber Security Manager – University of Hull

Benefits

The implementation of Phoenix Protect – Active Response significantly improved the university’s cyber security posture, with over 60,000 alerts generated within the first year. The SOC has significantly reduced the workload on the IT team by proactively responding to the majority of alerts itself, allowing for more timely responses to the most pressing security threats and freeing up the IT team to work on other projects.

The 24/ 7 monitoring provides significant peace of mind, knowing that security issues are addressed promptly, even outside of regular working hours.

The proactive measures taken by Phoenix have prevented major security incidents, ensuring the safety of the university’s digital environment.

A large bulk of potential issues are now handled automatically, such as the automatic blocking of accounts as a result of suspicious activity, further reducing the workload on the university.

The fact that we haven’t had any big events is a credit to Phoenix. I would be much less confident handling the cyber security with just the team we have internally.”

Carl McCabe – University of Hull

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