Cybersecurity

Uniting our community in common cyber defense

To combat growing cyber threats, the education sector has recognized that the best defense is a team one – combining the strengths of many into protection for all.

In recognition of this and to support our members, SRNET has invested significantly in growing our cybersecurity capabilities and leadership.

We provide cybersecurity guidance and services which are tailored to our members’ needs, along with a banner under which our community collaborates on common cybersecurity challenges.

Your Partner in Cybersecurity

SRNET can support your institution or organization:

As an unbiased, trusted advisor who provides clarity and context to national cybersecurity strategies and services.
As extensions of institutions’ IT teams for cybersecurity expertise and resourcing.
To facilitate the adoption of national cybersecurity services and support their operation.

Optimized cybersecurity can benefit everyone, regardless of where their institution or organization is located or how large they are.

Cybersecurity Assessment

Understanding your organization’s IT infrastructure is critical to determining whether there is an increased risk of cyber attacks. SRNET supports members in identifying potential vulnerabilities and threats to their information systems through proactive cybersecurity assessments.

Infrastructure Hardening

Hardening infrastructure is a proactive approach to protecting your organization’s sensitive information and critical assets, boosting stakeholder confidence, and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.

This process includes configuring systems securely, applying the latest patches and updates, removing unnecessary services and access, and implementing robust authentication and authorization mechanisms. Hardening your infrastructure, minimizes the attack surface, making it significantly harder to exploit system weaknesses.

Member Collaboration

SRNET acts as a facilitator to bring our members together so they can share best practices and experiences in cyber security. This allows all of our members to enhance their cybersecurity implementations based on the feedback of other members.

The Future of SRNET Security Operations

A Security Operations Center (SOC) is essential for an organization as it provides continuous monitoring, detection, and response to security threats, ensuring rapid identification and mitigation of potential incidents. This centralized function enhances the organization’s ability to protect sensitive data, maintain regulatory compliance, and safeguard overall business operations against cyber threats.

Developing and maintaining a SOC is a challenging, costly task for most organizations and commercial outsourcing options.

SRNET is responding to the community’s needs by building a shared Security Operations Centre. In partnership with six of our post-secondary and K12 members, we’re piloting a nonprofit SOC model that pools and develops Saskatchewan cybersecurity talent for the exclusive benefit of the education and research sectors. Watch for upcoming announcements about the wide availability of the SRNET Shared SOC, or contact us to be notified when your institution or division is able to join the collective protection that this SOC offers.

CANARIE Cybersecurity Initiatives Program

The CANARIE Cybersecurity Initiatives Program aims to enhance the cybersecurity posture of Canada’s research and education sector by providing funding and resources for developing and implementing advanced security measures. The program supports initiatives that focus on detecting, preventing, and responding to cyber threats, ensuring the protection of critical data and infrastructure within the academic and research communities. Through collaboration and innovation, the program seeks to strengthen the sector’s overall resilience and security capabilities.

Through SRNET membership and with the support of our Cybersecurity Analysts, Saskatchewan post-secondary institutions can leverage the advanced services available under the CIP.

For more info about how you can better protect yourself as a SRNET member

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