Ayrshire College secures cyber upgrade to enhance student skills

Ayrshire College has formed a partnership with Acumen Cyber, HEFESTIS, and Academia to enhance its cybersecurity capabilities and provide students with exposure to professional cybersecurity environments. This initiative will integrate industrial-grade protection with practical student experiences in the context of further and higher education.

Bolstering defences

The college is introducing Acumen Cyber and HEFESTIS's SecurEd service to strengthen its cyber defences. The SecurEd offering utilises a CREST-accredited 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) and encompasses the entire spectrum of the college's digital environment.

The partnership addresses the heightened risks faced by the education sector, which is regarded as particularly vulnerable due to its openness and limited resources.

"Cyber security is no longer just a nice to have, it is essential in ensuring the safe delivery of education to our students. This relationship is built on the trust we have in HEFESTIS, and because of the full service model delivered by Acumen. Unlike other providers, we don't need to pick and choose services, leaving certain areas of our infrastructure exposed. Instead the model covers our entire environment, giving us the confidence and reassurance that security is being managed 24/7 by experts in further education cyber defence," said Brad Johnstone, Director of Digital Infrastructure, Ayrshire College.

Comprehensive service

The SecurEd service is designed to deliver fixed-price, all-inclusive protection, which eliminates gaps in coverage. According to the partners, every part of the college's infrastructure will be monitored, managed, and secured by teams familiar with the education sector's risks.

Ayrshire College gains access to Acumen's team of security engineers, all of whom are qualified to handle the entire incident lifecycle. With a dedicated SOC client lead and a non-tiered approach, response times are intended to be fast and consistent.

Sector support

HEFESTIS, which provides cybersecurity services to educational and public bodies across the UK, has played a central role in supporting the partnership. The not-for-profit organisation said it has vetted Acumen's service and has also adopted the same SOC model for its own infrastructure.

"We are a longstanding, independent and trusted voice on cyber security for the UK's further and higher education sector and we have absolute confidence in the service Acumen is delivering to Ayrshire College, so much so that HEFESTIS has also onboarded Acumen's SOC to protect its own infrastructure. Its team of engineers have specialist experience in delivering security to further and higher education, which will alleviate a significant strain from the college, while also making significant enhancements to its cyber defences," said Brian Henderson, CEO of HEFESTIS.

Student experience

The collaboration also aims to benefit Ayrshire College students through practical experience within a live cybersecurity environment. Students will have opportunities to visit Acumen's SOC and engage directly with security engineers. The initiative also includes graduate recruitment pathways, guest lectures, and research projects focused on cyber operations.

"We are delighted to announce our partnership with Ayrshire College. Our close work with higher and further education has shaped SecurEd into a bespoke service that meets the sector's exact needs. Our partnership with Ayrshire is further recognition of the value of our offering, combining protection, education and collaboration," said Mark Robertson, CEO of Acumen Cyber.