How Securus360 Helped Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) Secure their network and protect student data with K-12 focused cybersecurity
Every day brings new and sophisticated cyber threats to K-12 school districts. With limited staff, budget, and visibility, TUSD felt their network was not sufficiently protected 24/7
TUSD CTO Gil Mara shares why he selected Securus360 as their cybersecurity partner:
I just didn't feel the same connection with other vendors as I did with Securus360. The big cybersecurity conglomerates have lots of solutions, but I didn't get the feeling I would be a big priority.
Jeff and the technical team from Securus360 spent a lot of time with me up front to talk about their products and services, and they've been a proactive partner in consistently following up and making sure things are working smoothly.
What TUSD was up against?
If you aren’t staffed with a full-time cybersecurity team, you may be experiencing this, too...
Need for 24/7 support from someone they can count on
A growing digital footprint in the K-12 space requires new innovation and automation to stay equipped and protected. TUSD needed 24/7 SOC coverage to manage and investigate nonstop alerts. The ever-evolving threat landscape seemed impossible to keep up with.
Limited staff and budget to meet all security requirements
TUSD needed expertise in multiple areas and their team was stretched thin worrying about daily demands across the district. But with a limited budget, there was only so much that could be accomplished by piecing together solutions that left them at risk.
Vulnerable student and staff data
K-12 school districts are now the prime target for cyberattacks, adding enormous stress to TUSD's already maxed-out team. Without continuous monitoring, active threat hunting, regular vulnerability assessments, and detailed reporting, the TUSD team was left in the dark about just how secure their important data was.
How Torrance Unified School District knew Securus360 was the right cybersecurity partner
Exclusive focus on the unique needs of K-12 cybersecurity
Proactive communication to get ahead of issues before they become problems
Cybersecurity experts who combine world-class technology and highly personalized service
TUSD CTO Gil Mara shares an example of how Securus360 gives him more control over his TUSD network
…through the emails, for example, that are coming in. So, prior to this, we didn't see at the granular level what each email can be categorized as, as to whether or not we should be alerted for something or whether or not we should just whitelist an item. So that's given us a lot of visibility and also the traffic within the network in and of itself.
This new visibility allowed TUSD to review the Outlook accounts and found that some should not have been created. The client was able to remove those accounts.
How Securus360 helped TUSD harden their security posture with the expertise and support they needed
AI-Powered MXDR Platform: Leverages machine learning to automatically monitor, detect and alert on any cyber threat
Automatically monitoring, detecting and alerting on cyber threats is critical to keeping sensitive data protected. Securus360's AI-Powered MXDR Platform offers active threat hunting through machine learning and behavioral analysis to detect anomalies and unknown threats. Through this service, TUSD deployed multi-vector monitoring and EDR across their entire district to identify the real threats and keep their systems protected.
24/7 Human-Powered Security Operations Center: A team of cybersecurity experts who investigate, mitigate and contain even the most advanced threats
The need for 24/7 coverage is crucial as the threat landscape to K-12 organizations grows and evolves. With Securus360's 24/7 Security Operations Center, TUSD leverages human expertise in combination with AI and Machine Learning to investigate, mitigate and contain any vulnerability, any time. This 24/7, lightning-fast service helps eliminate TUSD's blind spots while identifying and containing even the most advanced threats before they can wreak havoc.
Regularly Scheduled Vulnerability Assessment: Proactively identify and take action to mitigate emerging threats
TUSD knew that to stay ahead of the changing threat landscape, they needed ongoing evaluation with actionable threat intel. Securus360's quarterly vulnerability assessments have helped TUSD keep tabs on the evolving threat landscape and maintain peace of mind as their district grows. These assessments offer TUSD a holistic view of their entire infrastructure and the potential vulnerabilities that need to be addressed in order to properly protect it.
What happened when TUSD partnered with Securus360 to protect their district
Gained peace of mind with 24/7/365 protection
Augmented their team with cybersecurity experts
Met insurance requirements with ease
What TUSD CTO Gil Mara says about his experience with Securus360
We could spend $1M a year on more staff to help manage the network and that still wouldn’t be enough to do the job that Securus360 is able to do for us. I would have had to hire 2-3 more people to do this work; Securus360 has been a great investment for us.
The cybersecurity landscape is getting more complex. And K-12 schools are becoming more vulnerable.
We believe students' identities and sensitive data should never be at risk. Let Securus360 give you the peace of mind you deserve.
