New Jersey Institute of Technology Prioritizes Experiential Cybersecurity Learning
TekStream Partnership Enhances Cybersecurity & Workforce Development
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), one of the nation’s leading public polytechnic universities, prepares students to be leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. With more than 13,000 students and about 2,000 faculty and staff under their umbrella, the university understands the need for a comprehensive cybersecurity program.
As a technology institute, they also prioritize experiential learning. They looked for an opportunity to achieve world class cybersecurity while also training their students in a laboratory-style environment.
But cybersecurity costs were soaring, and even though taking their SOC in-house would serve the experiential learning element, it would not effectively solve their core cybersecurity need. The number of analysts needed would be unattainable in the current market and having students work around the clock wasn’t practical from an educational mission perspective. The workforce development program with TekStream became a way to achieve both goals.
Technology Used
Splunk Enterprise Security
Splunk Cloud
Splunk SOAR
Project Pain Points
Difficulty surfacing issues and ineffective incident response.
Need for full platform cybersecurity and not just threat intelligence.
Workforce availability to “keep the lights on” and thwart attacks.
Solution Objectives
The engagement involved TekStream MDR using Splunk Enterprise Security on Splunk Cloud. NJIT already had aspects of their core environment configured, making this engagement unique, however TekStream’s flexible approach leveraged the customer’s effort. Timing was a concern, with a hard deadline to roll off the prior provider and start the new program. TekStream was able to deliver ahead of schedule, with just 5 weeks from work start to go live.
Initial MDR implementation involved a review of the existing deployment configuration. This was followed by ongoing monthly security and automation engineering support, which is a standard part of TekStream’s MDR solution. Each TekStream MDR engagement typically involves three phases: initial implementation, advanced services and security operations. These phases are sequential, with advanced services and security operations starting after the initial implementation.
NJIT handled all data onboarding themselves, which is atypical for such implementations, allowing TekStream to focus on other tasks. This level of expertise is rare among clients and facilitated a smoother implementation process. TekStream was able to create several SOAR workbooks and also added new use cases to their library, enhancing the value provided to NJIT.
Key Successes
- The client was pleased with the team’s ability to be flexible and meet the aggressive timeline, which provided them with peace of mind and a smooth transition from their previous provider.
- Full platform leverage improved the security stance, which is more comprehensive than their former threat-intelligence-only solution.
- Collaboration model – both with TekStream and with other institutions – suits the NJIT vision for the future. As a research institution, their initiatives are typically coordinated with multiple schools across state lines, and diversity of thought is a foundational benefit to the partners. That collaboration bears fruit in the shared SOC through training, intelligence sharing and identification of known bad actors.
- Moving from reactive to proactive security – with TekStream and Splunk, as they are sharing threat information, there is a feeling of joining forces and thwarting threats much faster than any institute can do alone.
With TekStream, it’s the first time I’ve ever met anyone who’s willing to say, you hire your students, we’ll train them and we’ll still take on the liability of protecting you. I don’t know anyone else that’s going to be willing to do that in this industry.
Ed Wozencroft, Vice President for Digital Strategy and Chief Information Officer at New Jersey Institute of Technology
About The Company
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), a leading public polytechnic university, prepares students for the technology-driven economy of the 21st century. With over 13,000 students and 2,000 faculty and staff, NJIT recognizes the critical need for a strong cybersecurity program, integrating research, industry partnerships, and hands-on learning to address evolving digital threats.
Company: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Location: Newark, NJ
Industry: Higher Education Institution
Revenue: $1.1B annually
Read more about TekStream Security Services.