Louisiana Enables Cyber Protection for Higher Ed in the State Through LSU
October 09, 2023
Setting a National Example
With $7.5 million in support from the state legislature, higher education in Louisiana can now gain cyber protection—at no additional cost to the institution—through an industry-leading model developed at LSU.
The LSU Security Operations Center, or SOC, will deliver round-the-clock protection together with its industry partners, TekStream and Splunk, while training students as cyber analysts to meet a 750,000-wide national workforce gap.
The LSU Baton Rouge SOC and the LSU Shreveport SOC are now fully up and running. Both are physical SOCs with powerful capabilities. Participating schools across the state are starting to gain cloud access to shared SOC services through LONI, the Louisiana Optical Network Infrastructure, without the need to invest in staff, space or equipment.
“None of us could afford to do this alone,” said Kenneth Boe, chief information officer at LSU Health New Orleans. “We couldn’t afford enough equipment or enough people to do it 24/7, and the bad guys all around the world, they’re not just hitting us during regular business hours.”
“It’s incredible, working with LSU and LONI, to actually see this happen—especially for public higher education,” said Thomas Hoover, chief information officer at Louisiana Tech and vice president for information technology for the University of Louisiana System. “This is our first opportunity to proactively improve our cybersecurity posture collectively. Ensuring this resource is available to everyone for free makes us all better. This is very exciting.”
LSU Shreveport’s Security Operations Center, or SOC.
“It’s very difficult for the Department of Homeland Security and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to accomplish the goal that’s been set before them, which is to secure the nation. Right now, Louisiana and LSU are showing the federal government how cyber defense can become more efficient. There is a better way to do this, and we’re proving so.”
Dustin Glover, chief cyber officer for the state of Louisiana