
Hope through love and service
News 23 AprilA message from the Provost Professor Julie Cogin.
09 December 2021
Share
In another step forward for cyber security at ACU, the new Security Operations Centre (SOC), a ‘mission control’ for threat monitoring, goes live this week.
Universities present as large targets to cyber-criminals by storing lots of sensitive personal or research data, intellectual property, and are increasingly reliant on technology to support learning, teaching, and operations.
According to a recent study by cyber threat intelligence provider Check Point Research, the Australian education sector saw a 17 per cent increase in cyber attacks in 2021. Given that cyber criminals spend an average of 56 days snooping around for weaknesses or vulnerabilities, that means a lot of time and attention is being directed at finding ways into our systems, and the methods are getting sneakier.
Along with the email monitoring system explored in last week’s Staff Bulletin article What happens when you click the Report Email button, ACU IT this week goes live with a Security Operations Centre (SOC) provided by AARNet.
A Security Operations Centre is a type of ‘mission control’ for cyber security threat monitoring. Logs of ACU’s activities (like breadcrumbs that record digital actions a user has taken such as accessing email, Banner, Staff/Student Connect) are funneled into one central location, where world-class artificial intelligence scans the logs for patterns or known threats. The results are then sent to a team of highly-skilled analysts who can rapidly alert ACU and provide advice and support to remediate the issue – ideally before it becomes a real problem. The SOC may also highlight insecure practices, leading to proactive intervention and stronger cyber security defenses.
AARNet, a not-for-profit industry resource initiated by the Council of Australasian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT), is uniquely positioned to provide tailored cyber security support for the higher education sector. They are highly attuned to sector specific threats and can identify associated patterns and alert the university community if a threat is detected. Additionally, AARNet servers are located in Australia so our data remains on-shore and is subject to Australian privacy laws. ACU is a member of CAUDIT.
The SOC comes into operation this week, when AARNet staff will spend time baselining or learning normal behaviours for ACU so they can identify anomalies in the future. IT staff have been working to set up a single collection point for the logs to create a large pool of information, configuring systems to send logs to the collection point, providing information to AARNet, and attending training.
Thanks to Andrew Joma, Namir Kasim, Mark Laffan, and Wenyun Ji from the IT Directorate for their work to set up this vital cyber security resource for ACU.
Join the Cyber Security Workplace group for up-to-date news and information on cyber security from our ACU cyber security experts.
A message from the Provost Professor Julie Cogin.
Join us for an online session designed to help you get the most out of EndNote when working on your thesis or publications.
Include an additional survey item in the Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) survey for units that are offered in Semester 1 (202530) and Professional Term 3 (202515).
Curious about how ACU is turning its equity commitments into real-world impact? Explore how teams across the university are creating meaningful change through widening participation projects.
The Digest from Academic Board meeting 01/2025, held on 19 February 2025, is now available.
All ACU staff and students are invited to a commemorative prayer service at your local campus ahead of Anzac Day. Please join us at your local campus to remember and honour our service men and women w...
As we move towards the celebration of Easter, Pope Francis reminds us of the meaning and joy of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Register to attend the first Aquero Lecture of 2025.
A message from the Chief Operating Officer, Patrick Woods.
As ACU positions itself as a leading university in human flourishing, it is important to consider the value of community-engaged practices. The ACU and DePaul conference provides a perfect opportunity...
Please be aware of the following changes to payroll processing dates next week.
As reported in various news outlets, a recent cyber incident has impacted a number of Australian Superannuation funds. UniSuper has confirmed that they are not impacted by the incident but remain vigi...
Advance your career in teaching and learning with the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education. Enrol by 14 April 2025 to get started in Professional Term 4.
Applications for the 2025 Teaching Development Grants and Citations and Awards programs open soon. Register for an information session to learn how to be recognised for your contributions to teaching ...
ACU Library’s Research Engagement team is running their Research Essentials skills sessions again in 2025. Metrics Week 1 aims to introduce you to the types of metrics you can use in grant application...
A message from Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Professor Abid Khan: ACU is integrating our research excellence within a comprehensive framework focused on human flourishing.
Thank you to everyone within our ACU community who engaged with Respect at Uni Week 2025. This year we focused on Shining a Light on Respect.
The Student Administration teams have been extremely active during the first quarter of 2025.
ServiceNow will now be used for receiving and referring complaints, as well as communicating with stakeholders regarding complaints and feedback received. Learn more about this and the recent changes ...
Student Communications (MER) compiles, edits and sends a monthly Student News and Events bulletin. This bulletin is sent to all students, nationally, and includes a broad cross-section of news, announ...
Visit Service Central to access Corporate Services.