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Case Studies > University of Wisconsin-Superior Secures their Campus Network with AlienVault® USM

University of Wisconsin-Superior Secures their Campus Network with AlienVault® USM

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Intrusion Detection
Cybersecurity & Privacy - Security Compliance
Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security

Applicable Industries

Education

Applicable Functions

Facility Management
Business Operation

Use Cases

Intrusion Detection Systems

Services

System Integration
Training

The Challenge

In early 2015, UW-Superior’s IT team was looking to replace their outdated intrusion prevention system. As a result of budget restrictions, however, they needed to find a cost-effective security solution that would still meet the needs of their large network. Tom Janicki, Technology and Infrastructure Services Director at UW-Superior, was tasked with updating the campus’s intrusion detection system (IDS). However, he soon realized that finding an IDS system at a price that met his limited budget was proving to be a challenge. While researching alternative IDS solutions, Janicki came across AlienVault’s Unified Security Management® (USM) platform. “I read a review in SC Magazine and decided to go through a self-guided demo. Afterwards, I spoke with a sales rep and was floored by the price he quoted,” said Janicki.

About The Customer

Founded in 1893, the University of Wisconsin–Superior (UW-Superior) is a public university located in Superior, Wisconsin. UW–Superior grants bachelor’s, master’s, and specialist’s degrees. The university currently enrolls about 2,450 undergraduates and 150 graduate students from over 40 different countries. Ranked as 23rd by U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs/Best Online Programs,” UW-Superior strives to ensure their record of 96% of graduates who join the workforce or continue their education. There are approximately 1200 computers and 50 servers on the UW-Superior campus for faculty, staff, and lab use. Roughly 500 students living in the residence halls on campus also have access to UW-Superior’s network services for their daily use.

The Solution

After a full evaluation, UW-Superior decided to leverage AlienVault USM to meet their IDS needs. They then quickly began the process of deploying it in their campus network with professional services provided by AlienVault. As Janicki and his team became familiar with using AlienVault USM as their intrusion detection system, they began to implement the other tools that make up the USM platform. During this process, Janicki was pleased to realize that because so many security features were already included in the USM platform, like behavioral monitoring, SIEM and vulnerability assessment, he would not have to purchase additional security tools that he previously thought he would require. Currently there are a total of three security people on Janicki’s team that are using AlienVault USM. They all wear multiple hats and each of their roles are evolving as they learn more about the AlienVault USM platform. Recently, UW-Superior purchased an additional remote sensor that they’ve deployed outside of their firewall. This additional layer of security has already begun to provide them with detailed information about the malicious actors that are trying to gain access to their environment.

Operational Impact

Once the external sensor was deployed, the UW-Superior security team was very surprised to see the amount of attacks attempting to break into their network. For instance, they recently detected a Shellshock attack that was targeting a backup system for the campus radio station. Janicki explained that the attack involved malicious actors who were attempting to place scripts on the radio station’s server that would download files from a compromised website.
In addition to his full-time role as the Technology and Infrastructure Services Director at UW-Superior, Janicki also teaches level 1 and level 2 classes on Cisco and will also start teaching a new networking and security class at Lake Superior College. He said that he has actually incorporated the AlienVault USM platform into some of his course lectures.
The team at UW-Superior also expressed how AlienVault USM has made their security process far more efficient.

Quantitative Benefit

UW-Superior has greatly increased the security of their campus network with all five of AlienVault USM’s core features.
By adding an additional AlienVault sensor outside their firewall, UW-Superior has been able to gain a great deal of information about malicious actors that are trying to gain access to their environment.
AlienVault professional support allowed UW-Superior to deploy AlienVault USM on their network quickly and easily.