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Open campuses, protected data,
and classes that keep running.
Universities, colleges and school boards run open networks for thousands of users, hold records on students and staff, and in many cases host research foreign states want. We watch around the clock and respond in minutes, without closing the campus.
Why attackers target education.
Open by design, short on security staff and full of valuable data.
Ransomware on school and campus systems
Groups encrypt student information, learning and finance systems, often at term start or exam time when downtime hurts most.
Student and staff record theft
Records on minors, health and accommodation files, and payroll data are stolen for extortion and identity fraud.
Research espionage
State-backed actors target university research in sensitive fields such as AI, quantum and life sciences, along with the researchers who hold it.
Account takeover at scale
Tens of thousands of student and staff accounts, many without strong authentication, make phishing and password spraying productive.
Education technology vendors
Learning platforms, student information systems and classroom apps hold student data outside your network. A breach at one vendor can reach many boards.
Unmanaged devices and open networks
Personal laptops, lab equipment and building systems share networks that were built for access, not containment.
The rules you answer to.
Provincial privacy and education law first, then federal research security, then the US rule that can apply to cross-border students.
| Framework | Who it applies to | What we help with |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario FIPPA and MFIPPA | Ontario universities and colleges (FIPPA); school boards (MFIPPA) | Breach investigation to support notice to individuals and the IPC, safeguards assessment and documented incident records |
| Enhancing Digital Security and Trust Act, 2024 (Ontario) and O. Reg. 51/26 | Ontario school boards, colleges and universities | Cyber security maturity assessment, programme design and the incident facts needed to report critical incidents within 72 hours of confirmation |
| O. Reg. 52/26, digital technology affecting individuals under 18 (Ontario) | Ontario school boards | An inventory of the software and providers that receive student data, and security review of those providers |
| Ontario Education Act, section 266 (Ontario Student Record) | Ontario school boards and schools | Access monitoring and investigation when student records are viewed or disclosed without authority |
| Other provincial public sector privacy laws, such as BC's FIPPA and Alberta's Protection of Privacy Act | School districts, school boards and post-secondary institutions in each province | Harm assessment support for breach notification, privacy management programme input and safeguards review |
| Quebec Law 25 and the public sector access act | Quebec school service centres, CEGEPs and universities | Confidentiality incident investigation, the incident register and privacy impact assessment input |
| Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern | Researchers and institutions applying to CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC and CFI in sensitive technology research areas | Threat assessment, access control and monitoring for sensitive research environments |
Security that fits an open institution.
Research environment protection
We assess and segment labs and research data holdings, and watch for the access patterns that signal espionage rather than collaboration.
Student record monitoring
Detection of unusual access and bulk export from student information and learning systems, with alerts your privacy office can act on.
Term-time ransomware planning
Playbooks and exercises built around the academic calendar, so the plan works when it is the first week of classes or exam season.
How we help schools, colleges and universities.
MSOC
An autonomous SOC watching campus, administrative and cloud systems around the clock, containing threats in under two minutes.
Learn more →IR retainer
Pre-agreed terms and guaranteed response from four hours down to one, with breach notification support built in.
Learn more →Ransomware readiness
Test whether you could recover student, learning and finance systems from an attack, before you have to.
Learn more →Identity & access
Strong authentication and access control for large, changing populations of students, staff and researchers.
Learn more →SKULDSecurity awareness training
Practical training for faculty and staff, so phishing stops working on the people with the most access.
Learn more →Supply chain & third-party risk
Assessment of the education technology vendors that hold your student data.
Learn more →What buyers ask.
Our network has to stay open. Will monitoring lock it down?
No. MSOC watches behaviour rather than blocking access by default. It acts inside boundaries you set, and takes nothing irreversible on a teaching or research system without sign-off.
We are a school board with a small IT team. Do we need a 24/7 SOC?
Attackers time ransomware for nights, weekends and holidays because that is when nobody is watching. MSOC gives a small team round-the-clock detection and response without hiring a night shift.
Can you help with a privacy breach notification?
We investigate what was accessed and by whom, and give your privacy office the facts it needs to notify students, families and the commissioner. Legal advice stays with your counsel.
Where does student data go?
100% Canadian-owned, with primary operations in Canada. We deploy to meet each client's data-residency requirements, and Canadian clients' data stays in Canada.
Talk to someone who understands education.
Put a specialist on a call to scope monitoring, ransomware readiness or a privacy investigation. No charge, no commitment.