64%
Hit by ransomware in 2021
Securing higher education against advanced cyberthreats
Sophos MDR is the leading Managed Detection and Response service for the education sector. Protect your institution with 24/7 human-led threat hunting and response.
Sophos MDR overview
Why higher education is a prime target
Higher education providers such as colleges and universities are a prime target for cybercriminals. Adversaries are increasingly attracted by the valuable and sensitive information they hold, and the opportunity to extort payments using ransomware and the threat of breach exposure.
As cyberthreats grow in both volume and complexity, many higher education providers are turning to the Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service for protection against advanced attacks that technology alone cannot prevent.
Higher education faces escalating cyber risk
The cybersecurity challenge for higher education providers continues to grow
53%
Report an increase in attack volume
50%
Report an increase in attack complexity
50%
Report an increase in the impact of cyberattacks
How Sophos MDR protects higher education
24/7 human-led threat hunting and incident response from Sophos experts
24/7 threat hunting
Sophos MDR analysts continuously hunt for threats across your endpoints, servers, network, cloud workloads, email, and identity systems. Human expertise identifies attacks that evade automated defenses.
Rapid incident response
When threats are detected, Sophos MDR analysts take direct action to contain and neutralize attacks. Response actions execute automatically through Sophos Central to stop breaches before damage occurs.
Threat intelligence
Insights from Sophos X-Ops inform every investigation. MDR analysts leverage intelligence on threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures specific to the education sector.
Detailed reporting
Receive clear, actionable reports on security incidents with recommendations for strengthening defenses. Quarterly reviews provide strategic guidance on security posture.
The severe impact of cyberattacks on education
A major cyber incident has very considerable financial and operational repercussions for higher education providers. In 2021, the average ransom paid by the sector was a crippling $905,000. While this includes a small number of very large payments, almost one quarter (24%) paid between $50,000 and $100,000.
- Average ransomware remediation cost: $1.42 million
- 39% of encrypted data remained unrecovered after incidents
- 97% said attacks impacted their ability to operate
- 96% of private institutions reported lost business/revenue
- Teaching and learning severely inhibited when IT systems go down
Why Sophos MDR for education
Higher education providers face unique security challenges including limited IT security staff, distributed campuses, open network environments, and diverse device populations. Sophos MDR addresses these challenges with expert-led detection and response.
- Number one MDR service supporting higher education today
- Experts understand education sector threat landscape
- Extends security team capabilities without adding headcount
- Coverage across endpoints, servers, network, cloud, email, and identity
- Direct remediation actions stop attacks before they cause damage
What you can do with Sophos MDR
Address critical security challenges facing higher education without expanding staff
Stop ransomware attacks
Detect and neutralize ransomware before encryption begins and operational disruption occurs
Protect sensitive data
Prevent theft of student records, research data, and intellectual property
Extend security team
Gain 24/7 expert coverage without hiring additional security staff
Meet compliance requirements
Address security and incident response requirements for FERPA, HIPAA, and research contracts
Protect research infrastructure
Secure valuable research systems and data from nation-state actors and cybercriminals
Reduce alert fatigue
Let experts investigate security alerts so internal IT teams can focus on strategic initiatives
Ensure continuous operation
Minimize downtime that disrupts teaching, learning, and administrative functions
Improve security posture
Receive guidance on security improvements based on threat landscape and incidents
Multi-vendor support
Integrate telemetry from third-party security tools for comprehensive visibility
Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is a fully managed service delivered by experts who detect and respond to cyberattacks targeting your computers, servers, networks, cloud workloads, email accounts, and more.
Detect: We monitor your environment 24/7, collecting, contextualizing, and correlating security data from the Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem and your existing cybersecurity investments to identify suspicious activities
Investigate: Expert human operators investigate potential incidents, leveraging our deep financial services sector and threat expertise to hunt for signs of adversarial activities
Remediate: Analysts quickly remediate attacks across the broad range of your environment, before they turn into something more damaging such as ransomware or a wide scale data breach
Review: Comprehensive root cause analysis of incidents together with regular health checks and weekly and monthly reporting enable you to improve security posture and prevent future recurrence
A service designed around you
We understand that each healthcare organization is different with their own existing security investments, IT/cybersecurity staff, and IT environment. Sophos MDR meets you where you are: you choose the level of support required, whether you want us to notify you of threats so your team can take remedial action, contain threats on your behalf, or provide full incident response and root cause analysis. Our security specialists will work with you to identify the right approach for your organization.
With an average time to detect, investigate and remediate of just 38 minutes, Sophos MDR is more than 5 times quicker than even the fastest in-house security operations team.
Elevate your protection using your existing investments
- Endpoint telemetry to spot malicious activities and attack behaviors
- Firewall data to detect intrusion attempts and beaconing
- Network telemetry to identify rogue assets, unprotected devices, and novel attacks
- Email alerts to pinpoint initial entry into the network and attempts to steal access data
- Identity data to detect unauthorized network entry and attempts to escalate privileges
- Cloud alerts to indicate unauthorized network access and efforts to steal data
Sophos MDR
- 24/7 real-time threat monitoring and response
- Expert lead threat hunting
- Cross-product (Sophos and third-party) consolidation and correlation of security event data
- Full-scale managed incident response (unlimited number of hours; no additional fees or retainers)
- Best in class breach protection warranty
- Dedicated incident response lead assigned
- Direct call-in support to Sophos security operations centers (6 global SOCs)
- Weekly and monthly activity reports
- Monthly intelligence briefings
- Root cause analysis performed to improve security posture and prevent recurrence of future threats
- Regular Sophos account health checks to review configurations and ensure optimal performance
"My overall experience with Sophos MDR has been nothing short of spectacular, the service is driven by a team of experts coupled with machine learning technology gives you a complete visibility of your infrastructure. All threats happening across are being monitored and contained remotely by the MDR team." -Gartner Peer Insights
“The quality of the security, which gives us peace of mind knowing that we have a team watching our back and we aren't alone in keeping our business and client data safe.” -Gartner Peer Insights
“Great partnership with Sophos, strongly recommend.” -Gartner Peer Insights
Featured products
Extend your security posture with complementary Sophos solutions.
Sophos Managed Detection and Response
24/7 threat hunting and incident response from Sophos experts. Combines human analysis with machine intelligence.
Discover Sophos MDR servicesSophos Endpoint
Advanced protection for laptops, desktops, and servers. Blocks ransomware, exploits, and zero-day threats.
Explore Sophos EndpointSophos Next-Gen Firewall
Network security with TLS inspection, intrusion prevention, and synchronized security integration.
Explore Firewall capabilitiesLearn how to secure your education provider
The cybersecurity challenge for higher education providers continues to grow, with 50% experiencing an increase in attack complexity over 2021, while 53% saw an increase in attack volume.
Download this solution brief to discover:
- The cybersecurity challenges facing the higher education sector today
- How Sophos MDR protects hundreds of higher education providers from cyberthreats that technology alone cannot prevent
- What education providers say about Sophos MDR
- Real-world examples of Sophos MDR stopping attacks against universities
Source: The State of Ransomware in Education, 2022, Sophos. Independent survey of 5,600 IT professionals including 410 from higher education establishments.
Evaluate Sophos MDR for your institution
Connect with our team to discuss your security requirements and how MDR can protect your educational institution.
Get expert guidance
Our team can help you assess whether Sophos MDR fits your security requirements and staffing model. We'll review your current security infrastructure and recommend the right MDR service tier.
Sophos MDR works with existing security investments and integrates telemetry from third-party tools for comprehensive visibility.
- Free security consultation
- Education sector expertise
- Flexible service tiers
How to buy
MDR service tiers
Sophos MDR is available in multiple service tiers to match your security requirements and response preferences. All tiers include 24/7 threat hunting, but differ in response actions and scope.
Available in 1-year and multi-year terms with flexible licensing based on protected assets.
Related products
Sophos MDR integrates with the complete Sophos security portfolio for comprehensive protection.
Sophos Endpoint
Advanced protection for laptops, desktops, and servers. Integrates seamlessly with MDR for automated response.
Explore Sophos EndpointSophos XDR
Extended detection and response platform that correlates data across endpoints, servers, firewalls, email, cloud, and more.
Discover Sophos XDRSophos Firewall
Next-generation firewall with TLS inspection, intrusion prevention, and synchronized security integration.
Explore Firewall capabilities