The National Education and Research Network (RNP) launched this Tuesday (29), the Security Operations Center (SOC), which aims to monitor and respond in real time to cyber attacks on universities, research institutions and College hospitals. The launch ceremony took place at the end of the first day of the RNP Forum, in Brasília. 

"Today, more than before, it is important not only to correct and intervene in incidents, but also to anticipate and predict. The SOC-RNP is a model that is being inaugurated. And our goal in three years is to have another six regional centers operating together, so that we can have a robust system to anticipate, predict and support us in having a safe environment in the Brazilian academic network", highlighted the general director of RNP, Nelson Simões. 

Currently, the Center serves more than 500 institutions and more than 4 million users, playing a fundamental role in the evolution of cybersecurity with the use of advanced security technologies and platforms, in addition to having a team of experts and detection, response and operations processes, capable of generating valuable intelligence and insights to improve the security of teaching and research institutions linked to the RNP System. 

According to Carla Pires, coordinator of the Information and Communication Technology Managers Forum (Forti), SOC-RNP represents security for users and promotes advancement in the technology sector. “Through the SOC, we can monitor and identify incidents. Furthermore, we count on the support of the SOC-RNP team in transmitting knowledge to our teams. This is a huge advance in the area of technology, which is our biggest vulnerability”, she says. 

The work of SOC-RNP will complement what is already carried out by CAIS (Security Incident Response Center), created by RNP 26 years ago, and responsible for the cyber security of connected institutions. 

“Threats and vulnerabilities only increase and, at the same time, the demand for a service like this becomes greater. I am sure that, in a short time, this service will become much more robust and offer a range of other functions that will be of great value to universities, allowing us to sleep more peacefully knowing that an RNP team will take care of the institutional security of our bodies”, pointed out Fábio Campelo, undersecretary of Information and Communication Technology at the Ministry of Education. 

SOC-RNP is also committed to contributing to the community, promoting best security practices and sharing security operation knowledge with institutions such as the Latin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks (RedClara) and the Latam and Caribbean Academic Networks Regional Security Working Group (eduLACSEG). 

Today, SOC-RNP operates on a 5 x 8 basis (eight hours a day, five days a week). However, 24 x 7 operation (24 hours a day, seven days a week) is in the process of being established. This new operating regime will have professionals available full-time to ensure surveillance and prompt response to security incidents.