ARE-ON partners with CRITICALSTART for cybersecurity protection

CRITICALSTART, a cybersecurity provider of Managed Detection and Response services, announced last week it is now providing enhanced security services to all of Arkansas’ public colleges and universities tied to ARE-ON.

ARE-ON is the high-speed Arkansas Research and Educational Optical Network (ARE-ON) that helps connect colleges and universities to other research centers worldwide. ARE-ON is a member of the Quilt, a non-profit national coalition comprised of 38 of the country’s most advanced regional research and education institutions.

As a result of the CRITICALSTART and ARE-ON partnership, colleges and universities under the ARE-ON umbrella will now be protected by a standardized, 24/7 managed service for threat detection and prevention that will resolve every alert and significantly reduce response times.

“Hackers and malicious online actors both in the U.S. and overseas are increasingly seeking to exploit large organizations like those in the higher ed. space for financial gain,” said Alan Bain, CRITICALSTART Chief Revenue Officer. “It is imperative that colleges and universities in Arkansas and across the United States take these threats seriously and strengthen their security postures to guard against being held hostage by a breach.”

In 2019 alone, there were seven well-publicized cyber-attacks made against higher education institutions in the state of Arkansas. While a small security breach can have an economic impact of around $250,000, breaches on average cost nearly $7 million to address and mitigate, CRITICALSTART said. With most security teams in the higher ed space being comprised of small numbers, just one successful attack can cripple the network of an entire university system.

“Knowing that just a single breach can cost upwards of $7 million to mitigate, it was an easy decision to take immediate steps aimed at helping strengthen the security of Arkansas’ many public colleges and universities,” said Robert Nordmark, ARE-ON Executive Director. “This partnership will benefit scores of students and researchers in our state both now and in the future.”

CRITICALSTART is a MDR (managed detection and response) firm that serves enterprise level organizations, including Mattress Firm, Money Graham, and Cherwell.