Managed Security Services and establishment of a Security Operation Center

As a university of excellence with around 44,000 students, the University of Hamburg (UHH) is not only one of the most research-strong and largest universities in Germany – it is above all a modern knowledge organisation as a centre of activity for research, teaching and education. This knowledge is nowadays mainly held in the form of digital information and processed and conveyed with the help of digital tools. However, digitalization goes far beyond the digital representation of information and its processing with digital methods: In the sense of a synergistic interaction between analog and digital, digitality has long been an integral part of the study, research, teaching, learning, living and working reality at the UHH. The corresponding digital strategy of the UHH sees itself as a university-wide orientation framework for a reflected approach to the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation as well as a successful implementation of digitization projects and projects. The project “Support by a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)” aims to cover the security requirements of the existing IT of UHH by a suitable service provider, unless this is fulfilled by internal capacities. The subject of this award is a BWFG-funded establishment and operation of a Security Operations Center located at the UHH: ▪ Universität Hamburg (UHH) ▪ Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg (HAW) ▪ Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH) ▪ HafenCity Universität Hamburg (HCU) ▪ Hochschule für Bildde Künste Hamburg (HfBK) ▪ Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg (HfMT). Essentially, the call includes services in the following areas: ▪ Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) services ▪ Threat Intelligence ▪ Security Operations Center (SOC) ▪ Automation of responses to security incidents ▪ Incident Response (IR) ▪ Operation of a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system ▪ Vulnerability scans and vulnerability management Overarching objectives: ▪ Ensuring holistic operation, monitoring and continuous improvement of information security and proactively increasing the level of security at Hamburg universities ▪ Early detection, evaluation and appropriate handling of security incidents ▪ Sustainable reduction of risks for UHH’s IT systems, data and business processes