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Kristiania has professionalized its IT security with Netsecurity

Read more about security monitoring and response

- It gives us great peace of mind knowing we're working with industry-leading experts

Ivan Talwar, CISO at Kristiania


Kristiania is Norway's largest independent liberal arts college, with more than 16,000 students, 800 employees, and a wide range of educational offerings in Oslo, Bergen and online. The vision from 1914 still stands - to offer education to everyone, regardless of age and life situation. Since 2018, Kristiania has experienced 60% growth in its student body, a growth that has not been entirely free of challenges.

- The education sector is actually third on NSM's list of sectors most vulnerable to cyber attacks

Ivan Talwar

Kristiania Customer case-250

Saw a need to professionalize IT security

As a college, there are a number of requirements from regulatory bodies that need to be met, including the quality of education and rules according to GDPR and NIS2. Ivan Talwar took over as CISO for Kristiania in 2020, and with a rapidly growing business, he quickly identified a need to professionalize and systematize business processes. "We ran Kristiania as a small business, but one of our strategic goals was to become more professional, and information security was a key component of our digitalization strategy," says Ivan.

Kristiania conducts a lot of research, which involves the potential leakage of critical information. In addition, the school aims to become Norway's first private university by 2030. "The education sector is actually third on NSM's list of the most cyber threat-prone sectors, in line with the Armed Forces," says Ivan. Working proactively and continuously with IT security is therefore naturally a high priority at Kristiania.

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Needed security monitoring 24/7


- The first few minutes after an attack are critical and you need to respond within this window of time

Ivan Talwar

- The first few minutes after an attack are critical and you need to respond within this time window. If an attack happens at night, we don't have anyone on duty to catch and respond to it. That's why we needed a 24/7 service for our security monitoring," says Ivan enthusiastically.

As early as 2020, Ivan was already thinking about artificial intelligence in security solutions. He ended up talking to Palo Alto, who suggested they look at Palo Alto products for endpoint security. Out of that conversation came a suggestion from Palo Alto to talk to one of their partners. "We had conversations with a couple of partners and Netsecurity convinced us with the way they explained their products. This included the security monitoring and response service. I realized quite quickly that these were people who knew their stuff," explains Ivan.

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What made Netsecurity a natural choice for us was their detailed approach and ability to tailor their services to our environment

Ivan Talwar

The security monitoring service (MDR) from Netsecurity integrates continuous monitoring with a proactive response strategy, ensuring that potential security threats are identified and dealt with quickly. "What made Netsecurity a natural choice for us was their detailed approach and ability to tailor their services to our environment," explains Ivan.

Close collaboration makes for a strong partnership

When Kristiania started with the security monitoring service, the close collaboration between Ivan and the advisors at Netsecurity also started. "They are good at identifying our needs and where there are any gaps that can be filled or things that can be improved," says Ivan. For example, Kristiania used to buy their Palo Alto licenses elsewhere, but by working with Netsecurity on this, they have saved costs.

- "This has built our trust in Netsecurity, knowing that they are actually looking out for our best interests at every stage. Sometimes we have disagreements, which we then discuss and come up with the best solution. This is what makes the partnership so strong," adds Ivan.

More robust in the face of the future

The collaboration has now lasted a few years. What effects has this had on Kristiania? Ivan first highlights the tangible values, such as a more robust security infrastructure, and reports on the number of incidents and how quickly they are dealt with. "We get some figures to show senior management, and everything is now much more systematic. We have detection protocols and automated response in place," he says.

This means that Kristiania now saves a lot of time that they previously had to spend on manual processes with their own employees. Competence is another element Ivan highlights: "We have a strong in-house team, but there is still a gap that is difficult to fill without a partner with a wide range of up-to-date expertise.

"By implementing Netsecurity's solutions, we've been able to focus more on our core business, while feeling confident that our data and systems are protected," Ivan concludes.

Information security is more relevant than ever. In today's interconnected world, it's crucial for every company to protect sensitive data. At Kristiania, we take this seriously and recognize it as an ethical responsibility. Our commitment lies in providing a safe infrastructure for our students and employees.

Solfrid Lind
Managing Director, Kristiania
solfrid lind

Today, Kristiania has a seamless set of services
from Netsecurity, which includes:



  • Security monitoring and response (Managed Detection & Response)
  • Managed Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM)
  • SMS response service (tailor-made)
  • NSM-approved incident management (IRT)
  • Secure backup (Rubrik)
  • Strategic consulting
  • Firewall (Palo Alto)

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Want to know more about security monitoring?

Book a chat with us:
Oslo

Drammensveien 288

0283 Oslo

Bergen

Sandviksbodene 1

5035 Bergen

Stavanger

Kanalsletta 4

4033 Stavanger

Grimstad

Bark Silas vei 5

4876 Grimstad

Kristiansand

Dronningens gt 12

4610 Kristiansand

Stockholm

Kammakargatan 22

111 40 Stockholm