IT security departments are often the unsung heroes at a university. They work behind the scenes using high-caliber software to protect university faculty, staff, and students from cyber threats. 

In March, the University of Houston’s IT security team stopped a cyber threat from escalating further. And they did it remotely. While attending the 2023 DIR Information Security Forum held in Austin, TX, an incident was forming in Houston. 

Shane Vaz, Enterprise IT Security Analyst 3, was about to attend a conference session and looked at his phone to quickly review the UHS systems. Vaz noticed that the new solution, CrowdStrike, detected a server in Houston that was in the process of being compromised. 

CrowdStrike is a newly purchased solution designed to stop breaches, ransomware, and cyber-attacks on University of Houston System devices. Vaz alerted fellow Enterprise IT Security Analyst 3, Michael Rapp, who was also at the conference. 

Vaz and Rapp immediately stepped out of their sessions to contact the rest of the team and move into action. Eric Mims, team leader and Director of IT Security & Information Security Officer for the UH-Victoria campus, was the first to be contacted. 

The problem was pinpointed - CrowdStrike had discovered a vulnerability on the Houston server, allowing a bad actor to harm the server and trying to exfiltrate the server data. Will Moon, Enterprise IT Security Analyst 3 in Houston, jumped on the situation and halted the breach.

CrowdStrike is just one of the new technology solutions UHS Information Security is implementing to replace older software allowing better responses to evolving and emerging cyber threats. This incident is just one example of the value of good investments such as CrowdStrike in helping the IT Security team protect all of us!