The deployment was a result of Tenable’s strategic partnership with Baidam Solutions, an Indigenous owned, Supply Nations Certified ICT Consultancy, and revenues generated from the partnership, have established a cybersecurity scholarship at The University of Queensland, to introduce new talent with diverse backgrounds into the sector. 

According to Tenable, 2020 saw a significant increase in cyberattacks against Australian universities, with foreign actors and cybercriminals attracted to valuable research and sensitive personal information combined with the poor state of many universities’ cyber defences.

Recognising this, UQ selected Tenable, for vulnerability management in the cloud, to upgrade the security of its network and protect its 7,000 staff, 55,000 students and intellectual property (IP). 

“To secure world-leading research from The University of Queensland, our security team must manage a complex environment made up of tens of thousands of personal devices, vendor partnerships and connections to remote teams and other institutions,” said Dr. David Stockdale, Deputy Director of Information Technology Services, University of Queensland.

“Our priority, therefore, was finding and fixing vulnerabilities across this expansive attack surface that posed the greatest risk to our mission. We chose Tenable.io because it is the clear market leader in risk-based vulnerability management.”

Prior to Tenable, UQ had to perform manual and time-consuming scans and doing so was a full-time job for one team member and proved to be an inefficient use of time.

With Tenable, the university has automated the discovery of vulnerabilities, enabling the team to focus on the most critical risk and work with senior management on more strategic priorities.

“Like all education institutions, The University of Queensland had to quickly adopt remote learning technologies and processes last year,” said Dr. Stockdale.

“Thankfully, the deployment of Tenable.io gave us a massive step up in capability to make this pivot while keeping our network secure. New vulnerabilities are disclosed every day but we now have a solution in place that future-proofs the university’s security program for the threats of today and tomorrow.”

Tenable says the partnership doesn’t stop there, with the company, Baidam Solutions and The University of Queensland recognising the importance of making Australia’s cybersecurity workforce more diverse and inclusive for Indigenous peoples.

Through revenues generated from the Tenable partnership, Baidam Solutions has established a perpetual cybersecurity scholarship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at The University of Queensland, with the scholarship introducing new talent with diverse backgrounds into the cybersecurity sector to combat today’s most pressing security challenges.

“Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to become cybersecurity professionals will raise the overall standards of security within organisations because it means that a diverse range of views and skills can be applied to address cyber issues,” said Phillip Jenkinson, CEO, Baidam Solutions.

“The University of Queensland scholarship is a landmark programme that helps ensure increased diversity of thought, background and experience which ultimately benefits the entire industry.”

“Universities play a critical role in Australian society and the economy. They equip young people with the knowledge and skills to make the world a better place to live. We’re excited to be working with Baidam Solutions to not only secure the University of Queensland’s infrastructure but also foster a more diverse and inclusive cybersecurity workforce through the scholarship programme,” said Scott McKinnel, Country Manager ANZ, Tenable.