The digital environment of higher education institutions has undergone a dramatic transformation. The massive shift to digital platforms for academic, administrative, and scientific activities has opened new windows of vulnerability.
In this context, the Cybersecurity Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) of universities, as well as those of National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), face the urgent challenge of reinforcing their cybersecurity to protect data, services, and critical infrastructure.
To provide concrete tools for this task, EU CyberNet and the Latin American and Caribbean Cybercapacity Centre (LAC4) developed the Reference Study on Cybersecurity Platforms, a comprehensive investigation explicitly designed for academic CSIRTs. The study was recently shared with the NREN Cybersecurity Group—coordinated by RedCLARA—as a strategic input to guide institutional decision-making across the region.
As the report highlights, “the digital landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean is marked by a wide diversity of infrastructure, resource availability, and technical expertise. As academic CSIRTs face threats such as DDoS attacks, malware, unauthorized access, and data breaches, it becomes critical to select the right cybersecurity tools.” The study offers a comparative guide based on criteria such as functionality, scalability, integration capacity, and cost-effectiveness—covering both commercial and open-source solutions.
The study followed a multi-phase methodology including literature review, interviews and surveys with cybersecurity professionals, platform identification and analysis, and the development of an evaluation framework tailored to academic needs. Among its key findings, it concludes that open-source solutions offer the best overall value for academic CSIRTs, combining robust technical capabilities with budgetary flexibility. However, it also stresses the need to invest in staff training and in progressive integration strategies with commercial tools as institutional resources grow.
Interoperability, technical support, and scalability were also identified as decisive factors in high-demand environments such as university campuses. While many CSIRTs actively share threat intelligence through community-based platforms, the study warns that legal and technical barriers continue to hinder broader and more systematic information exchange across the region.
Beyond its technical insights, the study underscores a crucial point: the need to build a sustainable, regionally coordinated cybersecurity culture. “This effort not only seeks to address immediate needs, but to lay the groundwork for greater digital resilience in the academic sphere,” the report states.
RedCLARA views this study as a fundamental contribution to strengthening the academic ecosystem. “Recent circumstances have compelled higher education institutions to conduct their educational and administrative processes in digital environments, which brings new risks. NRENs, through their CSIRTs, must be prepared to face them, and studies like this provide solid references, appropriate tools, and a shared vision that strengthens the regional ecosystem,” said Carlos González, RedCLARA’s Service Manager.
In line with this regional capacity-building approach, RedCLARA is also advancing the development of a cybersecurity testbed as part of the BELLA II project. “This experimental environment will allow technical teams to validate solutions, train skills, test different response types, and improve their reaction times to cyberattacks—contributing to higher protection standards in the Latin American academic sector,” González added.
As César Moliné Rodríguez, Regional Director of EU CyberNet, stated, “Capacity building in the academic sector lays the foundation for broader regional resilience. Through collaborative efforts like this reference study, we are committed to fostering a secure and resilient digital environment, supporting the academic community, and ultimately strengthening the cybersecurity ecosystem throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The complete study is now available in both English and Spanish on the LAC4 website. It is expected to serve as a roadmap for universities, institutional CSIRTs, and academic networks seeking to protect their environments in an increasingly challenging landscape.
