“The strategic importance of this work does not only in its immediate utility for strengthening security posture of academic institutions, but also in fostering a sustainable cybersecurity culture across the region.  It addresses a critical and growing need within the LAC region: equipping academic institutions with robust, scalable and cost-efficient cybersecurity solutions to effectively defend against an evolving array of cyber threats. By highlighting solutions that blend functionality, scalability, integration capabilities and cost-effectiveness, the study empowers academic CSIRTs to enhance their capabilities, share insights more effectively and collaborate proactively in addressing cybersecurity challenges.” – Cesar Moline, LAC4 Policy Expert.

Key findings:

• Open-source platforms deliver the best overall value for academic CSIRTs: combining technical capabilities and budget flexibility.
• Often there’s freedom of selecting tools, but costs are limiting widespread use.
• Integration, support and scalability matter: academic CSIRTs prioritise tools with open APIs and provider support, and scalability for high-bandwidth academic environments.
• Academic CSIRTs actively use community platforms for sharing threat intelligence, but legal and technical constraints sometimes limit wider sharing.
• Institutions must invest in staff skills for deploying and maintaining open-source tools.
• Pathway to success: starting small with open-source solutions, and adding commercial platforms as resources and needs grow, and focus on solutions that support automation and integration with existing systems.

The study adopted a multi-phase approach entailing literature review, stakeholder consultation, solution identification, evaluation framework development and platform testing and analysis. Study consulted and interviewed cybersecurity professionals from CSIRT communities and key stakeholders in the region.

EU CyberNet and LAC4 believe that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and that capacity building at the academic level lays the groundwork for broader regional resilience. Through collaborative efforts such as this benchmark study, LAC4 is committed to advancing a secure, resilient digital environment, supporting the academic community, and ultimately strengthening the cybersecurity ecosystem throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

LAC4 expresses deepest gratitude to all contributors and stakeholders whose expertise and insights have made this study possible and impactful. LAC4 hopes that this work serves as a valuable resource for academic institutions striving to protect their communities and contribute positively to regional cybersecurity resilience.