Oregon State University faced significant cybersecurity challenges after experiencing a major incident in the spring of 2021. This incident revealed gaps in their security operations, indicating that their existing tools were insufficient against the threats they encountered. The manual effort required to manage the incident highlighted the need for improved security measures, leading to the establishment of their Security Operations Center (SOC).

In response to the 2021 cybersecurity incident, OSU implemented Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Defender as part of a Zero Trust approach to cybersecurity. They integrated Microsoft 365 A5 licensing and received support from a dedicated Microsoft engineer, which helped them achieve five years of maturity in their security capabilities within approximately two years. This transformation allowed OSU to reduce their daily open incident count from thousands to around 30, significantly enhancing their ability to detect and respond to threats.

Microsoft Copilot for Security is enhancing OSU's cybersecurity by increasing automation and improving operational efficiency. It allows security analysts to focus on high-priority incidents and helps automate processes, ultimately aiming to reduce incident ticket counts to zero. Additionally, it serves as a valuable teaching tool for student employees in the SOC, equipping them with skills in advanced query generation and threat hunting, while also bolstering the university's overall security measures.