TekStream Expands Cybersecurity Partnership with Four Universities
New student-powered security operations centers will launch at Auburn, Rutgers, Alabama and Kennesaw State to bolster digital defense.
- By Jesse Jacobs
- April 01, 2026
TekStream announced a new partnership with four major universities to implement student-powered security operations centers aimed at enhancing campus digital resilience.
The collaboration includes Auburn University’s McCrary Institute, the University of Alabama, Rutgers University and Kennesaw State University. These institutions will adopt a co-managed model where students actively monitor and defend university networks against cyber threats.
Working alongside technology providers Splunk and AWS, the program allows students to gain hands-on experience in a live environment. Participants use cloud-native infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and security analytics to support threat detection and incident response.
The program utilizes the Pyramid of Pain methodology, which allows students to progress through different skill levels as they gain technical expertise. By the time participants graduate, they have documented experience equivalent to a level 2 security analyst.
This model addresses two primary challenges in the higher education sector: the high cost of maintaining sophisticated cybersecurity defenses and the national shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals. By training students internally, universities can secure hybrid digital environments without the overhead typically associated with private security firms.
The four new partners join an existing roster of institutions utilizing the student-staffed model to modernize and optimize their security posture while creating a direct pipeline for career-ready graduates.