Scaling the Semi-Autonomous SOC: A Leadership Blueprint for Resilient Higher Ed

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 | 8:00AM–8:45AM PT | California Ballroom A, Second Floor
Session Type: Breakout Session
Delivery Format: Industry Insights Session

As higher education environments grow more complex, the traditional model of stacking siloed security tools is no longer effective. Building resilience requires a shift from reactive, manual processes to semi-autonomous SOC, fusing human expertise with scalable automation. In this panel discussion, CIOs and CISOs join an industry cybersecurity specialist to break down the path toward an automated, converged security and privacy operations ecosystem, connecting executive-level strategy with real-world technical execution, emphasizing measurable outcomes that define a modern, resilient program and showcase how institutions are using automation and innovative implementations to advance three core pillars of operational success: (1) Radical Efficiency: reducing MTTR by replacing manual investigations with automated triage, agentic AI, playbooks, and integrated root-cause analysis; (2) Intelligent Noise Reduction: grouping disparate alerts into high-fidelity incidents to combat false-positive fatigue and free analysts to focus on true threats; and (3) Platform Convergence: realizing the architectural and financial benefits of transitioning from fragmented legacy systems to a unified data foundation spanning cloud, identity, and network layers. Attendees will leave with a practical roadmap for consolidating toolsets, optimizing detection pipelines, and scaling operations through semi-autonomous workflows without increasing headcount.

Presenters

  • Daren Hubbard

    VP for IT and CIO, Princeton University

  • Patrick Loughlin

    Next Generation Security, SLED Leader, Palo Alto Networks

  • Anthony Newman

    AVP Research & Education Security Services, Indiana University

  • Lorenso Trevino

    Chief Information Security Officer, Pima County Community College District

  • Khalil Yazdi

    Resident Ed Tech CIO, Yazdi and Associates, LLC