We don’ t want security to become a barrier to learning.

( SOC), a move driven by the chronic shortage of cybersecurity talent within academia.

“ We don’ t have the luxury of large security teams,” he explained.“ The managed SOC fills that gap and provides us with ongoing threat intelligence and monitoring capabilities.”

But this is more than a matter of technical controls. Preparedness is as much about mindset as it is about machines.“ We’ ve moved away from thinking about whether an attack will happen,” Mogotsi said.“ Now, it’ s about how well we can respond when it does.”

An incident response plan is firmly in place, and data protection protocols are being reinforced – particularly around critical research data. Access management has also been tightened to limit the impact of insider threats. Still, Mogotsi knows that the institution’ s open culture can’ t be compromised in the name of control.

Balancing openness with risk

“ We don’ t want security to become a barrier to learning,” he said.“ The university experience depends on the freedom to share, experiment and build things together. Security controls must respect that.”

To maintain this equilibrium, Wits uses adaptive security policies – frameworks that scale protections depending on context and risk. In parallel, Mogotsi and his team regularly engage with academic staff and student representatives, ensuring cybersecurity concerns are understood and integrated without disrupting the learning environment.

“ This can’ t be a top-down imposition,” he added.“ People need to understand why security matters and how it protects what they value.”

Embedding cybersecurity into Digital Transformation

Cybersecurity is no longer an afterthought in Digital Transformation efforts at Wits – it’ s a foundational pillar. Mogotsi is involved from the outset of any new project led by the CIO or other departments, ensuring risks are assessed early and mitigated before systems are deployed.

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