Overview

October 23
10AM PT, 1PM ET

Register

How secure is your digital campus?

Today’s higher education environment is more connected, more distributed, and more vulnerable than ever. With students, faculty, and researchers accessing resources from anywhere, old-school perimeter-based security simply doesn’t hold up.

Join the Center for Digital Education and Zscaler for a live webinar exploring what a Zero Trust campus looks like, why it’s becoming essential for higher ed, and how to make it a reality.

We’ll break down the biggest misconceptions, show you what to prioritize, and share insights from schools already putting Zero Trust to work across complex IT ecosystems.

In this session, you’ll learn:

  • What’s changing—and why it matters: The key risks putting higher ed in the crosshairs, from decentralized access to legacy infrastructure.
  • Where to start with Zero Trust: A realistic roadmap for navigating policy, architecture, and campus-wide buy-in.
  • How real schools are getting it done: Lessons learned from institutions securing student data, research environments, and hybrid classrooms—without added complexity.

Speakers

 

Adam Ford

Chief Technology Officer, State & Local Government and Education Zscaler

With over 20 years of experience, Adam has dedicated his career to ensuring that information systems and data are protected and available to meet the unique needs of government organizations. Currently serving as the Chief Technologist at Zscaler, a leading cybersecurity company, Adam plays a crucial role in helping state and local government organizations securely transform their systems. As a respected leader in the public sector market, his expertise and guidance are instrumental in ensuring that the systems that keep government running are not only efficient but also protected from cyber threats. Prior to Zscaler, Adam served as Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Illinois. In this role, he had responsibility for cybersecurity for various agencies, boards and commissions under the Governor. During his tenure the State of Illinois modernized and grew its security practice to protect systems and data that drive critical services to Illinois residents. In addition to serving State Agencies, Adam oversaw State and Local security partnership and collaboration efforts including operation of the Illinois Election Cyber Navigator program in coordination with the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Illinois State Police. Adam joined the Office of the CISO as Security Engineering Manager in 2017 and also served as Deputy CISO prior to becoming CISO. Before coming to security, he spent more than 15 years in data center and wide area network engineering and architecture roles with the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology and the Illinois State Police. Adam was named the 2023 NASCIO Thomas M. Jarrett State Cybersecurity Leadership Award winner in 2023 and received a 2023 StateScoop 50 State Leadership of the Year Award.

Jim Jorstad headshot

Jim Jorstad — Moderator

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Education

Jim Jorstad is Senior Fellow for the Center for Digital Education and the Center for Digital Government. He is a retired emeritus interim CIO and Cyber Security Designee for the Chancellor’s Office at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He served in leadership roles as director of IT client services, academic technologies and media services, providing services to over 1,500 staff and 10,000 students. Jim has experience in IT operations, teaching and learning, and social media strategy. His work has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Forbes and NPR, and he is a recipient of the 2013 CNN iReport Spirit Award. Jim is an EDUCAUSE Leading Change Fellow and was chosen as one of the Top 30 Media Producers in the U.S.

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