Montclair State University: 70% Faster Incident Management, 99% Less Response Effort

Customer Overview

Montclair State University operates a large, complex, and dynamic network infrastructure supporting thousands of students, faculty, and administrative staff across a sprawling campus. The university's IT team is responsible for ensuring the availability, performance, and security of critical academic and administrative systems while managing a constant influx of personal devices including laptops, phones, and tablets from the campus community.

Like many higher education institutions, Montclair faced the challenge of maintaining robust IT operations with a lean team. The university required solutions that could handle high-volume network events from diverse equipment while providing rapid response capabilities for security incidents. Asset tracking and security incident response were particularly demanding given the dynamic nature of the campus environment and the mobility of both users and devices.

Challenge

Before implementing LogZilla, Montclair's IT team faced significant technical challenges that severely hindered their ability to respond to security incidents in a timely manner. The university's existing approach to tracking lost or stolen devices exemplified these broader operational inefficiencies.

Information Silos and Tool Inefficiency

Critical data was fragmented across multiple management platforms, creating operational bottlenecks. To locate a single device, engineers had to manually query Cisco Prime, Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), and individual Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs). This process was unacceptably slow for time-sensitive security incidents. A single API query to Cisco Prime could take over 33 seconds—a critical delay when a stolen device might only be online for a few moments before disappearing again.

Complex and Brittle Integration Challenges

The team considered building custom integrations using vendor APIs, but this approach presented significant challenges. Relying on vendor-specific SDKs introduced complexity and maintenance overhead. The team was particularly concerned that software updates from vendors could break custom integrations, creating ongoing reliability issues that would require dedicated engineering resources to maintain.

Cryptic and Non-Actionable Log Data

Raw log data from systems like Cisco ISE contained cryptic information that required expert interpretation. Event logs included numerical codes and technical identifiers that provided little immediate value to operations staff. Device-naming conventions compounded this problem—Access Point names like "S bus" required manual translation by engineers with institutional knowledge to identify physical locations like the "School of Business."

This dependency on tribal knowledge created bottlenecks and slowed response times, especially when escalating issues to external stakeholders like campus police who needed clear, actionable location information.

Solution

Montclair State University transformed its incident response capabilities by deploying LogZilla NEO as a central Network Event Orchestration platform. The solution was designed to automate the entire device location workflow, effectively bridging the gap between digital network events and physical world actions.

Real-Time Data Enrichment and Automation Hub

LogZilla was configured to act as an intelligent data enrichment platform that could combine information from multiple sources in real-time. When a device connects to the campus network, LogZilla ingests the corresponding authentication log from Cisco ISE and immediately processes it through a sophisticated rules engine.

The system matches the device's MAC address against a managed database of stolen assets provided by campus police. If a match is found, LogZilla enriches the live network event with critical metadata including police case numbers, assigned detective contact information, and device status details.

Automated Workflow Orchestration

This enriched event triggers a multi-step automated workflow that executes within seconds. The system automatically pinpoints the device's exact physical location and prepares comprehensive notifications for appropriate personnel. The solution transforms raw network logs into actionable intelligence ready for immediate response by security teams.

Implementation Highlights

The "To Catch a Thief" implementation demonstrates advanced automation and integration capabilities that address real-world operational challenges.

Multi-Source Event Enrichment Architecture

LogZilla was configured to merge data from three distinct sources in real-time:

• Live Network Logs: Cisco ISE authentication events provide connecting device MAC addresses and network access details
• External Security Data: A maintained file mapping stolen device MAC addresses to police case numbers, detective assignments, and incident status information
• Institutional Knowledge Base: Lookup tables translating technical device identifiers into human-readable physical locations (e.g., "Student Business Building, Room 237")

Trigger-Based Automation Workflow

The implementation utilizes LogZilla's sophisticated automation capabilities:

1. LogZilla Rules Engine identifies logs from devices matching the stolen asset database and enriches events with police and location metadata
2. LogZilla Triggers fire on enriched events and execute custom scripts for live network interrogation
3. Automated Network Queries establish SSH connections to relevant Cisco WLCs and execute show cap web summary commands to confirm precise Access Point connections
4. Data Formatting and Preparation compiles all collected information into clear, actionable intelligence reports

Human-in-the-Loop Approval Process

To prevent false alarms and ensure appropriate oversight, the system incorporates a verification step using Slack integration. Formatted notifications are posted to a secure Network Operations Center channel with complete incident details and an approval mechanism. This allows human operators to verify information before final escalation to law enforcement, maintaining operational control while preserving automation benefits.

Upon approval, a callback to LogZilla triggers the final notification to campus police with precise device location information.

Results

The automation of this critical security workflow yielded dramatic improvements in operational efficiency and incident response effectiveness. Montclair State University achieved a 70% reduction in incident management time and 99% reduction in response effort.

99% Reduction in Incident Response Effort

The entire process—from stolen device network connection to campus police receiving precise location information—was reduced from a manual, multi-minute investigation to a one-second automated workflow. Previously, engineers spent significant time manually querying multiple systems, correlating data, and preparing communications. The automated solution eliminated virtually all manual effort for this incident type, achieving the documented 99% reduction in response effort.

70% Reduction in Incident Management Resources

By automating this previously labor-intensive task, the IT team freed up substantial time and resources for higher-value activities. The small operations team could now manage security incidents far more effectively without dedicating engineers to tedious manual data correlation and system queries. This resource reallocation contributed to the overall 70% reduction in incident management overhead.

Transformation from Reactive to Proactive Operations

The solution fundamentally changed the university's security posture from reactive to proactive. Instead of discovering stolen device presence after the fact through manual investigation, the team now provides campus police with real-time, actionable intelligence. This dramatic improvement in response time significantly increases the probability of successful asset recovery and demonstrates measurable value to the broader campus community.

Why LogZilla

Montclair State University selected LogZilla for its unique capabilities as a true Network Event Orchestration platform rather than a passive log collection system.

High-Performance Real-Time Processing

LogZilla's architecture provided the speed and real-time processing capabilities essential for time-sensitive security incidents. Unlike traditional tools that introduced unacceptable delays, LogZilla could ingest, enrich, and act on events within seconds of occurrence.

Flexible Data Enrichment Engine

The platform's ability to create a "virtual pool of knowledge" by combining live log data with external static files was fundamental to the solution's success. This capability allowed the team to make network logs immediately actionable without complex database integrations or custom development projects.

Powerful Yet Accessible Automation

LogZilla's trigger-and-script automation framework provided the flexibility to orchestrate complex workflows including live device interrogation via SSH and multi-platform communication through Slack. This level of automation would have been difficult or impossible to achieve with the university's existing toolset.

Next Steps

Building on the success of the stolen device recovery implementation, Montclair continues to expand LogZilla's role in campus operations. The university is exploring additional automation opportunities including proactive network monitoring, automated compliance reporting, and integration with additional campus systems such as building access controls and student information systems. The proven model of enriching network events with institutional data provides a foundation for numerous operational improvements across the campus technology infrastructure.