Vital Cyber: Protecting the Infrastructure that Protects Everyone
In an age where broadband powers everything from classrooms to clinics, keeping public networks secure is a civic responsibility.
Tracy Doaks, president and CEO of MCNC, leads one of the most critical digital infrastructure organizations in North Carolina – operating more than 4,500 miles of fiber backbone that supports thousands of schools, libraries, hospitals, and public institutions in all 100 counties.
But in today’s threat landscape, access alone isn’t enough. What these institutions need, and what MCNC delivers, is protection.
Doaks and her team understand that when a local school loses internet to ransomware or a public health system goes down due to a DDoS attack, the damage isn’t just technical, it’s personal. Students lose learning time. Patients miss appointments. Personally identifiable data (including private health records) are compromised. And communities are left vulnerable.
That’s why MCNC built Vital Cyber, a holistic cybersecurity solution tailored to the needs of North Carolina’s most essential institutions.
Securing the institutions that power North Carolina
Launched with the simple but urgent premise of protecting the digital health of the state’s community anchor institutions, Vital Cyber is both a managed service platform and a consulting partner.
Offerings include:
- Managed Endpoint Protection – Powered by CrowdStrike, next-gen antivirus and AI combine to stop threats at the device level.
- Managed FirewallServices – The MCNC in-house security team offers enterprise-grade perimeter defense.
- DNS Security Filtering –Akamai’s threat detection platform blocks malware, phishing, and data exfiltration before they hit the network.
- Web Security Services – Zscaler enables content filtering and mobile protection for remote users.
- Secure Application Access – Discrete access allows users to safely reach specific apps without opening the entire network.
In addition to these tools, MCNC’s Vital Cyber Consulting program offers direct support from seasoned security professionals. These experts work side by side with institutions, assessing risk, guiding strategy, and helping them stay ahead of threats both seen and unseen.
For organizations that can’t afford in-house security operations, this isn’t just helpful, it’s transformative.
