Strike48 Launches University SOC Program to Bring Agentic AI Into Cybersecurity Education

New initiative prepares students to work alongside AI agents in modern security operations

Strike48, the agentic orchestration platform for security and IT environments, announced the Strike48 University SOC Program, providing qualified academic institutions with complimentary access to Strike48’s enterprise-grade agentic platform for use in student-run security operations centers (SOCs), cyber labs, and classrooms.

According to CyberEdge’s 2026 Cyberthreat Defense Report, nearly 97% of IT security organizations seek at least one AI-related skill in new hires. The Strike48 University SOC Program is designed to help prepare students for that shift before they enter the workforce. Students can use Strike48 to run autonomous investigation workflows at machine speed while gaining hands-on experience with AI orchestration, automated triage, log federation, human-in-the-loop governance, and custom agent development.

“The reality of working in a SOC is changing, and cybersecurity education needs to evolve with it,” said Ken Naumann, CEO of Strike48. “Tomorrow’s security professionals won’t spend their careers manually working every alert. They’ll need to know how to direct, supervise, and build AI agents and workflows while understanding where human judgment and oversight still matter. We created this program to give accredited universities, colleges, and academic cyber labs access to the same technology used in enterprise environments so students can build those skills before they enter the workforce.”

Also Read: AiThority Interview with Gou Rao, co-founder and CEO at NeuBird AI

Through the Strike48 University SOC Program, students gain experience with:

• Machine-speed triage and investigation: Move beyond manual alert processing by supervising AI agents that triage and investigate incoming security events.
• 100% telemetry visibility: Work across cloud, endpoint, and network log sources without cost penalties or forced data exclusions.
• Hybrid deterministic and cognitive workflows: Learn how scripted logic and large language model reasoning can work together under human-in-the-loop governance.
• Custom agent development: Use Strike48’s agentic platform to build, test, and deploy custom agents tailored to campus environments and security use cases.

The program also provides faculty and students with lab and curriculum guides, including onboarding documentation, architectural blueprints, and lab scenarios, along with access to Strike48 leaders for teaching and mentorship.

“Giving students hands-on experience with the technology shaping today’s SOC is critical to preparing them for what comes next,” said Joseph Peterson, Adjunct Professor – Cybersecurity, University of Maryland Global Campus. “Strike48 will give students the opportunity to work alongside AI agents, understand how automated security workflows operate, and build their own agents. The resources and support from Strike48’s team will make it easier to bring real-world practices into the classroom and give students experiences they can carry into their careers.”

The program is open to higher education institutions offering accredited cybersecurity degrees and active student-managed SOCs for exclusive student use as a teaching aid. Institutions interested in deploying Strike48 for production SOC operations can take advantage of the company’s discounted higher education rate.