Case Study: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology achieves complete, connected, ML‑powered campus-wide cybersecurity with Palo Alto Networks

Complete, connected cybersecurity and the human firewall

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a large, research-focused campus with a global community of students, faculty, and visitors. Faced with exponentially growing data, thousands of IoT and personal devices, and a move to Microsoft Azure, KAUST wanted to avoid a “checkbox” security posture that restricts collaboration; instead it needed an intelligent, unified approach that protects data wherever it resides while keeping people productive.

KAUST standardized on a connected Palo Alto Networks portfolio—PA- and VM‑Series firewalls, DNS Security, Advanced URL Filtering, WildFire, Cortex XDR (with Host Insights), GlobalProtect and related cloud-delivered services—and launched a risk-based “Human Firewall” awareness program. The result is automated, ML-driven protection across the 30-million‑sqm campus and worldwide, simplified centralized management, successful ERP migration to Azure, consistent blocking of malicious activity (DNS security flags ~5% of traffic), and proven resilience in independent penetration tests.

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Ed Sleiman

Head of Information Security Department