The University of California, Santa Barbara was named the first university recipient of the 2026 Zero Trust Champion Award at the Zscaler Public Sector Summit.
The award recognizes organizations “fundamentally redefining cybersecurity in the public and educational spheres,” according to the university’s press release.
UC Santa Barbara said the award highlights the success of its Secure UCSB initiative, which modernized how the university protects its digital campus. The initiative was designed to meet a 2024 university mandate that required comprehensive network segmentation and rigorous vulnerability management.
The university said its network spans more than 400 connected buildings, accommodates more than 125,000 connected devices, and serves a mobile population of students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
“By embracing Zero Trust, we are going beyond just upgrading our infrastructure. We are protecting UCSB’s vital research and its thriving campus community,” said Josh Bright, UC Santa Barbara chief information officer. “Secure UCSB positions us to operate securely in our rapidly evolving digital future.”
The Secure UCSB initiative is led by Chief Technology Officer Shea Lovan and Chief Information Security Officer Jackson Muhirwe. The university said the initiative partnered with cloud security company Zscaler to implement agentless device segmentation and zero trust application connectivity.
“We are fundamentally changing how UCSB has run their network for the last 40 years,” Lovan said. “But with this approach, our faculty, staff and students will have access to the systems, data, and services that they need to pursue their academic or research objectives – wherever they are on campus or in the world.”
UC Santa Barbara said the Secure UCSB initiative has modernized a network philosophy that had been in place for four decades and established a “blueprint for universities worldwide.”
