With more than 20,000 users and devices across students, staff, and district operations, Simi Valley Unified School District faced the same challenge many K-12 organizations know well: growing cyber threats, limited internal resources, and not enough time in the day to proactively monitor and respond to everything happening across the environment.
According to Monte McCubbin, Director of IT at Simi Valley USD, attacks were increasing not only from outside threat actors, but also internally through student misuse and unauthorized activity. With students and staff using a mix of Windows devices, cloud applications, hybrid identity systems, and Google for Education, the district needed stronger visibility and around-the-clock support.
The Challenge: Tools in Place, But No Time to Manage Them
Like many school districts, Simi Valley USD had invested in cybersecurity technologies, but lacked the staffing bandwidth to continuously investigate alerts, correlate incidents, tune security tools, and remediate threats quickly.
As Monte explained, security threats are time-sensitive. Delayed response can quickly turn into bigger problems. The district needed a way to maximize their Microsoft security investments while adding the human expertise required to operate them effectively.
The Solution: Guardian 365 as an Extension of the Team
After evaluating options, Simi Valley USD selected Forsyte IT Solutions and Guardian 365, a 24×7 managed detection and response service built around the Microsoft security ecosystem.
Guardian 365 became an extension of the district’s internal IT team by delivering:
- 24×7 security monitoring and threat response
- Advanced threat correlation across users, devices, and cloud activity
- Monthly and quarterly strategic security reviews
- Streamlined reporting and actionable recommendations
- Ongoing tuning of Microsoft security tools to reduce noise and improve outcomes
Real-World Impact: Rapid Investigation of a Complex Insider Threat
One of the most valuable moments in the partnership came during a complex internal security incident involving a student.
The investigation required weeks of activity correlation, including user behavior, executed files, browsing history, device activity, and attack timelines. Monte shared that without Guardian 365, the district would not have been able to complete the investigation in the same timeframe.
Guardian 365 delivered a detailed 30-page incident report outlining exactly what occurred, how it happened, and the evidence needed for district leadership and stakeholders to act confidently.
Why It Worked
Monte emphasized that many school districts have good tools, but not enough people or time to fully use them.
Guardian 365 helped close that gap by providing the labor force, expertise, and continuous coverage needed to keep pace with modern threats—without the cost of building a full in-house 24×7 SOC.
Results & Peace of Mind
Today, Simi Valley USD benefits from:
- Greater visibility across users, devices, and threats
- Faster incident response and investigation support
- Better use of Microsoft security investments
- Ongoing optimization as threats evolve
- Peace of mind knowing experts are monitoring 24×7
Customer Perspective
“It’s been a great partnership and it’s given us peace of mind. If you’re looking at staffing, you’re never going to pay for staffing to get 24×7 coverage. You need a partnership.” — Monte McCubbin, Director of IT, Simi Valley USD
Watch the Webinar
Want to hear directly from Monte McCubbin and learn how Simi Valley USD approached cybersecurity modernization? Watch the on-demand webinar to hear the full conversation, practical lessons learned, and how Guardian 365 supports California K-12 districts.
