Institutions will be able to quickly and easily streamline vendor risk assessments at scale with NET+ UpGuard program

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — UpGuard, a leader in cybersecurity and risk management and an Internet2 industry member, today announced UpGuard Vendor Risk has joined the Internet2 NET+ service portfolio. The launch of the NET+ UpGuard program will enable research and higher education (R&E) institutions to reduce the complexities of their third-party risk management (TPRM) programs and strengthen their vendor ecosystem. Following a competitive procurement process and rigorous evaluation involving 14 higher education institutions, the R&E community members will have access to simplified deployment, competitive pricing, and research-ready flexibility.

“Research and education institutions face a uniquely complex vendor risk landscape and they shouldn’t have to tackle it alone,” said Sean O’Brien, associate vice president for NET+ cloud services at Internet2. “The NET+ UpGuard program is the result of institutions and industry working together through a community-driven process to identify requirements and build a tailored solution. That’s exactly what NET+ is designed to do, and we look forward to deepening this collaboration with UpGuard to strengthen vendor risk management across research and higher education.”

Education is the most highly targeted industry when it comes to cyberattacks. R&E institutions must navigate complex supply chains and adapt to rapid technological changes with limited resources while combating the persistent threat of cyberattacks. As institutions increasingly outsource or use third parties, the potential for data breaches has never been higher, demanding the need for a strong cybersecurity posture across the supply chain.

Vendor Risk, part of UpGuard’s AI-powered Cyber Risk Posture Management (CRPM) platform, is designed to deliver continuous vendor insights, 360-degree assessments, and efficient AI-powered workflows. The NET+ UpGuard program can support institutional workflows by helping stakeholders coordinate vendor assessments including HECVAT, IT accessibility, or other institutional security and risk assessment standards. By providing a structured workflow for these reviews, institutions can coordinate assessments, store evidence and share information internally with stakeholders to streamline the evaluation and approval of third-party vendors. Ongoing continuous monitoring then provides visibility into vendors’ external security posture over time, helping institutions identify emerging risks and maintain a strong cyber risk posture.

“This collaboration with Internet2 is a validation for UpGuard’s Vendor Risk solution,” said Kaushik Sen, CMO at UpGuard. “Vendor Risk addresses the unique challenges R&E institutions face in managing third-party risk. The NET+ UpGuard program ensures a simplified, cost-effective, and research-ready solution for Internet2’s R&E community.”

About Internet2 NET+ Services

The Internet2 NET+ service portfolio is a selection of cloud solutions requested, evaluated, and advanced by the R&E community. The addition of NET+ UpGuard now expands options for third-party risk management innovation.

A NET+ UpGuard Webinar will kick off the collaboration with a webinar on May 13:

WHO: Steven Lovaas, chief information security officer at Colorado State University, Ramon Delacruz, senior manager of information security and data privacy at Harvard University, Nick Lewis, NET+ senior program manager at Internet2, and Greg Pollock, head of Research and Insights at UpGuard

WHAT: The new NET+ UpGuard service brings simplified deployment, competitive pricing, and research-ready flexibility to research and higher education institutions. Internet2 selected this service through a competitive procurement process and evaluated it through the Internet2 NET+ Service Evaluation process. Come hear Steven Lovaas and Ramon Delacruz share their experience about the NET+ service evaluation and third-party risk management.

WHEN: May 13, 2026 at 12pm Eastern

WHERE: https://events.internet2.edu/netplusupguard

To learn more about the NET+ UpGuard service, visit https://www.upguard.com/product/internet2

About Internet2
Internet2® is a non-profit, member-driven advanced technology community founded by the nation’s leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 serves 342 U.S. universities, 59 government agencies, 46 regional and state education networks and through them supports more than 80,000 community anchor institutions, over 1,000 InCommon participants, 61 leading corporations working with our community, and 70 national research and education network operators that represent more than 100 countries.

Internet2 delivers a diverse portfolio of technology solutions that leverages, integrates, and amplifies the strengths of its members and helps support their educational, research and community service missions. Internet2’s core infrastructure components include the nation’s largest and fastest research and education network that was built to deliver advanced, customized services that are accessed and secured by the community-developed trust and identity framework.

For more information, visit https://internet2.edu.

About UpGuard
Founded in 2012, UpGuard is a leader in cybersecurity and risk management. The company’s AI-powered platform for Cyber Risk Posture Management (CRPM) provides a centralized, actionable view of cyber risk across an organization’s vendors, attack surface, and workforce. Trusted by thousands of companies, UpGuard’s platform is designed to help security teams manage cyber risk with confidence and efficiency. UpGuard is headquartered in Hobart, Tasmania with US headquarters in Mountain View, California. To learn more, visit www.upguard.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Julie Huang
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