In an age where broadband powers everything from classrooms to clinics, keeping public networks secure is a civic responsibility.
Tracy Doaks, president and CEO of MCNC, leads one of the most critical digital infrastructure organizations in North Carolina – operating more than 4,500 miles of fiber backbone that supports thousands of schools, libraries, hospitals, and public institutions in all 100 counties.
But in today’s threat landscape, access alone isn’t enough. What these institutions need, and what MCNC delivers, is protection.
Doaks and her team understand that when a local school loses internet to ransomware or a public health system goes down due to a DDoS attack, the damage isn’t just technical, it’s personal. Students lose learning time. Patients miss appointments. Personally identifiable data (including private health records) are compromised. And communities are left vulnerable.
That’s why MCNC built Vital Cyber, a holistic cybersecurity solution tailored to the needs of North Carolina’s most essential institutions.
Securing the institutions that power North Carolina
Launched with the simple but urgent premise of protecting the digital health of the state’s community anchor institutions, Vital Cyber is both a managed service platform and a consulting partner.
Offerings include:
- Managed Endpoint Protection – Powered by CrowdStrike, next-gen antivirus and AI combine to stop threats at the device level.
- Managed Firewall Services – The MCNC in-house security team offers enterprise-grade perimeter defense.
- DNS Security Filtering –Akamai’s threat detection platform blocks malware, phishing, and data exfiltration before they hit the network.
- Web Security Services – Zscaler enables content filtering and mobile protection for remote users.
- Secure Application Access – Discrete access allows users to safely reach specific apps without opening the entire network.
In addition to these tools, MCNC’s Vital Cyber Consulting program offers direct support from seasoned security professionals. These experts work side by side with institutions, assessing risk, guiding strategy, and helping them stay ahead of threats both seen and unseen.
For organizations that can’t afford in-house security operations, this isn’t just helpful, it’s transformative.
Embedding trust into every layer
Tracy Doaks brings a unique blend of operational expertise and public-sector experience to this challenge. Before MCNC, she served as the State CIO for North Carolina and led cybersecurity and IT strategy for major health and revenue agencies. She knows firsthand what’s at stake when systems fail. And she’s seen how small vulnerabilities can turn into major disruptions, especially in under-resourced environments like rural schools or community clinics.
Under her leadership, cybersecurity at MCNC is not treated as a bolt-on product, but as a foundational pillar.
Doaks often emphasizes that equity isn’t just about who gets connected, it’s about who stays protected. And in communities with limited capacity or funding, that protection must be built in, not offered as an afterthought.
From response to readiness
What sets MCNC apart is not just the technology, but the trust it fosters. Vital Cyber is backed by a local team that understands each institution it serves, and knows that real security isn’t just reactive. It’s proactive, ongoing, and embedded in every layer of infrastructure planning.
This long-term commitment includes regular threat monitoring, 24×7 support, and readiness exercises that prepare partners for the real-world incidents no one wants but everyone needs to plan for. As Doaks has pointed out, you can’t expect teams to learn how to respond in the middle of a crisis.
MCNC takes preparedness seriously, helping institutions anticipate threats, strengthen weak points, and act with confidence when it matters most.
Guarding public good
Digital infrastructure is now as essential as roads or power lines, and cybersecurity is what keeps it stable and trusted.
For MCNC, being responsible for this essential security reaches into classrooms, health clinics, libraries, and local governments across North Carolina. Every safeguard helps ensure learning continues, care is delivered, and vital services stay online.
This work rarely makes headlines, but its impact runs deep. Under Tracy Doaks’s leadership, the organization isn’t just keeping up with change, it’s setting the pace for a safer, more connected future.
