Fall semesters are starting across the country, and freshmen – with their variety of networked technologies in tow – are preparing to begin their next phase of life at an institution of higher learning.
Students will take part in cyber commerce on and off campus; campus administrators will add these new identities to campus databases; faculty will keep teaching in an era where students are already social media experts, influencing friends online, and using learning management systems.
The regulations and security measures your campus’s chief information security officer and the IT department have set up may not be something those first-year students are prepared for.
Cybersecurity challenges in higher ed
The primary concern for IT leaders in higher education continues to be cybersecurity. These education leaders in cybersecurity and IT must be firm and clear about their expectations. As Helen Norris, the current CISO for Chapman University and head of the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors, recently told a Senate committee focused on education, “the cybersecurity threat landscape has grown and transformed over the years.”
Higher education faces risks from hacking, phishing, ransomware and social engineering and is an easy target for attackers. Managing private student and research data reveals the challenges that small and resource-constrained schools have in defending against ransomware. And as Norris highlighted, higher ed is “at a disadvantage in competing with employers in the tech sector when hiring information security professionals.” As it is, there’s a significant cybersecurity skills gap – to the tune of a shortage of 2.7 million skilled cybersecurity professionals, according to the latest reports from ISC(2).
Bob Turner has years of experience as a higher education executive, board member, and thought leader with a focus on cybersecurity strategy and leadership, information assurance and business continuity planning, and information technology management. At Fortinet, he is the CISO for K-12 and higher education acting as a senior level strategic business and technical advisor for the cybersecurity community and business executives. Previously, Turner was a cybersecurity executive and Director of the Office of Cybersecurity reporting to the Chief Information Officer/Vice Provost for Information Technology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. There, he built a cybersecurity team of 60+ cybersecurity experts delivering all cybersecurity services as well as improved university IT policy development by working with distributed IT and faculty governance groups to ensure cohesive approach to IT policy, governance, audit, and cybersecurity operations.