Tech

Cybersecurity threats remain a concern for universities

Higher education institutions are better prepared for cyberattacks than they were in 2023, but experts say it may not be enough.

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Concerns about cybersecurity rippled through the consciousness of higher education institutions in 2023 when data breaches occurred at dozens of educational institutions across the country.

Nearly a year later, these breaches are still occurring: MOVEit, a software product used by several universities and organizations to transfer files, said Friday it had discovered new vulnerabilities that could lead to further security issues.

“So we can't let our guard down,” said Shawn Waldman, CEO of Secure Cyber Defense. “Especially today, organizations need to be on the highest alert possible.”

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Cybersecurity experts who have seen higher education institutions invest more time and money into safety measures say they are visibly better prepared now than they were last year.

The growing notoriety of these threat groups has created additional caution for administrators. [being hacked] “It's reputational damage,” says Todd Doss, senior managing director at Guidepost Solutions.

According to a survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed last fall, 82% of CIOs said they were moderately, very, or extremely confident that their companies' cybersecurity measures could prevent ransomware attacks, up from 73% in 2022.

This is consistent with findings from bond rating firm Moody's, which found that college cybersecurity budgets have increased by more than 70% over the past five years.

But money alone may not be enough to ward off a persistent and growing threat: Software company Malwarebytes noted that 2023 was the worst year ever for ransomware in education, with reported attacks up 70 percent.

In August 2023, the University of Michigan had to shut down internet services during the first week of classes due to an intrusion that affected 230,000 students. In September, 30 years' worth of data was breached at the University of Minnesota. And the Community College of Hawaii paid a ransom to hackers after the personal information of about 28,000 people was compromised.

Cybersecurity Advice for Higher Education Institutions

Doug Thompson, chief instructional architect at Tanium, said systemic change is needed within the university system to address cyber threats such as hackers and ransomware.

Thompson said the biggest issue is the cultural willingness to relinquish control in the organization. [Faculty] We are used to the autonomy we have to install applications, but not necessarily knowing who has it or how to control it, and we don't know what the risks are when we don't know what we have and don't have immediate access to it.

Thompson recommended two approaches: having a person in charge of overall operations and giving faculty strict deadlines for proposed cyber practices, such as having them update all applications within 30 days.

Waldman said a plan must be developed before any spending occurs, including internal and external assessments to identify where agencies see gaps.

“Eventually, money comes in or grants come out and people rush to do X instead of spending on the plan,” he said. “Otherwise, when spending is done, it unfortunately sometimes gets spent on the wrong things.”

Doss said institutions with fewer resources, typically smaller universities, can at least focus on adopting cloud-based tools if they don't have their own.

Smaller colleges and universities don't have the budget or manpower to implement cyber programs that can withstand that level of attack, he said, noting that he has seen students volunteer to run IT help desks at some universities.

Doss, a former deputy director of the FBI's crime lab division, said students' role in preventing cyberattacks also needs to be considered.

Something to see, something to say, but something to give [students] There need to be ways to report it and provide training, he said, adding that it could also be built into the infrastructure itself, such as requiring students to understand safety training before connecting to campus Wi-Fi.

Institutional infrastructure is also changing, with most universities at least considering adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning, but Suraj Mohandas, vice president of strategy at JAMF, said it's important to remember that while these tools can be useful in cybersecurity efforts, they could also be used by outside groups for more nefarious purposes.

“AI is really like two sides of the coin, there is a dark side and a bright side to what it offers,” he said. “And learning about AI-enhanced threats will help us find tools that can help us overcome their impact. It would be a shame not to take advantage of the latest machine learning to understand and identify the threats that are coming our way.”

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2/ https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/2024/07/01/university-cybersecurity-threats-remain-concern

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