Spotlight on Cybersecurity

Alex Vaystikh is a cybersecurity expert with several years of experience in analyzing security holes and breaches for large organizations. With his new company SecBI, Alex seeks to automate all of the steps and processes involved in intrusion analysis. Here are a few of his thoughts on keeping a large college or university network safe.

Q. How is handling cybersecurity for a college or university different than securing an everyday network?

A. Colleges and universities have lots of data, especially student data. Since they are large organizations, there are often gaps that leave their networks vulnerable to attack. It is very important to explore these gaps and plan for ways to minimize them, if not totally get rid of them.

Q. What are some of the most important things to think about when trying to keep your college or university’s network safe?

A. First, identify what matters. What do you want to protect against? This will let you know how best to do it and create a policy. Once the policy is determined, monitor it closely to make sure it is kept in place and followed. Analyze and compare data before and after it is in place, look for anomalies.

Q. What is important for campus IT employees and CIOs to keep in mind when it comes to securing their student information and assets?

A. Focus on your network. You will have a hard time controlling the endpoints on a college campus, but you can control what happens with your networks. Research what is going on with the networks and monitor events closely. If something seems off, look into why. Research any questions you have about an incident and make sure to make a decision based on reliable data around it. After any kind of intrusion, play 20 questions and explore it from different angles. Connecting the dots as to what happened is one way to secure the network and lessen the chance it will happen again.

Featured

  • i-PRO, NovoTrax Partner for New School Emergency Response Solution

    i-PRO Americas, Inc., which manufactures edge computing cameras, recently announced a partnership with NovoTrax, provider of end-to-end life safety and mass notification solutions, to address gaps in emergency response workflows at K–12 schools, according to a news release.

  • Lawrence Group Announces Expansion of Student Housing Studio

    Integrated planning and design firm Lawrence Group recently announced that it has hired Nick Naeger, AIA, as the new Associate Principal / Senior Project Manager at its headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., according to a news release.

  • Allegion US Partners with Two Colleges for Mobile Credential Technology

    Allegion US recently announced a partnership with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Denison College, in conjunction with Transact + CBORD, to install mobile credential technologies campus-wide, according to a news release. Implementing Mobile Student ID into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will allow students access to campus facilities, amenities, and residence halls using just their phones.

  • ClassVR Wins Tech & Learning Best of Show at ISTELive 25

    Avantis Education recently announced that its flagship product, ClassVR, won the Tech & Learning Best of Show Award at ISTELive 25 in San Antonio, Texas, according to a news release. The program is designed to celebrate products that are “transforming education in schools around the world and that show the greatest promise for the industry,” and this is the fourth consecutive year that Avantis has claimed the award.

Digital Edition