Cybersecurity

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Introduction

The higher education sector plays an important role in the cybersecurity of America. Through its core mission of teaching and learning, higher education is the main source of future leaders, innovators, and the technical workforce. Through research, higher education is the basic source of much of our new knowledge and future technologies. Colleges and universities also operate some of the world's largest collections of computers and high-speed networks. This resource page provides information related to all aspects of cybersecurity for higher education, with an emphasis on strategies, policies, and other tools that will assist institutions of higher education to prevent, detect, and respond to vulnerabilities that threaten college and university computers and networks.

EDUCAUSE is actively involved with this area through the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Higher Education Information Security Council (formerly the Security Task Force).

Information Security Guide: Effective Practices and Solutions for Higher Education

The Information Security Guide: Effective Practices and Solutions for Higher Education is now available in wiki format. This resource provides practical approaches to preventing, detecting, and responding to security problems in a wide range of higher education environments. This online service is designed with colleges and universities in mind, balancing our need for security with the need for an open, collaborative networking environment. Also, because one of the overarching concerns in college and university information technology (IT) departments is a lack of resources, an effort is made to provide low-cost solutions. The target audiences are those responsible for information security in colleges and universities and information technology staff who implement and manage security measures. Recognizing that many institutions have initiated or are in the process of developing IT security programs and policies, an effort is made throughout this resource to present practices that are useful at each stage of the developmental process.

As a community-driven, community-serving project, it is important for this initiative to incorporate experiences and perspectives from many different institutions. To contribute case studies that have been effective in your institution, please contact security-council@educause.edu.

Events Calendar

View past and future security-related events.

Latest News

Five Pilot Projects Receive Grants to Promote Online Security and Privacy

InCommon will be heavily involved in a $1.8 million grant awarded to Internet2 to build a consistent and robust privacy infrastructure. Partners include Carnegie Mellon, Brown, University of Texas...

Virginia Tech First to Achieve Bronze and Silver Assurance

Virginia Tech has become the first identity provider to achieve Bronze and Silver certification as part of the InCommon Assurance Program.

Recommended IAM Sessions at EDUCAUSE 2012

The annual EDUCAUSE Conference in Denver will provide an opportunity to explore the range and depth of issues that campuses must consider as they build...

Recommended Security & Privacy Sessions at EDUCAUSE 2012

Find a variety of E12 security and privacy-related sessions in Denver or online.

National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2012 is HERE!

Find resources and see what other campuses are doing this October for NCSAM.

Policy Matters NCSAM Article (Sep/Oct 2012)

NCSAM article in the latest EDUCAUSE Review offers resources and suggestions for campuses to support security awareness efforts in October.

Library Items on this Topic

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EDUCAUSE Library Items for Cybersecurity

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Privacy Issues Associated with the Use of Biometrics in Higher Education: Risks and Best Practices: November 18, 2010

The emergence of biometric technologies offers organizations, including colleges and universities, potential new tools for confirming identity in contexts such as ensuring campus security, provid…
PESC 2.0: Unlocking the Power of Data for a New Modern Reality: October 29, 2010

PESC—the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council—was founded in 1997 by 30 leading organizations (EDUCAUSE among them) to help coordinate and support data-related projects in higher educat…
Spotlight on Cloud Computing Series: Community Clouds: June 23, 2010

Many institutions in the education community are considering moving some aspect of their business to "the cloud." Moving to the cloud could mean outsourcing your e-mail to Google or mig…
Spotlight On Identity Management: Identity Management at USC: Collaboration, Governance, and Access: August 8, 2008

Identity and access management (IAM) at USC has been a policy-driven, grassroots effort for the past five years. During that time collaborative committees with representatives from many academic …
Spotlight On Identity Management: Engagement and Partnerships: Identity Outreach at Indiana University: July 15, 2008

Indiana University and Purdue University recently asked the Indiana General Assembly to create the Indiana Innovation Alliance. This purpose of the alliance is to expand research in the life scie…
Spotlight On Identity Management: How Today's Registrar Demands More from Identity Management Policy and Infrastructure: June 11, 2008

Stanford University's registrar and IT strategist discuss their vision of the future of identity management in higher education. Tom Black and Bruce Vincent will give some progressive perspe…
Spotlight On Identity Management: MCommunity to Improve IT Service Provisioning at the University of Michigan: May 19, 2008

MCommunity is a new enterprise directory and identity management system under development at the University of Michigan, a large, decentralized institution. MCommunity will provide a central infr…
Spotlight On Identity Management: Penn State's Identity and Access Management Initiative: March 14, 2008

With demands for identity and access management (IAM) paralleling the explosive growth in online interactions, it is imperative that existing business systems, infrastructure, planning, and techn…
Spotlight On Identity Management: The Challenges of Creating an Identity Management Infrastructure for the University of California: February 5, 2008

Using the University employee self-service application as an example, we will discuss the organizational, political, and operational challenges that are being faced in the creation of UCTrust, th…
Spotlight On Identity Management: A Case for Collaborative Identity Management in a Complex Decentralized Environment: January 18, 2008

Using the identity life cycle of the Cornell student as a use case, we will discuss the value of approaching identity management as a collective responsibility. The business and IT sides of the h…