There has never been a greater need for universities and colleges to be constantly aware and vigilant about potential security and safety risks to staff, students and visitors. Here are six campus security issues responsible for causing campus security staff sleepless nights, and ways that they can be tackled.
Campus security issues: phishing
Although universities will contain a fair proportion of digitally sophisticated student programmers, many will be very unsophisticated and vulnerable to phishing and other types of social engineering attacks. Many students will have left home for the first time and will be relatively naive. Moreover, they will not be considered as employees of the university – so cannot be controlled to any significant extent.
Research reveals that the vast majority of malware attacks originate via email. Victims are enticed to click on links that can welcome in a Trojan Horse or another type of highly damaging malware. In the worst case scenario, it could lead to the corruption of the entire campus IT network.
What can be done?
Universities and other institutions of higher education need to attempt to segment network systems by identifying and separating different groups of users, such as undergraduate students and administrative members of staff and implementing different levels of control and access. Educating new and existing students about the risk of clicking on unfamiliar emails is also key.
Campus security issues: system vulnerabilities
Universities also need to think about circumstances where hackers will try to take advantage of current system vulnerabilities. Staff must invest in ongoing support for their operating systems and other types of software and hardware.
What can be done?
Companies such as VisiPoint offer ongoing support to ensure that there is sufficient security in place. However, it is also essential that the university also takes steps to look for potential gaps in security and to close them. This could mean examining existing protocols, for example, making it impossible for hackers to obtain IP addresses and hostnames from shared devices such as printers and visitor management systems.
Improving system vulnerabilities also means controlling user activities by adapting multi-factor authentication. Fortunately, modern security tools are easily capable of reaching beyond the boundaries of a network to detect harmful activity, if they are properly set up and maintained.
Campus security issues: lack of funding
It’s a fact that campus cybersecurity is often chronically underfunded and the necessary manpower and network management frequently are associated with significant costs.
What can be done?
Luckily, affordable and effective solutions are available from VisiPoint. Contact the team today to find out how we can assist your campus security issues.
Campus security issues: protecting personal data
Universities are rich picking for data thieves. It can be an ongoing struggle to prevent all types of personal information from getting into the hands of identity thieves, from National Insurance numbers to student ID cards and financial information.
What can be done?
Compliance with GDPR and following guidelines for best practice as the best way of reducing data breaches, which are hugely expensive – in terms of damage limitation and control and the long-term reputation of the institution itself. Educating end users about internet safety, such as always using a secure website for online banking and never clicking on emails with inbound links could be good starting points.
Campus security issues: controlling visitors
University entrance halls and reception areas can be potentially hazardous areas at busy times when crowds of students and visitors are trying to access the main buildings. Security personnel are one option to reduce the likelihood of criminal or terrorist incidents.
What can be done?
Implementing a self-service, sign-in solution to complement the main reception area is highly recommended. VisiPoint’s innovative visitor management solution offers industry leading site security, visitor tracking, ID management, and reporting.
Storing sign-in data insecurely is a huge potential security risk that is often neglected. Investing in a VisiPoint’s digital sign-in system is an ideal way to prevent this issue. Contact VisiPoint to find out more about cost-effective campus security solutions that can really make a difference.