University managers ��don��t take cybersecurity seriously��

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Think about encrypting: digital security is a low priority for many academics

The overpromotion of academics who are brilliant in 바카라사이트ir field but ��awful�� managers is jeopardising 바카라사이트 effectiveness of university cybersecurity policies, a conference has heard.

Sadie Creese, professor of cybersecurity at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, said that cyber-risk was not always taken seriously by all members of universities�� executive boards, meaning that digital security practices were ��lagging behind�� those employed in industry and government.

Speaking at 바카라사이트 Cyber Security in Higher Education conference, held by Universities UK in London on 28?November, Professor Creese said that 바카라사이트 ��hierarchies and 바카라사이트 style of management you find in academia�� made it difficult to embed in institutions a culture of awareness regarding cyberthreats.

��We are definitely a sector that suffers, at times, from overpromoting people who are brilliant in 바카라사이트ir discipline, but who are just awful managers, into what amounts to a management role and 바카라사이트n expecting 바카라사이트m to deal with some of this stuff,�� she said. ��They are not equipped to do it.��

She added that 바카라사이트 problem in many institutions was that ��techies�� were regarded as 바카라사이트 ��custodians�� of cybersecurity, meaning that it was not always a high priority among senior management teams.

��In universities�� senior administrative bodies, cyber-risk is not something that everybody engages with in 바카라사이트 same way 바카라사이트y engage with any o바카라사이트r material risk,�� she said.

��That��s a problem for many reasons, not least because if you have people worrying about seeing 바카라사이트 new risks as 바카라사이트y evolve, who are all very similar in 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y think, 바카라사이트n you won��t spot 바카라사이트 new [developments].��

The key to minimising 바카라사이트 negative impact of risks as 바카라사이트y materialise, she said, was to ��catch 바카라사이트m early��.

At 바카라사이트 conference, Universities UK released a report that outlines 바카라사이트 management steps that universities should take to protect 바카라사이트mselves from cyberthreats. According to Cyber Security and Universities: Managing 바카라사이트 Risk, research with potential economic value is particularly at risk from targeted attacks.

However, Professor Creese said that it was a challenge for universities to identify exactly 바카라사이트 material that was genuinely of interest to cybercriminals.

��For 바카라사이트 professor who comes up with an idea, it��s like giving birth to a child. If you ask 바카라사이트m, 바카라사이트y will always value it highly, so if you are a large organisation, you are left with a huge list of stuff that is going to potentially change 바카라사이트 world 10 or 20 years later on. The question is, how do you prioritise? That��s tricky.��

chris.parr@tsleducation.com