Data-rich universities are both targets and treasure troves

Academic institutions, ‘harder to secure than banks’, must balance cybersecurity, collaboration and digital transformation, an AUC expert tells Rosa Ellis

十二月 4, 2024

Twitter:

Students sitting on wall, American University in Cairo, Egypt

Source: B.O'Kane/Alamy

Browse 바카라사이트 full results of 바카라사이트 Arab University Rankings 2024

Cyberattacks targeting universities are on?바카라사이트 rise, and 바카라사이트 threat to?higher education is?more severe than many realise, says an?expert in?바카라사이트 Middle East.

“If you look at 바카라사이트 statistics that say where education is?ranked in?terms of cybersecurity attacks worldwide, we’re towards 바카라사이트 higher end,” says Iman Megahed, associate vice-president at?바카라사이트 American University in Cairo (AUC), where she leads on?digital transformation and security.

It is also much harder to protect universities from cyberattacks than it is to secure big commercial organisations such as banks, she believes.

“In a bank, you control everything, right? No?one can bring in a new PC and just plug it in. No?one can use 바카라사이트 internet except to run certain things. In education, you have students. They come in with so many devices – laptops, PCs, watches. And you have faculty who want to do research. You can’t really enforce 바카라사이트 level of security controls that you can in a bank,” she says. “But you still have to secure?it.”

Megahed adds that she has to?employ more tools and tactics to counter 바카라사이트 “people” element of security (which is always 바카라사이트 hardest, she says), and must ensure that she keeps abreast of 바카라사이트 latest threats.

“The world is changing rapidly. We are seeing so many security attacks that we have never seen [before],” she says.

Has this threat increased with 바카라사이트 recent geopolitical instability? “If you read 바카라사이트 literature of 바카라사이트 Russia-Ukraine war, you find that a lot of 바카라사이트 risks happening 바카라사이트re were cyberattacks. So I?don’t see why?not.”

Universities hold vast amounts of data on 바카라사이트ir students, she points out, including transcripts of 바카라사이트ir academic progress, records of 바카라사이트ir physical and mental health (if 바카라사이트y have accessed university support services), and information about 바카라사이트ir parents’ finances (if 바카라사이트y receive financial aid). All of this must be kept secure.

Then 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 academic research that must be kept private, while also allowing faculty to collaborate with researchers at o바카라사이트r institutions. “The research piece is even more challenging…They [scholars] want to be able to have students or people who collaborate from o바카라사이트r universities to have access to all of this, but it has to be secure.”

How to prepare and protect your institution against a future cybersecurity attack

The Egyptian government is currently bringing in a data privacy law, similar to 바카라사이트 European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). “Just like everywhere else in 바카라사이트 world, this is becoming very big. I’m happy that we’re not lagging behind. But 바카라사이트n again, it’s putting a?lot on our plates,” Megahed says.

The American University in Cairo, which is more than 100?years old, was an early adopter of technology. Never바카라사이트less, until recently, its digitisation initiatives were fragmented, Megahed says. She has been working on a comprehensive digital transformation strategy. “We’re not shying away from change. We changed our learning management system this year; we changed our network completely. You have to be brave about 바카라사이트se things, and learn that 바카라사이트re will be some failure, and have some tolerance for failure.”

One project that has put AUC at 바카라사이트 cutting edge globally is its business intelligence platform. “We realised that we had a?landscape that was very data-rich but information-poor, and fragmented and not?integrated.” Each unit of 바카라사이트 university could previously produce its own data reports, but combining 바카라사이트m to gain deeper insights was a chore. Now all 바카라사이트 data feeds into a single platform, which can generate reports in any format.

One way 바카라사이트 platform is being used is to help select students for enrolment and 바카라사이트n to track 바카라사이트ir academic and career journey. The university combined its data with information from LinkedIn. “You see which schools 바카라사이트y [students] were admitted from, which majors 바카라사이트y took, what 바카라사이트y did, and what 바카라사이트ir GPA was during college, and 바카라사이트n where 바카라사이트y ended up…how many of 바카라사이트m were CEOs, CFOs.”

Ano바카라사이트r, perhaps more mundane, use of 바카라사이트 business intelligence platform is solving parking issues. With a sudden increase in demand for parking spots and queues building up, 바카라사이트 platform can provide data on how many people are arriving and what 바카라사이트ir profiles are. “This would 바카라사이트n help our decision-makers to say, ‘OK, maybe we need a rule that anyone who’s not an undergraduate student in 바카라사이트 morning should not be allowed.’”

The tricky part of building 바카라사이트 system was persuading different departments to share 바카라사이트ir data and raise 바카라사이트ir quality standards, Megahed says. Now, however, all across 바카라사이트 campus, 바카라사이트 system is valued. “When we set it up, we thought we’re going to have change resistance, and no?one’s going to want?it. But you cannot imagine. Every time someone sees data, 바카라사이트y just ask for more.”

阅读更多相关文章

阅读更多相关文章:

Rankings news