The (Campus) Empire Strikes Back

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Opinion

The (Campus) Empire Strikes Back

7/1/2008

By Fred Archibald

Impact of mobility on security. With the rapid adoption of mobile devices, most universities support some type of wireless network access on their campuses, largely because users gain tremendous productivity advantages with ubiquitous access to applications and resources. Yet, in addition to accessing university resources via secure campus wireless networks, mobile users also leverage home broadband, public hotspots, and other campus networks that expose them to a wide range of cybercrime exploits. In addition, the advent of the wireless network has put up new roadblocks to IT troubleshooting and problem-solving. Just a few years ago, IT could trace problems through wires to particular devices within university buildings. Now, new and advanced technologies are needed to identify misconfigured or compromised devices outside campus walls. So, the increased mobility afforded by wireless networks also increases the risk of contracting a targeted malware infection which, in turn, affects network stability and availability as well as consumes greater IT resources to identify and resolve potential problems.

Compliance and higher education. In addition to maintaining secure networks, universities also must abide by recent legislation around compliance initiatives. Along with the general concern about a university's machines being compromised or prey to malware infections, there are implications with regard to compliance, as well: Compromised resources can mean the potential for compliance violations. If the institution is being audited, or if the network is compromised and data are leaked, there could be consequences in the media or otherwise that could be severely damaging to a user or the university.

Doing more with the same. Adding to the challenges mentioned above, is the ongoing strain on resources: Anyone reading this article knows that IT resources within academia often are stretched to a breaking point. (Network managers, in particular, are continuously asked to do more within existing budgets and resources.) Clearly, managing and maintaining campus resources for thousands of users is a challenge in and of itself for limited IT departments. On top of this, infiltration, when it occurs, diverts IT resources to combat the problem and mitigate or repair damaged equipment. Certainly, monitoring network activity and conducting routine network anomaly detection helps IT identify suspicious behavior and thus eliminate some threats. Yet, the sheer volume of information is overwhelming, the nature of threats is evolving, and there is always more analysis that can be performed.

They're in the Money. From data mining, espionage, and identity theft, to stock pump-and-dump scams and cyberterrorism targeting government infrastructures, 'bot herders' (as bot hackers are known) leverage stolen computer power and unauthorized access to their fullest. Botnets are rented out, bought and sold, leveraged for particular projects, and otherwise utilized to generate recurring revenue streams.