It seems Universities are the latest targets for targeted attackers, looking for a preview of the next set of technologies to come out of the major research universities. But protecting these networks is a herculean task, given the open nature of university operations, which are driven by collaboration and sharing. It makes it tough to protect things when they are fundamentally open.

“A university environment is very different from a corporation or a government agency, because of the kind of openness and free flow of information you’re trying to promote,” said David J. Shaw, the chief information security officer at Purdue University. “The researchers want to collaborate with others, inside and outside the university, and to share their discoveries.”

So what can these folks do to protect themselves? One suggestion in the article is to not take sensitive research on laptops to certain countries. Uh, it’s not like those folks can’t get into the networks through the front door. So, like in the commercial world, try to make it as hard as possible for attackers to get at the good stuff.

Mr. Shaw, of Purdue, said that he and many of his counterparts had accepted that the external shells of their systems must remain somewhat porous. The most sensitive data can be housed in the equivalent of smaller vaults that are harder to access and harder to move within, use data encryption, and sometimes are not even connected to the larger campus network, particularly when the work involves dangerous pathogens or research that could turn into weapons systems.

Vaults? I like that idea.

Photo credit: “b is for back to school” originally uploaded by lamont_cranston

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