CDW-G Releases Annual Higher Education IT Security Report Card

Oct 30, 2007 2:50 PM

CDW Government Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDW Corp. and source of Information Technology (IT) solutions to governments and educators, has released the results of its third annual Higher Education IT Security Report Card, a national survey that asks higher education IT directors and managers to rate the state of IT security and the support they receive from constituents on their campuses. The 2007 report provides three-year trend data along with additional insights on increasingly complex campus security issues such as converged IT and physical security solutions.

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, there have been 148 publicly-disclosed data breaches at colleges and universities since 2005. While some incidents are unintentional, such as a data file posted to a public Web site, hacker activity and malicious attacks account for much of the data loss. The 2007 CDW-G Higher Education IT Security Report Card reveals that despite increased attention to the need for better higher education IT security, there has been little progress toward improving IT security in higher education. Key findings from the study include:

* Fewer than half of campus networks are safe from attack; 58 percent report at least one security breach in the last year
* Data loss or theft has increased 10 percent in the last year, up to 43 percent, including the loss or theft of staff and student personal information
* Increased attention to the convergence of IT and physical security solutions, but slow adoption of these tools
* Lack of staff resources is the biggest barrier to improving campus IT security

"Ensuring IT security at higher education institutions is challenging," says Julie Smith, director, higher education for CDW-G. "The amount of data residing on the network is growing exponentially and IT directors struggle to balance security concerns with the open nature of higher education. The Report Card gives voice and support to their concerns."

While 8 percent of respondents report that their network is "very secure" from attack, 47 percent report their network is "moderately secure but requires some improvements." Not surprisingly, IT directors ranked issues regarding data protection as number three of the top five IT security risks on their campuses, with "sensitive data residing on unprotected machines" and "intruders gaining access to high-profile material" topping the list. This year's study also points to an alarming rise in data loss or theft compared to the previous year, especially staff personal information (17 percent) and student personal information (16 percent).

For the first time in the study's history, IT directors cite "lack of staff resources" as the biggest barrier to improving IT security. "IT managers' responsibilities are growing at a rapid pace, consuming a greater amount of time than ever," Smith says. "The use of security information management tools can consolidate services and free IT staff to work on higher priority projects."

This year, CDW-G asked IT directors about the convergence of IT and physical security programs, such as network access control, card access systems and mass notification systems. Respondents report that convergence is becoming a higher priority than in previous years, with 38 percent spending more time on it than the year before.

Eighty-six percent of respondents noted that their campus has the network infrastructure to support converged solutions, but only six percent have fully converged IT and physical security solutions. According to the EDUCAUSE 2007 Current Issues Report (May 2007), IT security is a top five priority among higher education administrators, but Report Card respondents note that convergence is not yet a top-five priority.

For more information on the Report Card and to download the complete study, visit www.cdwg.com/higheredsecurity.

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