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Data Security
Peace (of Mind) in Our Time
10/1/2007
In this scenario, a hacker typically sits in a university courtyard or campus quad area. He then sets his laptop to broadcast a free WiFi signal. Unsuspecting students, faculty, and staff members using notebooks may mistake the hacker’s wireless signal for a legitimate campus WiFi network. Those who latch on to the hacker’s signal may wind up sharing passwords, financial information, and other confidential data without ever realizing it, notes Paul Henry, VP of strategic accounts at Secure Computing, an enterprise gateway security provider.“These days, the big focus for universities is to detect rogue wireless access points,” says Zindell. “We’re seeing more and more universities use centralized management tools to tie down their wireless networks.”
At a Glance: TRENDS IN IT SECURITY
Encryption. It got off to a slow start in the 1990s. Encryption systems were too complex, and they dragged down the performance of servers and desktops. But these days, encryption technology is going mainstream and is even built into Windows Vista.
Information Leakage. The big fear of many university administrators and technologists: information leaving campus via e-mail systems, USB thumb drives, and other mobile storage devices. Most security vendors now offer software that halts such information leakage.
Wireless. There’s no doubt that, increasingly, confidential information flows across wireless networks. Looking ahead, the big challenge involves safeguarding smart phones and other mobile devices that don’t run traditional PC security software.
Appliances. The security market is now flooded with appliances that promise enhanced security. But choose wisely. As recently noted by Jay Chaudhry, vice chairman and chief strategy officer for enterprise gateway security provider Secure Computing, more than 80 percent of security appliance vendors will either go out of business or be acquired within the next three years.
Open Source. It’s pushing beyond Linux, Apache, and e-mail. Next up, open source code will increasingly land in security servers and appliances. That could lead to better collaboration among security experts around the globe.
Charleston Southern University (SC), for instance, deployed next-gen WiFi solutions from Xirrus in order to provide secure video and audio streams of its athletic teams in action. At one point, the university considered deploying fiber-based networks across its athletic fields. But the Xirrus solution provided secure, centrally administered WiFi coverage to the fields for roughly $15,000 less than the fiber alternative, recalls Rusty Bruns, chief information officer at the university.
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