University Business - April 2007 - (Page 50)

Password Protected create a system that is easier to use for those on the network. In the past, the university relied on its Admissions and Human Resources departments to supply user identities for the system, but that tended to create duplication that could be frustrating for users. “The real payoffs of identity management will come in the form of additional institutional processes that address how departments operate together, how policies are written, and what level of collaboration and openness is expected,” says Board. He adds, “For any institution, this should be the top item for discussion. If you don’t have centralized ID management—if you have it distributed across the institution—you need to be taking a hard look at changing that over the next couple years.” IT Security Attitudes in— and Recommendations for—Higher Ed Among higher education IT directors: report that executive administrators are supportive or extremely supportive of IT security initiatives, although there can be barriers around funding. note that faculty are not supportive of security initiatives, mainly due to lack of awareness and an expectation that exceptions be made for individuals. report that students are not supportive of the initiatives, from lack of awareness and a disregard for the rules and policies of an institution. • • • 93% 28% 31% Strong Protection In general, IHEs seem to be rising to the challenges inherent in the IdM process, says David Murray, chief technology officer at administrative software provider SunGard Higher Education. Improve IT security attitudes by: For those contemplating a fresh start for their IdM system and • Presenting formal business cases to policies, or those who want to make their procedures stronger, administrations when seeking budgetary increases Murray recommends beginning from the point of business priorifor security enhancements. ties, rather than just fretting about potential security breaches and • Examining the total financial impact of a major security breach, including costs associated putting systems in place to prevent them. “If you start by looking at with staff downtime, and communications to technology, you fall into the mode of reacting rather than acting,” those affected. he says. “It can feel so big that it’s overwhelming.” He advises that • Improving authorized access policies to reduce administrators break down IdM into manageable pieces, starting outside threats to networks. with the development of milestones and objectives. • Managing and monitoring the number of devices Working with IT services, a CIO should look at account provihooking up to the network. sioning, policy development, centralizing authentication, and creat• Boosting funding for security training and awareing a technology plan that makes sense for the IHE, rather than ness programs. mimics what’s being done elsewhere. Also, Murray notes, schools should understand their limitations as well. SOURCE: Second annual “Higher Education IT Security Report “It’s not practical to try and manage all the identities that are in Card,” released by CDW-G in conjunction with Eduventures; www.cdwg.com/higheredsecurity the network, or [all who] want access,” he says. “Some universities are like small cities, with visiting researchers and all kinds of complexities. And those cities are tied to others, if a school has a partnership with another university or college.” The breadth of IdM could make some Aladdin, www.aladdin.com/etoken Laurus Technologies, www.laurustech.com CIOs and IT teams yearn for the days when Bluesocket, www.bluesocket.com all they had to do was remind staffers to CertAlert, www.certalertsoftware.com Mirage Networks, stop using Post-It Notes for password manwww.miragenetworks.com Cybertrust, www.cybertrust.com agement. But if they see IdM as a journey Enterasys Networks, SunGard Higher Education, rather than a destination, it might help to www.sungardhe.com www.enterasys.com advance toward steady improvement. Resources Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer based in Saint Louis Park, Minn., who specializes in covering technology. EDUCAUSE “2006 Current Issues Survey,” www.educause.edu/2006SurveyResources eTelemetry, www.etelemetry.com Sun Microsystems, www.sun.com TouchNet, www.touchnet.com VeriSign, www.verisign.com 50 | April 2007 universitybusiness.com http://www.cdwg.com/higheredsecurity http://www.aladdin.com/etoken http://www.laurustech.com http://www.bluesocket.com http://www.certalertsoftware.com http://www.miragenetworks.com http://www.cybertrust.com http://www.sungardhe.com http://www.enterasys.com http://www.sun.com http://www.educause.edu/2006SurveyResources http://www.touchnet.com http://www.etelemetry.com http://www.verisign.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - April 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Admissions
Independent Outlook
On The Hill
Future Shock
Spellings Lessons
Identity Mangaement
Getting A Bigger Picture
Facility Directors Speak Out
Internet Technology
Working the Web
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - April 2007