Protecting intellectual property and sensitive information in academic campuses from trusted insiders

摘要

Insider threat has been the major Information Security issue for business houses for long time. But, Information Security Managers of academic campuses are yet to pay similar attention to this challenge. As direct financial losses resulting due to this are not of similar magnitude. However, universities and colleges have sensitive academic and personal records. Also, many institutes are engaged in advanced research and creating valuable intellectual property, which need to be protected. Monitoring insider threats in academic campuses is particularly difficult because of complexity of networks, diverse mix of systems and resistance for strict restrictions. Major challenges include, less disciplined users compared to industry users, sharing of terminals, inadequate budgets and fast turnover of student population. There are almost thirty percent new enrollments every year.