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Computer Security in Education

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Maintaining internet security is of the utmost importance to higher education systems. The majority of universities’ administrative, financial, and clinical systems are available through a campus-wide network (Rasmussen, 2011). This means that highly confidential documents, such as student’s personal information, medical records, and much more are housed on campus servers. This information is vulnerable to security threats and puts the university at risk for lawsuits if the information is exposed. Student’s internet use on campus daily comes in contact with social network targeting, malicious software, infrastructure attacks, phishing, and peer-to-peer file transfers (Rasmussen, 2011). These dangers put not only the students’ computers at risk for security breaches, but the universities’ network as well. The damages resulting from data breaches in college networks are numerous. Not only is having a student’s private information exposed, such as their Social Security number stolen, a nightmare for the individual, but it also causes much additional stress for the university. The higher education system then has to deal with legal issues, public relations fiascos, and various financial losses. In order to avoid any unnecessary headaches, universities go to great lengths to protect their networks from security threats. Organizations storing sensitive data are required by law to have a technology-based deterrent, a monitoring and reviewing method, and a process to lessen the breach (cite). In addition, universities practice standard internet security procedures such as implementing firewalls, filtering, sniffers, and virtual private networks. In this age of technology, no one is completely safe from cyber security threats, but with these combined practices, universities are much more equipped to defend themselves.

References
Oblinger, D. (2003). IT Security and Academic

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