Building Robust, Secure and Compliant Systems in Education

In some ways, educational institutions are an ideal target for attackers.

These types of organizations have large numbers of students and staff, plenty of confidential records and personal data. On top of user information, universities also have research and development data and intellectual property. As such, educational organizations face a constant barrage of attacks from adversaries using a variety of vectors.

The challenges facing senior IT leaders at the elementary, secondary, post-secondary, district or state level are many.

Whether it’s working with outdated and clunky legacy systems, or the high variability of software and hardware used by students and staff, technology executives and their teams face a daunting array of issues — and that’s before factoring in compliance.

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Challenges in IT Systems for Educational Institutions

Challenges in IT Systems for Educational Institutions

Distributed Systems
Distributed Systems

Educational institutions often have systems distributed over multiple locations. With less centralization comes reduced control over systems and people. Human engineering hackers can sometimes rely on insiders to gain access to systems and/or data, and in distributed settings, there may be an increased potential for hacking or data breaches.

Culture
Culture

Some educational institutions have a culture of BYOD — bring your own device — and it’s music to a hacker’s ears. After all, schools often lack strict control over the types of software and hardware used by faculty and students.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for senior IT executives in educational settings is striking a balance between enrollment growth with data protection and openness. It’s a difficult tightrope to walk, and the costs of mistakes such as data breaches are extremely high.

Remote Access
Remote Access
Both students and teachers expect and require remote access to IT systems, and this need increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, allowing remote logins to critical systems requires extremely strong firewalls, password security, cybersecurity and other protective measures. It may also require training, brochures or other measures to ensure that users maintain appropriate security protocols in their day-to-day use of systems.
Security
Security

Educational institutions may be less sophisticated about cybersecurity than corporations, and this can lead to difficulties in maintaining system integrity for senior IT leaders. As educational facilities have fewer financial resources, hackers presume they’re not well-protected, making them a target.

When it comes to security issues in educational institutions a number of questions arise:

  • How might strong security protocols be maintained in distributed learning environments with non-standardized hardware and software?
  • How do we ensure that IT systems remain compliant and secure when upgrading to a hybrid or cloud environment?
  • What are the best ways to reconcile a culture of openness and sharing for learning purposes with appropriate data protection and privacy measures?
Risk
Risk

No matter which security protocols are in place, educational institutions will always be a target of nefarious actors. Cyberattacks on schools are a frequent occurrence. Since January 2016, there have been almost 1,000 incidents in the United States, according to the K-12 Cybersecurity Research Center.

At the post secondary level, attacks can be even more frequent. Kevin Morooney, the former VP of Information Technology at Pennsylvania State University, noted that the institution faced an average of 20 million attacks per day, an amount “typical for a research university.”

Universities are repositories of particularly valuable data. Whether the data is exploited by threat actors for military, corporate, scientific, competitive or other reasons, post secondary institutions must be particularly vigilant about keeping their systems fortified against such threats. In doing so, they must also remain compliant with regulations governing educational institutions in their state.

Compliance
Compliance

With IT teams stretched to the limit, remaining up to date with current regulations can seem overwhelming. Educational institutions are subject to strict compliance rules, and there are plenty of hoops to jump through.

Governments, colleges and universities are subject to a multitude of federal and state statutes regulating data privacy, from consumer reporting laws to FERPA, FISMA and HIPAA. If they have a payment portal of any kind, then they’re also subject to PCI-DSS compliance regulations.

The education industry faces tremendous challenges related to maintaining compliant systems with strong cybersecurity measures. Senior IT leaders must find ways to meet user needs and expectations while providing seamless and secure computing experiences.

If your systems are not prepared to withstand the toughest challenges, the consequences can be severe.

Data Breaches:
An Avoidable Outcome

Occasionally, vulnerabilities in educational institutions’ IT systems are compromised, and this can be extremely costly in terms of system downtime, fines or lawsuits.

According to a 2021 education sector report by Verizon, the North American education sector suffered 1,332 data breach incidents – with 344 of them having confirmed data disclosure. The reported attack patterns were ​​Social Engineering, Miscellaneous Errors and System Intrusion in 86 percent of reported breaches.

Breaches such as this can lead to identity theft, spam emails, personal information being posted elsewhere or proprietary information leaks.

It’s a tall order, and AISN is here to help.

We specialize in helping state and local governments and educational organizations implement compliant IT systems with robust security protocols and data protection.

AISN — Your Trusted Partner for Modern, Compliant IT Systems, Strong Security & Secure Data in Education

Why Work With Us?

Leader

For nearly three decades, AISN has been a trusted provider of compliant IT systems and managed security services to large organizations. As one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America, we are the trusted partner of Forbes- and Fortune-ranked global corporations and government agencies.

Our specialty is helping medium to large educational institutions navigate the challenges of executing complex system improvements without compromising educational objectives.

Trusted

AISN has been providing the full suite of secure cloud-based systems, application development, information security and risk management for years. We help our education clients ensure that student, faculty and institutional data are protected and compliant with regulations such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS and SOC 1/2 government hosting while being portable and accessible.

Since 2012, the State of Virginia has depended on AISN to deliver secure, compliant and highly reliable eGov hosting solutions and managed services to the executive branch agencies, counties, cities, towns, schools and all other public entities.

For hybrid cloud management and cloud infrastructure, risk management and security as well as award-winning app development, AISN is your trusted solutions provider and partner.

AISN — Your Trusted Partner for Modern, Compliant IT Systems, Strong Security & Secure Data in Education

Why Work With Us?

Leader

Leader

For nearly three decades, AISN has been a trusted provider of compliant IT systems and managed security services to large organizations. As one of the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America, we are the trusted partner of Forbes- and Fortune-ranked global corporations and government agencies.

Our specialty is helping medium to large educational institutions navigate the challenges of executing complex system improvements without compromising educational objectives.

Trusted

Trusted

AISN has been providing the full suite of secure cloud-based systems, application development, information security and risk management for years. We help our education clients ensure that student, faculty and institutional data are protected and compliant with regulations such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS and SOC 1/2 government hosting while being portable and accessible.

Since 2012, the State of Virginia has depended on AISN to deliver secure, compliant and highly reliable eGov hosting solutions and managed services to the executive branch agencies, counties, cities, towns, schools and all other public entities.

For hybrid cloud management and cloud infrastructure, risk management and security as well as award-winning app development, AISN is your trusted solutions provider and partner.

Our Solutions

Every educational institution has unique needs. Our approach is to provide bespoke solutions tailored to the needs of each organization, no matter how many students or staff members a school, district or state level agency may have. Whether it’s dozens or millions, we’ll protect your data while helping you remain compliant and secure in the process.

Compliance

As experts in compliance, we have to walk through the fire just like our clients to remain compliant ourselves.

We are audited by an independent firm on a regular basis. Following each audit, the auditors produce attestation reports confirming AISN’s compliance with various regulations including:

  • SOC 1/Type 2
  • SOC 2/Type 2
  • HIPAA/HITECH

Staying up to date with the latest compliance regulations is difficult, and experienced teams who have been through the process before may find that their knowledge is already obsolete. We live and breathe compliance on a daily basis, and this means you can delegate this critical function to our team of experts in confidence.

If you have compliance concerns about your educational institution, be sure to contact our team of experts. We’re here to help.

Cloud Enablement

As long as appropriate security protocols are in place, educational institutions can enjoy tremendous cost savings by migrating specific systems to the cloud. But that’s not the only benefit that a migration project by a trusted provider can bring.

You likely already know what the cloud is, and how it can benefit senior IT teams in educational institutions:

Cost savings
Cost savings
Availability
Availability
Disaster recovery
Disaster recovery
Scalability
Scalability
Security
Security

If you’re interested in transitioning legacy systems to a more modern cloud or hybrid environment, contact our team of experts today to discuss your project scope.

Information Security & Risk Management

Protecting critical education data is the foundation of information security. Whether you’re interested in expanding remote learning opportunities, automating IT processes or cutting costs, assigning appropriate roles, permissions and access is critical to a well-functioning educational organization.

The only issue is that criminals are constantly trying to gain access to systems for nefarious purposes. This is why it’s so important to have your servers, databases, networks and other IT infrastructure protected according to current best practices for risk management.

As leaders in this area, we recommend developing your information security program in four basic stages:

Prediction
Prediction
Prevention
Prevention
Detection
Detection
Response
Response

Are senior leaders and teams in your educational organization up to the task?

AISN can help your educational institution develop a risk management plan that translates an investment in cybersecurity into a strong return in terms of improved security and cost savings.

If you would like more information about how to develop a risk management plan and improve security for your institution, we invite you to speak to one of our senior leaders today.

Application Development

With the explosion of remote learning, demand is higher than ever for secure, user-friendly applications. However, these need to be developed with security and compliance in mind.

With extensive experience providing best-in-class native and web application development, we can build, deploy and host your application or website in our own high security/high compliance cloud environment.

Managed Services

In order to keep IT teams nimble, outsourcing certain functions to a trusted partner makes sense. AISN provides secure and compliant managed services for educational institutions. We offer a complete suite of managed and monitored solutions that serve to enhance your existing security investments and workflows.

Our experts are US citizens who are employed directly by AISN. Rather than working with a faceless outsourcer, you’ll get to know us by name, enabling us to integrate seamlessly into your existing workflows and team structure. This enables you to:

Increase productivity
Increase productivity
Respond faster to user demands
Respond faster to user demands
Decrease costs
Decrease costs
Protect against threats and mitigate risk
Protect against threats and mitigate risk

Protect Critical Data in Education Now

With threat actors moving in lockstep or faster than security companies, the stakes for information security in education are higher than ever. Now is the time to harden security protocols, protect data and modernize legacy infrastructure to a secure and compliant hybrid or cloud environment.

Our team of experts at AISN can help you create IT systems and infrastructure that are safe, secure, fast and meet user needs while delivering an attractive return on investment.

Get in touch and speak with an expert on our team to discuss your unique requirements.