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Higher Education

Protecting Educational Institutions Intellectual Property

Secure Data Storage For Higher Education

Protecting data is a significant challenge for educational institutions. Colleges and universities face vulnerabilities in data storage and network security, leading to potential multimillion-dollar losses from data breaches. Ciphertex® SecureNAS® provides a solution, enabling educational institutions to secure student, faculty, financial, and research data against malicious attacks and human errors.
Georgia Tech
One data breach compromised the personal information of 1.3 million users, encompassing students, faculty, and other staff. The breach resulted from unauthorized access to the school’s web applications.
Washington State University
A stolen hard drive, initially secured, resulted in cybercriminals accessing information from 1.2 million users, underscoring the imperative for robust physical security measures in higher education data. This incident serves as a lesson for other institutions to enhance their university data protection. The university, in response, settled by compensating each victim with $5,000.
Michigan State University
In a data security incident, the school incurred an estimated cost of $3 million. This incident underscores the critical necessity for robust data protection measures for students. Approximately 400,000 student and faculty records were compromised, exposing sensitive information like Social Security numbers and access credentials. In response, the school took corrective action by offering all affected individuals a credit monitoring service, covering the expenses for their use at no cost.
Maricopa Community College
The Arizona institution faced 2 breaches and hackers gained access to the Social Security numbers, names, and addresses of teachers, students, and vendors. The compromised information was subsequently sold online for profit. The breach incurred a staggering cost of $26 million in the first year, and the institution faced prolonged lawsuits that extended for years thereafter.

Universities Using Data Security

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Losing personally identifiable information (PII) in a breach is the most expensive, with an estimated recovery cost of around $150 per record if the breach resulted from oversight or human error. However, if the breach is a result of a malicious attack, the average cost increases to $175 per record. In the case of intellectual property, the average cost per record is $147.6.

Ponemon’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report concluded an average price tag of $4.45 million to a data breach. Although investing in security infrastructure can reduce this cost, the report highlighted additional expenses such as lawsuits, compliance with stricter privacy laws, and damage to reputation, which could potentially contribute millions more to the initial cost of the data breach.

Standards in Data Encryption for Universities

University data protection and privacy are not managed under one regulatory body. Data protection requirements are regulated by various entities, including:
Regulates the use and protection of personally identifiable information (PII), academic records, billing information, and some types of student medical records.
Various student medical records are protected under HIPAA. Records of patients who are not students but affiliated with universities are covered as well.
PCI compliance in higher education is a concern when financial records are exposed during data breaches; schools often face liability for the misuse of these records
Applies to data security involving certain types of academic research.
Another challenge is the absence of a centralized and robust university data protection program in many schools. IT services are frequently managed at the departmental level, often by student workers with minimal or no supervision. Meanwhile, risks both within and outside the university persist as malicious actors actively seek personal data.

Policy and Key Management

To enhance digital security for your school, it is imperative to operate under a robust cybersecurity policy. This entails implementing security encryption guidelines across all devices handling university data. To fortify protection against school data breaches, consideration must be given to the application of encryption technologies, including:
  • Transmission of sensitive data and passwords
  • Encrypted file transfer for personal and shared storage
  • Communication of data between web applications and client machines
  • Encryption of remote sessions via secure protocols (i.e., SSL, SSH)
  • Use of a Virtual Private Network with encrypted access to services
  • Whole disk encryption for laptops, phones, and other portable devices 
  • File level encryption on USB drives and other types of portable media
Without proper higher education data management, data security, endpoint security, and network security are at risk. A strong encryption key must be a part of your data security policy and any products you use.

Boosting Digital Security for Your School

Secure Data Storage: Implement data encryption for on-premise storage. Restrict server access for former staff, opting for private clouds or hybrid data storage solutions.

Encryption Software: The application should facilitate cloud collaboration, ensuring audit control across platforms. Its flexible configurations cater to diverse user types, security needs, and institutions. 

A Secure Website: A CMS(Content Management System) offers easy access and rich information. Choose an evolving open-source CMS, alongside two-factor authentication and secure file transfer. Implement a single sign-on for enhanced access control to multiple resources.

Cybersecurity Education: Human error often leads to cybercrimes. Educate regularly on security threats, emphasizing robust passwords, risks of malicious links, and proper reporting to IT. 

Manage Education Portable Data Systems: Educate on safe device use and restrict USB access to those with secure data encryption. 

Constant Data Monitoring: A high-performance security system can track data to prevent and minimize effect of attack. Data Loss Prevention software analyzes, blocks suspicious accounts, and flags policy violations for added data security. 

Data Backup and Recovery: Maintain a contingency plan for potential data breaches. Schools and universities can operate with a disaster recovery plan, supported by insurance coverage for data security incident costs. 

Invest in Ciphertex Data Security® Products

Higher education and research are at the forefront of innovation, yet they remain vulnerable to cybercrime. That’s where Ciphertex Data Security® comes in. Offering excellent efficiency with high range encrypted network storage capabilities that can connect seamlessly across any number devices for greater computing power while maintaining ultimate protection from hackers.

Ciphertex Data Security® provides reliable solutions designed specifically for high computing power and ultimate security to meet today’s institution’s needs.

Sources:

Customer Testimonials

MARYMAN
“Ciphertex has been our go-to company for encrypted storage for nearly two decades . . . Jerry Kaner and the Ciphertex team were able to get us the equipment needed in a very short amount of time.”

Joseph Greenfield, Ph.D VP and Chief Forensic Examiner, Maryman

Anonymous Forensics Project
"We perform large-scale e-discovery and forensics work for classified government agency projects. We’ve used several Ciphertex SecureNAS CX-160KSSD-X 480TB servers recently to great success for an ongoing project."

Large Enterprise Government contractor

Anonymous Forensics Project
"We were assigned the monumental task of handling a staggering 960 Terabytes of data across four locations, alongside an additional 175 Terabytes spread across three more locations, seemed like an insurmountable challenge. The urgency to transfer this vast amount of data to our forensic lab within a tight timeframe was daunting, especially considering the necessity for multiple examiners to analyze the data concurrently.

Navigating through various network environments, some of which demanded heightened security measures in a different data center, only added to the complexity. After multiple meetings and investigations in search of the most efficient and cost-effective solution, our team turned to Ciphertex Data Security, a reputable U.S.-based company headquartered in DC."

Large Enterprise Government contractor

Anonymous Government Contractor Project
"In our consultations with Ciphertex, their technical team proved invaluable, offering insightful advice that preemptively addressed potential delays. Within a mere week, we had the product in our possession. With swift implementation, our system was soon operational, requiring just a few additional days for software fine-tuning and setup adjustments before deployment.

Thanks to Ciphertex’s solution, our mission was accomplished seamlessly, meeting our deadlines and significantly reducing costs. Moreover, the versatility of their product allowed for immediate reuse in subsequent assignments through Ciphertex Instant Secure Erase feature. Ever since, Ciphertex has been a dependable ally whenever we’ve required their expertise and support."

Large Forensics Enterprise Government Contractor

Government Agency Project
"Our experience with Ciphertex was nothing short of exceptional. Entrusted with the critical task of relocating a substantial volume of data (480TB) from disparate locations to a highly secure data center boasting a distinct network environment, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. The data we handled was of utmost sensitivity, demanding foolproof protection throughout its journey.

Utilizing Ciphertex’s SecureNAS systems across three separate locations, we were equipped with encrypted solutions tailored to safeguard our valuable data. What’s more, with the flexibility to operate seamlessly across both 10G and 40G copper and fiber networks, Ciphertex’s technology proved adaptable to our diverse needs.Thanks to Ciphertex’s robust encryption protocols and efficient systems, the transfer of our encrypted data was executed flawlessly, without encountering any hiccups along the way. With peace of mind knowing our data was secure, we successfully completed our mission."

Large Government Agency

Anonymous Forensic Accounting Project
"Our team encountered a significant challenge relocating a vast amount of forensic accounting data from one state to Washington DC, requiring several machines each with a capacity of 275TB useable data. The scale of this task demanded a resilient and highly secure solution. We opted for Ciphertex’s SecureNAS systems to tackle this challenge. With their advanced encryption technology, these systems offered the perfect protection for our sensitive data. Transported via aircraft in durable travel cases, all our data arrived safely at its destination. Upon receiving the SecureNAS units, we were eager to put them to the test.

Once plugged in, they operated flawlessly, seamlessly integrating into our workflow without any issues. Thanks to Ciphertex’s dependable technology, our encrypted data transfer was executed smoothly, contributing to the successful completion of our forensic accounting project."

Large Government Agency

APA (American Photographers Association)
"I’ve been using the SecureNAS CX-40KSSD with 120TB storage for more than 8 years, and it’s incredibly convenient and user-friendly. I handle numerous high-res images and videos while constantly moving between studios. The SecureNAS is my go-to data backup and archive, offering top-notch security and encryption that gives my high-profile clients peace of mind. Because of the piracy issue in our industry, protecting digital video and photos is essential. The portability is also a nice touch as I frequently move from one studio to another.

I’ve also worked with the SecureNAS CX-80KSSD-X with 240TB of space. It’s been smooth, fast, and secure, saving me both time and money. Thanks, Ciphertex for providing such an excellent solution!"

Brooks Ayola Professional Photographer, APA

Ciphertex was able to deliver a very secure and robust portable NAS solution that met the United States Air Forces stringent requirements and everything was accomplished. Not an easy task. The USAF has very high security standards with regards to encryption and the need for a very customizable Portable Storage solution. From initial consultation with the USAF to make sure all of their needs were met, to sending evaluation NAS devices and hosting support calls, there was a very open and good exchange of ideas. Our partnership on this Storage project resulted in a volume order with the USAF and a successful deployment. Thanks very much to you and your staff for always being available for support and your professional courtesy. It was a pleasure working with you and we look forward to future projects!

Gary Mosso ATPGOV & Ace Technology Partners

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