Dive Brief
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Educause released its annual top 10 IT issues list today, diving into higher education's most-critical information technology issues for 2018 — and information security was the No. 1 issue for the third-year running.
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With widespread security breaches impacting every industry across the globe, IT security remains a potent concern for higher education, according to the technology-focused nonprofit group. Other issues on the organization's 2018 list include higher education affordability, next-generation enterprise IT, and the digital transformation of learning.
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Moreover, the list looks at four themes "remaking” higher education, and highlights the need for collaboration and greater examination of how technology is being leverage at institutions. Educause stated that the issues are not just for institutions' IT departments to address.
Dive Insight
Inside and outside classrooms, technology is transforming education, and college and university leaders are hoping technology will address access issues, rising costs and learning outcomes. And in an environment where large amounts of student and institutional data need to be mobile accessible, security is paramount.
A game plan for securing data is similar to a strategy for leveraging technology and data — the common denominator is culture. Ensuring that everyone on campus understands risks, basic steps of protection, and the need for collaboration are key to preventing security breaches.
Unfortunately, though, a recent survey by CDW-G suggests college IT departments might be missing the mark on educating students about cyber security threats. The survey shows that only a small number of students are aware of cyber security breaches on their campus.
