The digitization of universities has rendered these centres of open information exchange vulnerable to new forms of espionage. While attacks are focused on research – particularly cutting-edge engineering and biomedical technologies – personal information about students and faculty is also a target.
While the university has an interest in preventing or at the very least recognizing these attacks, the nature of their ‘open culture’ necessitates access to information; tens of thousands of students and faculty access UBC networks from their own laptops, for example, and an attacker need only find one vulnerability. Network security is decentralized to users to some extent!
Universities are particularly vulnerable to attack; they build high-speed networks built around a central principle: free exchange of information. They can’t control user platforms (hardware and software) and can’t meet the stringent security standards that might be in place at a for-profit corporation.
Students – especially researchers – need to be aware that they are targets, use encryption where possible, and follow their institution’s IT policies. Institutions, for their part, may be forced to constrict the collaborative networks that reflect a culture of information-sharing and to centralize network responsibility where possible.
Cyberattacks present a serious threat to reputation and identity, especially where the attackers can’t be traced and the attacks are invisible. While personal information may not be the primary target of these attacks, it is valuable – and affects users’ digital dossiers. These records constitute a major part of digital identity and are widespread and somewhat ethereal – there are likely records you’re not aware of, and they follow you throughout your life.
Have you ever been the victim of a cyberattack? (We have.)
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