Careful monitoring protects campus tech

Big Brother is watching at UNC.

While the extra oversight might frighten conspiracy theorists, it might prove to be beneficial in the world of technology.

Information security has become a greater concern on campuses across the nation in light of recent breaches.

Hackers stole thousands of students’ personal information, such as Social Security numbers, at both the University of California-Berkeley in 2004 and George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., in January.

The community can take comfort that the University is watching out for Internet hackers, worms and viruses, officials said.

UNC is taking a proactive approach to security, said Megan Bell, acting assistant vice chancellor for communications for Information Technology Services.

Network security operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a guard — either mechanical or human — will always be on the lookout for potential threats.

IT officials underscored both intrusion prevention and protection in technology security.

The University also has to comply with state and federal regulations concerning information security, Director of Computing Policy Jeanne Smythe said.

An effective network security system will offer confidentiality, integrity and accessibility, she said.

UNC’s system is protected by alarmed intrusion sensors and software used to detect threats. IT maintains a staff that monitors security and responds to breaches.

Chuck Crews, network specialist for IT, serves as one of the employees who watches over the University network.

“There’s a lot of different styles of malicious traffic,” he said.

With more than 40,000 computers running at any one time on campus, UNC’s network must be accessible to a diverse population.

This massive system makes security all the more challenging, Crews said.

“We need to make sure people who need to do their research can do their research, so we have to manage things from that perspective,” he said.

Information security precautions range from alternating passwords to software updates.

Threats are continually changing, said Doug Brown, manager for security resources.

“There isn’t a magic bullet. There isn’t one thing that could give you universal protection against everything you want to,” he said.

The University does everything it can to keep the network safe, Crews said.

“There will always be new in-roads made by the bad guys. We just do our best to mitigate the danger.”

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.