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Millions of students–approximately 16 million–call colleges or universities their home for at least a portion of the calendar year. They are educated by another 1.5 million or so faculty, staff, and other employees. Most of these institutions of higher education understand the challenges presented by maintaining networks, particularly the ones that students connect countless devices to. With all this in mind, can a college campus’ network truly be secure, or is it a fool’s errand?

Birth of the Internet
The first Internet was created by intellectuals for the purposes of academia, far removed from the issues that plague the current state of affairs. The concept grew in popularity and eventually took to commerce, pushing development of the Internet beyond its creators’ wildest dreams. Eventually, by 1984, the first catalogue was launched on the Internet, followed by the first e-store (books.com) in 1992 and the first software sold online (IPSwitch IMail Server), in 1994. Amazon and eBay followed soon after, and… well, you know the rest.

Academia uses the Internet for countless purposes, most of all for online learning and providing access to the near-limitless resources of the known world. You’d be hard-pressed to find any school or university that doesn’t offer online access in its classrooms and buildings.

Cybersecurity Needs in Higher Education
Campuses are almost completely connected, but more often than not, in order to access a network, you’ll need security clearance, including a login username and a password. This creates a major pain point, as countless devices will constantly need access to an Internet connection at any given point. The same problems that cause trouble for businesses plague those in charge of handling IT at colleges; in fact, one could claim they have even more issues to deal with, what with uninformed students making all the mistakes you’d expect them to.

According to a 2018 report, none of the top 10 computer science degrees in the United States require a cybersecurity course to graduate; of the top 50 computer science programs listed by Business Insider, only three require a cybersecurity course. Furthermore, out of the 122 schools reviewed, only one school required three or more cybersecurity courses: the University of Alabama. It’s clear that cybersecurity–even for schools with programs in computer science–is far from a priority.

Are These Cybersecurity Issues Specific to Universities?
Issues related to cybersecurity are rarely specific to any industry, as many of the security shortcomings are often related to the end-user. Furthermore, the skill gap between cybersecurity professionals and hackers has been largely marginalized in recent years; as one grows stronger, so does the other. This is nothing but a stark reminder that it doesn’t matter what you do for a living; cybersecurity permeates all walks of life, and it is important to keep your personal information (and personal computing) safe from threats.

Some institutions have relied on companies like Cyber Degrees to educate their workforce and ensure the college’s network stays secure. While it might seem like this increase in hacking and cybercrime has no benefits, it has caused a considerable increase in the demand for cybersecurity. In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that there were more than 200,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the United States. Considering how much this industry has changed since then, imagine how many unfilled cybersecurity jobs there are today. Thus, cybersecurity training is more important than ever.

Palindrome Consulting wants to help your business keep its network safe and secure. To learn more, reach out to us at 305-944-7300.

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Elizabeth Mitrani
Elizabeth Mitrani
17:23 06 Aug 19
Palindrome Consulting was key in establishing my business and helps me keep it running. They are the consummate... professionals, incredibly knowledgeable and are always available to help. They have gone above and beyond to ensure that I was up and running quickly and that any issues that may arise on my end or dealt with immediately. I highly recommend Palindrome Consulting.read more
Moshe Rubinstein
Moshe Rubinstein
14:57 28 Jun 19
They are there every step of the way. Responsive and timely. The full service mentality mixed with the problem solving... abilities, is what makes them an easy choice.read more
Benjamin Wainberg
Benjamin Wainberg
14:09 28 Jun 19
Palindrome Consulting is customer centric. For Palindrome Data Safety is paramount; they keep their and our systems... updated with the newest technologies and are not shy at changing to better alternatives. Their platforms are always running and in the odd case there is an event, their technical team has an awesome response time.read more
Copier Man
Copier Man
13:56 28 Jun 19
We have been using Palindrome since 2005. They make my company feel like we are #1 all the time. Expert staff are... always available to help all my users all around the country.read more
Martin Feldman
Martin Feldman
16:43 26 Jun 19
As a partner in Fischer & Feldman, P.A. we have utilized Palindrome Consulting as our IT experts for many years. In... addition to keeping our server up and running, they are available to consult on the everchanging cloud and web landscape. We could not function as a successful law firm without their constant care, attention and almost IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TIME.read more
Rebecca Fischer
Rebecca Fischer
16:39 26 Jun 19
Palindrome has been my IT company for more than 15 years. We have been through four server and computer replacements... over the years all of which went smoothly. As technology has changed Palindrome has kept us current in their recommendations and are extremely responsive when we run into a software or hardware problem. We have been through hurricanes with Palindrome and felt confident they would have us up and running as quickly as possible and despite the fact we are probably a smaller client, they have treated us as one of their most important clients. I highly recommend Palindrome and have complete confidence in their capabilities and service. They have even gone the extra mile when we wanted to donate our old computers to a children's special needs school and delivered the computers, set them up and provided service for the same. Ilan Sredni is the consummate professional and has surrounded himself with top professionals and skilled technicians.read more
Nelson T
Nelson T
20:32 25 Jun 19
Palindrome Consulting has proven itself time and time again to be the epitome of professionalism and technical... expertise. They take the time to listen to your needs and then apply their wealth of technical knowledge to create truly innovative and robust solutions. They truly deliver piece of mind.read more
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