Education: A Cloud Security Investigation (CSI)

By Will Houcheime, Product Marketing Manager, Bitglass

Cloud computing is now widely used in higher education. It has become an indispensable tool for both the institutions themselves and their students. This is mainly because cloud applications, such as such as G Suite and Microsoft Office 365, come with built-in sharing and collaboration functionality – they are designed for efficiency, teamwork, and flexibility. This, when combined with the fact that education institutions tend to receive massive discounts from cloud service providers, has led to a cloud adoption rate in education that surpasses that of every other industry. Naturally, this means that education institutions need to find a cloud security solution that can protect their data wherever it goes.

Cloud adoption means new security concerns

When organizations move to the cloud, there are new security concerns that must be addressed; for example, cloud applications, which are designed to enable sharing, can be used to share data with parties that are not authorized to view it. Despite the fact that some of these applications have their own native security features, many lack granularity, meaning that sensitive data such as personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), federally funded research, and payment card industry data (PCI) can still fall into the wrong hands.

Complicating the situation further is the fact that education institutions are required to comply with multiple regulations; for example, FERPA, FISMA, PCI DSS, and HIPAA. Additionally, when personal devices are used to access data (a common occurrence for faculty and students alike), securing data and complying with regulatory demands becomes even more challenging.

Fortunately, cloud access security brokers (CASBs) are designed to protect data in today’s business world. Leading CASBs provide complete visibility and control over data in any app, any device, anywhere. Identity and access management capabilities, zero-day threat detection, and granular data protection policies ensure that sensitive information is safe and regulatory demands are thoroughly addressed.

Want to learn more? Download the Higher Education Solution Brief.