Why are Universities Targets for Cyber Criminals
Let’s delve into Universities and FE Colleges to understand why they are becoming a growing target for cyber criminals. One thing is for sure! Education establishments look after an enormous amount of sensitive and confidential data. Data that, in the wrong hands, will command a high monetary value to criminal fraternities.
The Education sector also has a long history of being underfunded, particularly when it comes to IT infrastructure and services. For this reason, many education institutions are reliant on inadequate, legacy technologies and subsequently struggle to maintain the most appropriate preventative measures to mitigate cyber-attacks. From fragmented networks, open access for BYOD, high levels of onboarding, and levers, to ever changing processes and procedures. There are now many ways in which Cyber attackers can access and move laterally through the network.
Universities handle a sizable variety of data. From curriculum, admin and personal information to intellectual property, research and many other assets. It is almost a certainty that state-sponsored actors are looking to steal data and information for strategic gain. Meanwhile, cyber criminals also seek to commit fraud, or monetise stolen material through sale or ransom.
There are several areas the education sector can address these issues and make it considerably harder for those intent on gaining unlawful access to the network. Adopting strict access controls and understanding what 3rd party connections are necessary are good starting points! Network design is also key and having a strong solid Web Access Firewall WAF that is easy to set up, easy to use and cost effective is most definitely a must! but it needs to provide the full functionality required, have an intuitive interface and enable reporting with machine learning built in.
Everything considered we strongly recommend looking at TR7’s load balancing WAF solution. www.tr7.co.uk
What sets TR7’s WAF apart are unique features not found in competitors’ offerings. These include real-time;
- Web traffic visualisation, a built-in API gateway with rate limiting and authentication, AI-driven anomaly detection, and advanced bot mitigation techniques.
- TR7 WAF also boasts enhanced DDoS protection with adaptive filtering, automatic false-positive tuning, and seamless integration with DevOps pipelines for automated security testing. Additional exclusive features include Virtual Host Based Rules for tailored security policies, AI-based collective learning for proactive threat identification, comprehensive BI reports, customizable deny pages in JSON format with multi-language support. With these innovative capabilities, TR7 WAF not only protects but also optimises and accelerates your web applications, providing a superior security solution unmatched in the market.
https://wisedistribution.co.uk/web-application-firewall-waf-tr7/