Documents Contributed by ECAR, Identity Management, and IT Governance

Researchers conducted this in-depth case study to complement the ECAR study, Safeguarding the Tower: IT Security in Higher Education 2006. The case study examines how four higher education institutions improved their information technology security programs since 2003—what they did, why they did it, how they did it, and which practices might be most effective for other institutions that wish to have similar results.

Presentation at EDUCAUSE 2006, October 9-12, 2006, Dallas, Texas. This presentation summarizes the findings of the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research 2006 study of information technology security in higher education.

A well-managed security program starts at the top and must provide strong governance, business risk management, auditing, and control processes. This Burton Group study proposes a security technology vision whose key components are flexible and fine-grained zoning, more trustworthy systems, Internet identity, better-protected service-oriented architectures, advanced content control, trust frameworks, and an organization-wide control system for information protection. Burton Group (www.burtongroup.com) provides technically in-depth research and advisory services for colleges and universities, government agencies, and commercial enterprises. Burton Group's practical and unbiased research and advice helps technologists make smart IT infrastructure decisions in increasingly complex environments. Burton Group covers directories, identity management, application platforms, architecture, and network and telecom infrastructure topics. Like ECAR, Burton Group is an unbiased advocate for the user and more than 80% of Burton Group's clients are user organizations rather than suppliers.