Cybersecurity Policy and Articles, Papers, and Reports

This "Briefing to CSIS Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency" By Rodney Petersen and Jack Suess on behalf of the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 IT Security Task Force was presented to the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency. The agenda was "Improving Cybersecurity: Recommendations from Private Sector Experts".

"Two weeks ago, we described a report from the National Research Council on the challenges of balancing an open academic research environment with the risks that the fruits of the research could be adopted by terrorists. One of the report's recommendations was the formation of a standing committee comprised of academics and members of the national security agencies. It turns out that the FBI had already heeded similar advice—back in 2005."

This is the final report for the 2007 NSF Cybersecurity Summit, held February 22 & 23rd, 2007, in Arlington, VA.

This is the final report for the NSF Cybersecurity Summit, held December 12-13, 2005, in Tysons Corner, VA.

The fourth document is NSF's feedback on the 2005 Cybersecurity Summit final report. The response was written by Ardoth Hassler and Cliff A. Jacobs.

This case study examines ways in which the Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and Networking (VA SCAN) provides a blueprint for higher education institutions interested in collaboratively providing openly accessible IT security resources. VA SCAN is a partnership among five Virginia state higher education institutions and three IT security research programs that provide a repository of IT security tools, training, and consultative services to Virginia higher education institutions. All of the resources are available for free or on a cost-recovery basis. The case study was undertaken as part of ECAR's 2006 study of information technology security practices in higher education, which included a literature review, quantitative and qualitative date from 492 higher education institutions in the U.S. and Canada, input from IT security leaders and specialists, and three case studies.

This case study examines Baylor University's risk assessment program for information technology security, which was established in the face of the escalating demands that security places on information technology organizations. The case study was undertaken as part of ECAR's 2006 study of information technology security practices in higher education, which included a literature review, quantitative and qualitative date from 492 higher education institutions in the U.S. and Canada, input from IT security leaders and specialists, and three case studies.

By adopting a unified approach to information security compliance, higher education institutions not only can effectively satisfy the requirements of the growing number of state and federal laws and industry regulations but also can address identified risks and improve the security of their information assets.

In the past three years, higher education institutions have made a number of moves to secure their critical systems and protect their users, resulting in a marked change in the techniques used to combat security threats. Today, continued progress may depend on the development of an enterprise IT security program.