Key Considerations
- Reducing the exposure of malicious and virus attacks on an institution’s laptops & desktops
- Restricting the use of applications that create security risks
- Eliminating security risks by providing administrative rights to Windows applications and processes rather than allowing full administrative rights to end users
- Managing remote and mobile endpoints so they are in full compliance with corporate policies
- Auditing and validating activity on sensitive business applications
- Monitoring privileged users who are enforcing policy rules
Institutions of higher education and local school districts are particularly vulnerable to malware and IT security risks due to the volume of shared computers on campus and in student labs. The increasing mobility of faculty and administrative personnel only adds another layer of complexity to the security problem. These vulnerabilities are borne out by the large increase in the number of security breaches being reported by educational institutions. It is clear that institutions need a more efficient way to support all their laptops and desktops, whether they are on-campus or used by staff who are working remotely. An initial safeguard to prevent these attacks is to remove administrative privileges from the desktop creating a least privileges environment. Once having done this you’ll need a method for proactively managing permissions so that your help desk won’t become inundated with support calls. Viewfinity offers a privilege management solution designed to enable the creation of a least privileges environment. The solution provides flexible and highly granular control of privileges and permissions for end users. Whether they are windows based servers, desktops, laptops or mobile users.
Not securing your machines raises the stakes considerably. A case in point:
Hysteria over a poor security policy led to the injustice of the Julie Amero case in which a substitute was brought up on felony charges with a 40 years in prison sentence because a malware-infested computer in her class displayed pornographic popup ads. The good news is that Julie Amero is no longer being pursued by the state of Connecticut for imagined crimes. The bad news is that she had to cop a plea to a minor offense and surrender her teaching credentials. Good news overall, as there is no more prosecutorial threat against her. Amero was a substitute teacher using a classroom computer which then erupted in a storm of pornographic popups. Responsible forensic analysis would show that the computer was infected with spyware, but the state chose to blame Amero and to prosecute and convict her for exposing children to porn; the penalty could have been up to 40 years in prison. The conviction was overturned when the forensics showed that she was not responsible, but the state refused to abandon their case, 4 years and 2 months after it all began, Amero pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. She was fined $100 and her Connecticut teaching credentials were revoked. Amero says she has no intention of teaching again in the state anyway. Amero's case drew broad attention in the anti-malware community as a horrifying example of the potential for abuse resulting from ignorance of computer security matters. Some blame belongs with the school administration which failed to protect the computer, but the real disgrace is with the prosecutors who were interested only in a conviction and not in the truth. In that sense it has nothing whatever to do with computers. The story may be over in one way, but it needs to be remembered so that there are no more Julie Amero cases. Source: PCMag.Com, Julie Amero Case Ends
Today in high risk sensitive environments implementing security has become a multi-layered approach. The more layers of IT security protection you implement, the more secure your endpoints become. This equates to less vulnerability to hackers, malware, and embarrassing security breaches that could prove costly an entity’s reputation and bottom line. Moving to a least privileges environment should be strongly considered. The added layer of protection offered by locking down desktops in a least privileges environment further protects companies from unwanted incidents. Educational institutions and businesses alike are turning to Viewfinity for a privilege management solution that creates a least privileges environment adding an extra layer of IT security protection. Learn more about the Viewfinity Privilege Management product.
Select Customers:
- Indian Prairie School District
- Kilgore College
- University of Pittsburgh
- Mount Vernon Community School District
- South Texas College
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Wilson School District
- UNT Dallas
- East Georgia College
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Prairie View A&M University
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