US Colleges Open Networks in a Cyberwar

A cyberattack that crippled Rutgers University recently was part of a string of attacks that attempt to exploit weaknesses that are unique to the way US colleges operate.
The attack, which was the third at Rutgers since November, came as institutions of higher education try to make it as easy to use a computer at school as at home, allowing students to do everything from downloading a song to accessing information from around the globe, all while keeping vast computer networks operating.
“It’s not to say we don’t also protect,” said Neal Sturm, chief information officer at Farleigh Dickinson University, which also was hit by a cyberattack last month. “But a university has students and has faculty, and it becomes much more challenging for universities to completely lock the door from a security perspective because universities are supposed to be open by their very nature.”
In the attempt to infiltrate colleges and universities, cyber criminals are using smarter, more sophisticated methods than ever. They set out to steal financial information, make a splash or a statement or carry out a vendetta against a school. School employees update programs and block suspicious users daily while they plead with staff and students not to open those links that pretend to be from a bank or a friend.
At Rutgers the Internet service was crippled just nine days before finals were to begin. Students couldn’t finish papers, take online classes or register for courses. The university has made no public statements on the attack except to tell students two to three times a day that they were working on the problem.
It has gotten easier and cheaper to launch a denial of service attack, and infected computers can be rented for that purpose, experts say. It’s hard to prevent them and even large companies, like Sony and Microsoft, have been victims.
In a spate of attacks last year at schools, including Indiana University and the University of Maryland, student and staff data were exposed. The hackers gained access to the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of thousands of current and former students.
The FBI has also warned that foreign interests are trying to steal research from universities for political and economic gain.
Certainly, Rutgers’ reputation has taken a hit, with its problems being aired in the media as high school seniors are deciding which colleges to attend.
Students have vented in hundreds of online comments. They complained that they couldn’t get their work done and that they needed to use their own phones at their own expense for Internet service. A few said on Twitter that they felt like switching schools.
Crime rings and hackers are going after universities because they view them as easy targets, security experts say. Colleges and universities want to promote learning and want students living on campus to feel like they’re home. At the same time, they store a wealth of information, like credit card and Social Security numbers and faculty research papers.
In response to the growing threat, schools have to revise their plans constantly and be prepared for a crisis as it’s not if it happens, it’s when.
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