TENAFLY, N.J. – Security is a word that brings up many different images depending on your experience, profession or industry. At a University, not only is the context different than at a bank, but it is different depending on what you are trying to secure. I do not believe that providing security for an organization is a cookbook operation, you will need to understand the needs of the department, the sensitivity of the data, the rules covering the entity and the risks that they are willing to assume. I also do not believe that perfect security is possible in the real world (unless the computer is in the box, with a wiped hard drive and no BIOS installed.)
Often when you look at the security model that a corporation uses, it resembles the banking model for money storage before the ATM ? big thick walls (firewalls) with guards with guns and dogs trying to keep the money (data) from getting out. The perimeter was well defined and secured.
The problem with using this model to secure data in an open environment is that most data at a University is meant to be shared, and unstructured collaboration is not an option, it is a requirement.
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