Key points:
- Universities can future-proof their systems and position themselves competitively
- Higher-ed is fighting ransomware, but IT teams pay the price
- Amid uncertainty, IT leaders outline priorities for higher ed
- For more on higher education and access control, visit eCN’s Cybersecurity hub
In June, a targeted attack compromised 2.5 million Columbia University application records. Along with exposing personal applicant details, the breach caused a widespread IT outage that shut down the university’s email and digital systems.
While alarming, this type of incident is far from rare. As the education sector faces an average of 4,356 cyber threats per week, the question for universities is not if an attack will occur, but how prepared they are to defend against one.
Access control is an often-overlooked cornerstone of that defense. When campus authentication systems are fragmented and outdated, attackers can exploit non-secure credentials to breach systems and extract sensitive data.
Firewalls and monitoring tools have their place, but they can’t offset weak identity management. By implementing secure and integrated access control, universities can strengthen defenses and reduce friction for students, faculty and IT teams.
Outdated access control systems put sensitive data at risk
It’s no surprise that education remains, by one measure, the most targeted industry worldwide for cyberattacks. Higher education institutions manage vast amounts of research, financial data, and personally identifiable information (PII), including tuition records and financial aid files that house social security numbers. These high-value prizes, combined with hundreds of endpoints across sprawling campuses, present attackers with ideal conditions for data theft.
Compounding the risk, many universities still rely on proximity and magstripe cards to manage physical access to residence halls, classrooms, and administrative offices. These credentials can be stolen or cloned using inexpensive tools, enabling attackers to access buildings with a seemingly legitimate credential.
Once inside, they can often use the same cloned credential to access shared workstations or printers. Even if devices require a login, weak logical access controls, like shared or reused passwords, open the door to broader system compromise.
On a busy campus, a single compromised credential can quickly escalate into a full-scale breach. And while the average cost of a data breach is $4.4 million, the financial impact is only part of the equation. Reputational damage and loss of trust can take far longer to repair, potentially affecting an institution’s ability to attract applicants and funding.
The challenge of securing campus environments is significant, but it’s one that universities can overcome with the right strategy. Institutions have the opportunity to integrate physical and logical access control to simplify authentication processes and establish a unified defense against data theft.
3 steps for higher education institutions to establish strong access control
A more secure university environment starts with smarter credential management. These three steps can help institutions modernize access control and improve the student and faculty experience:
- Unify physical and logical access control
Many institutions use a single credential for access to campus buildings and services, but this integration should also extend to digital systems.
With unified access control, students can use one credential to enter dorms, log into their university email or coursework portal, or unlock secure pay-to-print systems.
At the same time, the access management system can provide end-to-end visibility for administrators. For example, if a person attempts to log in to an administrator workstation without first badging into the corresponding building, that anomaly will flag in real time. When all events are monitored with full audit trails, IT teams gain a complete picture of campus activity.
Equally important is securing the credentials themselves. Modern encrypted credentials are resistant to cloning and tampering, closing security gaps left by outdated proximity and magstripe cards. However, since campus departments often vary in their existing hardware and software systems, migration paths may require tailored planning. Universities can navigate potential hurdles by taking a phased approach and partnering with experienced technology providers.
- Eliminate the password burden for students and faculty
Ninety-nine percent of identity attacks are password-based, and university environments are prime targets.
When students and staff set weak passwords or reuse their university credentials across non-academic platforms, cybercriminals can harvest those credentials to access university systems. Even with safeguards like multi-factor authentication, traditional username-and-password logins remain vulnerable to phishing and brute force attacks.
A better approach is to eliminate passwords entirely. With single sign-on via campus ID badges, students and faculty can simply tap their encrypted card or mobile device to access learning platforms, library systems and other digital resources.
The benefit is twofold: Users can authenticate in seconds, and IT teams eliminate the burden of password resets and a major source of human error that contributes to breaches.
- Leverage mobile credentials
Students and faculty already rely on their smartphones for everything from texting to banking. Using them for campus access is a natural next step.
Mobile credentials allow users to authenticate into buildings and systems with their phones, replacing physical cards that can be lost, stolen, or damaged. And since mobile credentials live in digital wallets, they leverage built-in smartphone biometric security features such as Face ID and fingerprint scanning.
In addition to offering a more seamless user experience, mobile credentials reduce IT workload. Students and faculty can independently download and activate their credentials through an account management application, making the provisioning process faster and less cumbersome.
Remember that students increasingly evaluate universities based on the overall campus experience. A modern, streamlined credentialing system signals that an institution values innovation and invests in a convenient, tech-forward learning environment.
Build a more secure foundation for campus access
For higher education institutions, every login or card swipe can verify trust–or expose sensitive information. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, strengthening data security requires an integrated approach to access control.
By combining physical and logical access control, eliminating password-based authentication, and embracing mobile credentials, campuses can establish a proactive defense. While it’s tempting to postpone modernization, universities that act now can future-proof their systems and position themselves competitively in the higher education market.
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