Cybersecurity Services for Universities, High Schools and other Educational Institutions
Raising your cyber resilience to protect sensitive data
> Markets > Public Sector > Education
20+ YEARS EXPERIENCE IN THE Educational Institutions.
PARTNERSHIPS WITH MANY Universities and High Schools.
Expert in Integrated Cybersecurity.
Within the educational sector, information security and data protection are crucial. Many organizations in this sector manage large amounts of privacy-sensitive and fraud-sensitive data. These data need to be well-protected from a confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) perspective.
To protect public data is not an easy task. The attack surface is wide. Hackers might attack public information systems from various angles, with all kinds of objectives. Cybercriminals force victims to pay ransom or use data to blackmail people. Others may want to simply expose confidential data to the public. Even nation states are active: to influence elections or to frustrate the society in another country or continent. There are many serious threats that public organizations need to defend themselves against.
HONORABLE WORK
Secura employees who work on government projects usually choose to do so deliberately. A survey among our employees revealed the following motivations:
- Employees describe their work on behalf of the government as socially relevant, because it impacts the safety of the Netherlands as a whole, rather than individual companies
- Employees feel proud to work on government projects for the – they also use the word 'honorable'
- Working on government projects is more challenging, because there are more customized systems involved.
One of Secura's pentesters put it this way: 'I'd rather prevent a state actor from flooding a part of the Netherlands or stealing thousands of people's identities than maintaining a company's reputation.' Her colleague added, 'The variety in work is huge: from trash bin sensors to supercomputers.' And: 'The fact that a document can be made public via the Freedom of Information Act makes the work extra challenging. It requires a good understanding of the administrative and social context in which our customers operate.'
HOW TO SECURE THE PUBLIC SECTOR?
PEOPLE
Security is a matter of People, Process and Technology. Recent large cases of phishing and social engineering are proof that even established organizations are still vulnerable to a weak human factor. Organizations with Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Data Protection Officers (DPOs) in charge of security, must face the reality that the human factor needs continuous attention. Employees have access to important data, exchange important files, and they might even have the knowledge and be aware of security aspects. However, to get them to behave accordingly requires a comprehensive security awareness & behavioral program.
PROCESS
From a process perspective, an Information Security Management System (ISMS) is required by regulation. Most of these are based on processes and controls as defined in ISO 27001. The Dutch government uses the ‘Baseline Informatiebeveiliging Overheid’ (BIO), schools and universities rely on SURF guidelines and Dutch healthcare providers use NEN 7510 as a baseline for information security. It is important to have these systems in place and act accordingly. Especially when it comes to dealing with sensitive public data, annual assurance assessments are required for DigiD / ENSIA / Suwinet / VIPP / NVZ / NEN 7510. As well as up-to-date privacy/GDPR/DPIA agreements.
TECHNOLOGY
When it comes to technology, public organizations use a wide variety of systems and technologies. Ranging from old legacy systems, applications and infrastructure to software hosted by a cloud service provider and mobile apps, each of these can contain undiscovered vulnerabilities that require to be (pen)tested. Our Red Team thoroughly assesses security in both information technology and operational technology (to manage buildings, bridges and traffic) environments. Even with SIEM/SOCs in place, these systems can’t be blindly trusted. For public welfare, it is important that these systems are continually tested and monitored.
Contact Us
Would you like to learn more about cybersecurity services for your organization? Please fill out the form and we will contact you within one business day.
ABOUT SECURA
Secura is a leading cybersecurity expert. Our customers range from government and healthcare to finance and industry worldwide. Secura offers technical services, such as vulnerability assessments, penetration testing and red teaming. We also provide certification for IoT and industrial environments, as well as audits, forensic services and awareness training. Our goal is to raise your cyber resilience.
Secura is a Bureau Veritas company. Bureau Veritas (BV) is a publicly listed company specialized in testing, inspection and certification. BV was founded in 1828, has over 80.000 employees and is active in 140 countries. Secura is the cornerstone of the cybersecurity strategy of Bureau Veritas.