Resources to help combat cybercrime
Cybercrime is costing the UK around £1000 a second according to the Government’s new report and now Jisc is highlighting six key resources to help universities and colleges ensure they do not fall victim.
Institutions have a right - and sometimes a duty - to ensure that their computer systems are not being used for inappropriate purposes, like storage of pornographic images on university computers. They also have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of students and staff.
Jason Miles-Campbell, manager of Jisc Legal, said: “Universities and colleges undertake a balancing act between open access to world-class technology, and ensuring the security of their systems. Institutions must make sure their systems aren’t used as instruments of illegality by criminals, in an age when cybercrime is often conducted through innocent users’ hijacked computers.”
Computer crime can be classified as:
- Content related crime, for example child pornography and criminal copyright infringement
- Traditional crimes committed using a computer, for example harassment, fraud and theft
- Attacks on computers and computer systems, for example hacking
Jason added: “For trust, resilience and reliability, managers need to have the knowledge, policies and procedures in place to ensure illegal activity isn’t happening on the university or college’s servers. Getting it right means learners, researchers and staff can be confident in avoiding the time and trouble that often comes with illegal activity.”
If you're looking at how to make sure your students, staff and systems are protected, take a look at these:
Jisc resources
- Jisc Legal's cybercrime essentials
Ensure that computer systems are not being used for inappropriate purposes by notice and takedown procedures rather than by actively monitoring in general - which may draw increased liability upon the institution - Legal risks and liabilities for IT services in further and higher education
If you're not sure if your institution would be held liable for individual students and staff engaging in illegal activity, see this Jisc Legal paper - JANET acceptable use guidelines
Make sure that you foster a culture of computer use which complies with these Janet guidelines - Dealing with computer crime (PDF)
If you find illegal materials on your institution's computer network, read this advice on the Janet website - JANET's guide to firewalls
A firewall is a simple protection against the spread of viruses. This guide is a good starting point - UCISA infokit
Need to refresh your information security policy to help meet audit requirements? This infoKit addresses threats to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information systems