Data Security

Phil Repp, Vice President for Information Technology, Ball State University

Thanks to all for a great evening on the security roundtable!

I was struck by the shared opinions on social media and its link to information security practices. We seemed to agree that IT organizations can only do so much and the primary, and most critical, strategy is to educate the user of social media.  Abuses of privacy and exposing personal information will end when people stop responding to phishing or other tricks that ask for personal information. Information security starts with a single individual.

There is a wealth of data on individuals out on the Internet – location, banking information, medications, heart rate data from your morning run, caloric consumption, personal ruminations, maybe even your shoe size!  Before a user sends any or all of this kind data into the cloud, he or she should stop and think before they reveal – yes, even your shoe size. Watch what you click, make sure it is a secure site, and read the privacy policies first. How many people have read the privacy policies for Facebook or Twitter?  Probably very few!  Know that scams are everywhere, so be wary and vigilant.