Advanced Data Protection for Higher Education

Institutes of higher learning have unique and demanding data protection requirements in the best of times, but the job is especially demanding in these days of global pandemic. In a panel recently hosted by Signal Sciences, security experts from colleges and universities reported that they are not only challenged to protect the apps and APIs that enable normal business operations, but also to safely deliver crucial academic services like distance learning.

During the pandemic, institutions are forced to expand the use of virtual courseware and make broad use of video conferencing apps that need to be delivered and secured rapidly at scale. At the same time, there has been a six-fold increase in phishing attacks targeting staff and students. With their large numbers of users, universities are a juicy target for hackers looking for personal and financial information.

These data protection challenges are putting unprecedented pressure on higher education managers, particularly in IT.

Against a backdrop of tightening budgets and student data privacy regulations, university data protection managers are often the last line of defense against cybercrime. With heightened emphasis on distance learning, they face the twin challenges of compliance with privacy regulations and data protection for remote learning. Many schools are navigating uncharted waters, especially those pushed to create and implement e-learning plans quickly for the first time.

While most higher education institutions have data backup strategies in place, many are not taking advantage of public cloud storage. That’s changing now, as colleges and universities of all sizes begin to investigate cloud-based storage solutions delivered either as Software as a Service (SaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service. An important criterion is backup software that can speak natively to the university’s chosen cloud solution.

The Compass^® Advantage for Higher Education

Compass, the enterprise-scale data protection solution from Cobalt Iron, is built from the ground up to address these challenges and requirements. With industry-leading ransomware protection features, a pay-as-you-grow SaaS delivery model, and extensive cloud support, Compass takes the pressure off of resource-strapped data backup and recovery teams.

Higher-education IT managers can rest easy, knowing the entire backup landscape is secure. Rapid recovery and robust cyber security protection are not add-ons with Compass, but key features for customers.

Here’s how Compass addresses the unique and complex data protection requirements of higher education:

• A pay-as you go SaaS delivery model eliminates over provisioning while ensuring that customers operate with the most current features, security, and software updates every day.
• Compass requires zero backup expertise and sets IT teams up for success with a single dashboard to manage the full landscape of data protection.
• The ability to support backup and recovery in any type of environment – physical, virtual, cloud, and hybrid cloud.
• Built into every deployment of Compass, the Cyber Shield security features provide industry-leading protection for the backup data to ensure that you can fully recover from a cyber attack.

The Cobalt Iron team is ready to show you how Compass can help your higher education institution protect vital and sensitive data, while also ensuring operational continuity and compliance.

Visit our higher education page for more information, and contact our team today for a data protection consultation.