Go to the Advent IM Website for FREE downloads of these and other Whitepapers from Advent IM specialists
Security in Independent Education Sector – this whitepaper discusses some of the challenges and threats that Independent Education facilities need to consider along with some advice and guidance
Security for SMEs – this whitepaper looks at the highly diverse sector of SMEs and looks for cost effective security methodologies to improve the security posture of small organisations.
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Schools face a difficult challenge – balancing security and privacy. Whilst pupil and staff safety has to be paramount, Senior Security Consultant for Advent IM explores this challenging area as an expert in this field.
School Security from Advent IM – the one day health check
After a highly successful pilot scheme, Advent IM Ltd announces the launch of its UK wide, Information Security and Data Protection audits for schools and educational facilities – a one day health check for policies and procedures.
Unprecedented levels of staff and pupil personal data, even fingerprints are held by schools and other educational establishments.
The level of personal information held by schools and educational establishments on pupils and students has never been so high. For instance, as well as standard, individual information on address, medical conditions, results, social services reviews etc… many schools now employ fingerprint technology for the issue of school meals and other services. This is highly personal data and schools need to have more than technology in place to secure it. It’s not just about how data is stored but also about who has access to it and how it is moved about and later sanitised or destroyed. To ensure data is adequately secured requires a full understanding of actual and not perceived risks to the security of its data. This means that focus needs to be on where the data needs to be and ensuring appropriate levels of security are in place to mitigate those risks.
Advent IM Ltd, the UKs leading Holistic Security Consultancy, understands the education sector, having worked with many different establishments, from primary schools to Universities. Our new service offering is designed to provide a health check on school policies and procedures to ensure appropriate processes are in place for safeguarding pupil and staff data. This includes not only electronic management of data but also physical control of access to and storage of hard copy data. It underlines internal awareness of the Data Protection Act and can help schools build sustainable policies and procedures to ensure best practice within the Act and wider information security.
Experience shows us time and again that data loss, breach or compromise is more often than not due to human error. In a recent survey by the Ponemon Institute, it was discovered that almost 80% of data breaches came from within, whether it was accidental or intentional. In a school environment, the possibility of a curiosity-based breach via a pupil cannot be ruled out. Indeed, most pupils know technology better than we do and see finding ways to circumnavigate the system as a challenge, but staff can also be a weak link. There are many reasons why the human element is so vulnerable to security lapses. They can be a lack of policy or understanding, or a failure to ensure the policy is understood by all staff. It is rare that a data breach is a malicious act, but making sure all the human aspects are battened down, in addition to the technological security elements, is a “must do” for any school.
One of the schools to go through the pilot scheme was Wren’s Nest in the West Midlands.
“The Consultant gave Wren’s Nest a thorough, detailed information security audit which we found extremely helpful. The report, advice and guidance have provided our organisation with a valuable insight into information security. We will now investigate our current procedures and policies to enable us to move forward and identify further e-safety tools and policies to meet current legislation and reassure all key stakeholders of how seriously we take Information Security. It has clearly highlighted what additions/amendments we need in our action plan for security of IT and data protection for staff and children. The benefit will be; reassuringly robust security for everyone. Thank you.”
Another pilot scheme member was Sutton School and Special College, a repesentative commented:
“It [the audit] highlighted many areas that were not currently being monitored effectively. I will use this report to further enhance policies and procedures within the school. The report is an effective guidance for structured and continuous improvement.”
Advent Im Ltd MD, Mike Gillespie
Advent IM Ltd’s Managing Director,Mike Gillespie said, “This service is a really quick and simple way for a school, academy or college to understand what really needs to be done to ensure its compliance with information security good practice and the Data Protection Act. More than that though, it means that the school gets a realistic picture of where its real threats and risks lie as well as guidance on how to enter a cycle of continuous improvement”
Advent IM 