Convergence: Yea or Nay?

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Convergence: Yea or Nay?

7/1/2008

By Matt Villano

If you've been thinking about the possibility of converging physical and data security on your campus, it's time for a serious assessment of the pros and cons.

Convergence: Yea or Nay? COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES can never be too prepared, whether for physical attacks or data security breaches. A quick data slice of over 7,000 US higher ed institutions, using the Office of Postsecondary Education's Campus Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool Website and cutting across public and private two- and four-year schools, reveals some startling statistics: In 2006, over 31,000 burglaries, 1,800 robberies, 2,900 aggravated assaults, 2,700 forcible sex offenses, and 5,422 motor vehicle thefts were reported on US campuses. And according to nonprofit consumer organization Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, there have been more than 150 publicly disclosed data breaches at colleges and universities since 2005. Probably more on target, the third annual survey of 151 higher ed IT directors from technology product and service supplier CDW-G reveals that, for the second straight year, 58 percent of survey respondents have experienced a security breach in the last year.

It may not be surprising, then, that a growing number of colleges and universities are responding to these trends by bringing logical (or data) and physical security together. Though the process can be complicated at times, this convergence merges IT with physical security programs such as card access systems, mass notification systems, and network access control. The benefits? By bringing all of these functions under one roof, controlling, containing, and reducing security breaches of all kinds can be easier, more cost-effective and, most importantly, more effective.

Interest in the converged approach is indisputably growing: The CDW-G survey reported that convergence is now a higher priority than in previous years, with 38 percent of respondents claiming they spent more time on this convergence in 2007 than they did in 2006. An even greater portion of survey respondents reported that their institution is primed for convergence: 86 percent noted that their campus has the network infrastructure to support solutions that manage both data and physical security together.

Specifically, schools such as Bryant University (RI) and Golden West College (CA) are leading the charge. Still, converged security isn't for all campuses. Security administrators and technologists at Louisiana State University and Dartmouth College (NH), for example, are hesitant to embrace such convergence, insisting that keeping IT and physical security separate makes each more secure. Still other campus IT and security officials, notably at Penn State, don't believe convergence should even be an issue, if security is approached holistically. Here's a rundown on each approach.