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Your source for the latest tips, information, and current campus safety resources from the NCCPS.
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Cybersecurity and Higher Education
College and university students, faculty, staff members, and guests access the internet on campus with devices that include laptops, tablets, and smartphones of varying brands and capabilities to learn, share, and collaborate with others. The internet was created by academic professionals for use on campuses with the purpose of sharing intellectual thoughts, ideas, and concepts of a collaborative nature.
No one could have predicted how the internet landscape would evolve, lending itself to criminal activity, espionage, and the explosion of commerce. These changes have forced institutions of higher education (IHEs) to work diligently to safeguard personal information and the computer security of their campuses. They strive to create a proper balance between cybersecurity and openness, which can be costly, difficult, or even unsuccessful. For example, Rutgers University spent more than $3M with three different cybersecurity firms in 2015, yet their system was hacked six times that year alone. Other IHEs were also not immune to the increasing technical abilities of hackers; the University of California, Berkeley; Harvard University; and University of Connecticut all suffered breaches as well. The potential information at risk with such breaches includes credit card data, social security numbers, health records, and more.
The National Consortium for Advanced Policing (NACP) recently released the
Cybersecurity Guide for State and Local Law Enforcement (PDF). The guide examines the individuals or groups who are involved in cybersecurity attacks; their motives; tactics and methods; vulnerabilities of law enforcement agencies; what agencies can do; and resources. NACP also released an issue brief,
Cybersecurity for State and Local Law Enforcement: A Policy Roadmap to Enhance Capabilities (PDF). The brief is a companion to the guide and focuses on "how policy-makers at federal, state and local levels, both in the executive and legislative branches of government, can take steps to improve the cyber authorities and capabilities of state and local law enforcement."
In addition, the FBI has developed a new
Cyber Investigation Certification Program with Carnegie Mellon University and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. This self-guided online program has an assessment at the end of the training and is available to all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement personnel. The first course is currently available, and other courses are in planning and development.
Each
FBI field office
is staffed with cyber security experts. Campus public safety departments are encouraged to reach out to them through their campus liaison agent before a cyber breach occurs.
In October 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Seminar and Tabletop Exercise for Institutions of Higher Education held an event that focused on the cyber threat landscape across the U.S. higher education community. More than 280 participants from 80 colleges and universities across 32 states and the District of Columbia attended, including senior higher education leaders, as well as federal, state and local representatives from departments and agencies that support campus resilience. In addition to the tabletop exercise, the event included FBI-led classified threat briefing, a case study panel, and several workshops. The summary report from this event will be available in the coming weeks with a summary of the findings, discussion, conclusion, and next steps. We will inform you when this occurs and how to access the report.
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Updated NCCPS Trauma-Informed Institute Schedule!
The Institute is open to representatives from institutions of higher education and their local partners involved in the investigation and adjudication of sexual and gender-based violence reports on campus. We encourage representation from your campus/community multi-disciplinary teams and discounts are available for institutions registering five or more participants at the same time. Space is limited - a design intended to promote learner success through more in-depth engagement with our faculty - so register today to save your seat!
Stay tuned for upcoming Institute dates in future
Weekly Snapshot
bulletins and
contact us
or check out our
website
for additional information.
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Preparing for and Responding to Student Activism on Campus
College and university campuses have seen an increase in student activism this year. Due in part to a growing interest in political and community engagement, students have participated in protests and other forms of activism to bring awareness to issues related to racism and racial discrimination, campus employees, foreign policy, and state laws on sexual orientation to list a few. In some cases, students compiled lists of demands for institutional leadership calling for changes like the removal of certain school faculty and administrators, greater student and/or faculty diversity, increased support for multicultural services, improved mental health assistance for minority students, and better handling of police misconduct. The protests and sit-ins have varied in length, from one day to several weeks, and are often encouraged and supported via social media by students on other campuses expressing their solidarity.
Findings from
The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2015 (PDF) study, part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) and administered nationally by the Higher Education Research Institute at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, found that interest in political and civic engagement has reached the highest levels since the study began 50 years ago. The survey of 141,189 full-time, first-year students from around the U.S. found that nearly 1 in 10 incoming first-year students expects to participate in student protests while in college. "Student activism seems to be experiencing a revival, and last fall's incoming freshman class appears more likely than any before it to take advantage of opportunities to participate in this part of the political process," said Kevin Eagan, director of CIRP. "We observed substantial gains in students' interest in political and community engagement across nearly every item on the survey related to these issues."
- Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Policing - This report includes best practices and recommendations identified by the Task Force on 21st Century Policing on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. One section, Pillar 2. Policy & Oversight (pp. 19-30), provides recommendations and action items that include policing mass demonstrations.
- Maintaining Safety And Order On College And University Campuses During Protests And Demonstrations: Promising Practices - This For Official Use Only (FOUO) report offers an array of proven concepts, ideas, and resources identified and discussed during the focus group meeting that campus law enforcement executives may choose from to maintain safety and security when encountering a public protest or demonstration. Law Enforcement personnel may request a copy of this document.
- Responding to Campus Protests: A Practitioner Resource - This issue of Legal Links offers student affairs professionals with a resource for addressing campus protests. It contains short articles that identify key legal rules applicable to campus protests, suggest policy language for student codes of conduct, distinguish between practices at private and public institutions, present advice on partnering with campus police, and more.
- Response to Protests on UC Campuses - Following physical conflict between police and protesters during demonstrations at UC Berkeley and UC Davis in November 2011, the university's president requested a review of existing policies and practices regarding the university's response to demonstrations and civil disobedience. This resulting report includes 49 recommendations in nine areas to guide the UC system and campuses in how to respond to future protests effectively by addressing roles and responsibilities; policies; organization and structure; and training.
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Access our online calendar of events.
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Professional Development Opportunities
Title: Clery Act Changes Webinar
Hosted by: National Association of Campus Safety Administrators (NACSA)
Date: August 4, 2016 at 1:30PM ET
Location: Online
Fee: Free
Title: Sports and Special Events Incident Management (MGT404)
Hosted by: Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)
Dates and Locations:
- August 23-24, 2016 in Atlanta, GA
- September 13-14, 2016 in Martinsville, VA
- September 27-28, 2016 in Suffolk, VA
Fee: Free
Your Institution Could Host FEMA's L0363 Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Higher Education Course in 2017!
L0363 Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Higher Education is a 3-day course that provides institutions of higher education with the knowledge and planning strategies to better protect lives, property, and operations within the context of comprehensive emergency management. The primary audience for this training is personnel from institutions of higher education who have responsibilities for creating, reviewing, implementing, and exercising EOPs. Because of the high interest in this course, an application process has been created to assist in the selection and scheduling of host institutions. You may visit FEMA's Academic Emergency Management and Related Courses (AEMRC) - Host Institution Application
web page
to download the
course application or contact Tina Hovermale for more information.
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Send us your requests for campus safety information and resources. We're happy to help!
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Trauma-Informed Sexual Assault Investigation and Adjudication Institute
Join us for one of our next scheduled Institutes!
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Emerging Issues
Forums
Reports from our emerging issues forums can be downloaded.
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