5 Steps to Secure Your University's Wi-Fi

Higher education has been revolutionized by technological innovation, particularly with the emergence of campus Wi-Fi solutions. Connectivity is no longer considered a "nice-to-have." Campus administrators cannot afford to cut corners on reliable, secure campus Wi-Fi solutions. Students and faculty require (and demand) reliable, secure campus Wi-Fi connectivity from anywhere, at any time, and on any device.

Many schools and institutions create a "free love" environment for using their wireless network in order to achieve this expectation. They want to make accessibility as simple as possible for users across campus, from the classroom to the dorm room.

However, with this level of transparency comes major security threats. As a result, campus IT personnel are challenged to deliver the feeling of "free love" while keeping the school and its wireless users safe.

The Campus Security Risks of “Free Love” Wi-Fi

The academic climate on college and university campuses has changed. Only a few decades ago, study and research were accomplished through book-based activities, with students spending their time exploring library shelves for the information they required. Projects were submitted on paper, assessment was conducted on paper, and communication between students and instructors occurred in person.

Then came the Internet. Today, every student carries a smartphone with them at all times, notes are taken on laptops and tablets, research can be done without ever entering the library, and the primary modes of contact are email, instant message, text message, and video chat. Furthermore, students expect to be able to connect wirelessly not just their computers for research and study, but also their personal mobile devices and even game consoles.

As schools roll out "free love" Wi-Fi over their campuses to provide users with constant connectivity, they frequently leave their networks wide open – in some circumstances, without requiring any credentials to log in. This obviously poses a significant security and visibility concern.

With no visibility or control over the devices and apps on an open network, network performance may deteriorate when high-bandwidth/high-risk programs (such as BitTorrent and streaming) consume more of the available bandwidth. Furthermore, because student and staff information is at stake, it is critical that the campus's wireless networking infrastructure be reinforced against cyber attacks, ransomware, and other dangerous circumstances.

Steps to Protecting Wi-Fi on a "Free Love" Campus

Step 1: Take Action to Restrict User Access

As more students and users connect to the Wi-Fi network, each device will do whatever it is programmed to do once connected. Students' photographs, apps, and communications will automatically sync and backup, consuming important network capacity and exposing the system to risks.

As a result, universities must ensure that they are regulating the bandwidth available to their students. User access controls must be enforced to keep the network from becoming too slow or overburdened, as well as to protect against malicious intrusions.

Step 2: Implement IoT and Wearables Policies

"The Internet of Things has ushered in a new era of connectivity." We've been able to link previously unconnected everyday devices to the Internet and uncover new methods to interact with them...And with all of the breakthroughs and inventions, we've become more aware of the bigger ramifications of connection." (Technology on Campus)

One of the more significant ramifications is security, which necessitates advanced integrations with the school firewall. To prevent invasions, apply policies to your entire wireless network.

Many advanced wireless networks communicate bidirectionally with next-generation firewalls to enable advanced activities. A user who violates a firewall policy, for example, may have that information communicated to the WLAN, and the user may be deauthorized at the access point. This step prevents the user from engaging in any more nefarious activities.

Step 3: Carry out an Authentication Procedure

Use 802.1x to implement secure authentication. "802.1x is adaptable because it is built on the Extensible Authentication Protocol." EAP (IETF RFC 2284) is a very adaptable standard. 802.1x includes a variety of EAP authentication mechanisms such as MD5, TLS, TTLS, LEAP, PEAP, SecurID, SIM, and AKA." (From Computer World)

You may still give the impression of "free love" with a single login per device every semester, while allowing IT employees to retain security and visibility on the back end.

Step 4: Improve Bandwidth and Security

When you add more users to your network, security becomes an issue. The more bandwidth you have, the harder your security equipment must work. As a result, they may get overburdened and fail to "open," enabling full access to your network.

Even if you have a segmented guest network, individuals who use it are still at risk of obtaining a virus from another user's machine if a posture check is not implemented. Because people are the ones who might possibly introduce viruses and malware, you must have a system in place to comprehend the hazards and prevent users from generating problems.

Step 5: Build a Strong IT Team

Applying all of these critical measures and maintaining network security across the university requires the expertise and experience of a robust IT team. Consider teaming with a network security solutions vendor that has the resources and knowledge to make your campus's network "appear" open while still safeguarding it using the appropriate networking protocol on the back end.

There's no need to forgo "free love" or campus security if you use the appropriate strategy. Read on for additional information on how to create a high-performing and secure wireless networking architecture.