Page 86 - Security Today, November/December 2021

Security Tactics
Keeping our nation’s college and university population safe and secure requires the partnership of college administrators, law enforcement and security pro- fessionals. Colleges place a high priority on ensuring that their students, staff and visitors are safe and that their reputation as a safe and secure place of study remains intact.
Protecting Human, System and Physical Assets
Effective security designed for campuses should protect three major areas including Human Assets: students, staff, employees, visitors; Sys- tem Assets: counting proprietary and confidential assets such as research and development material; and Physical Assets: buildings, computers, and any tangible physical asset that the college deems valuable.
Every campus has its own character and when building a campus security plan, it is important to conduct a comprehensive security assessment first that reviews human, system and physical assets to identify security gaps and determine how to amend those gaps. Unfortunately, many colleges and universities fail to conduct a base- line security assessment and instead plug in on-the-fly solutions as security problems arise.
Everyone in the campus population needs to be actively involved in the security practices and protocol. It is vitally important that the population knows what the proper practice and protocol is for secu- rity practices in the event of an incident. By way of example, consider a graduate student whose notebook computer is missing. There are confidential R&D documents on the computer, and, as such, should report the theft to campus security, which should notify general counsel and IT.
The mass notification system on campus needs to be up-to-date and the campus population needs to be educated on the campus emergency response plan. When there is a critical incident, such as a workplace violence situation or a hurricane warning, the population should not be wondering what to do, but should be following the plan and heading to safety.
All security technology on campus, from access control to alarm systems, needs to be regularly tested. It is not uncommon for a col- lege to learn that they have banks of alarms on walk ways, for exam- ple, that have not been tested and that are not functioning properly. Consider a student or teacher who feels threatened and pulls the alarm to notify security staff only to learn it does not work.
Campus security plays a pivotal and evolving role in community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and in trade and voca- tional schools. Campus security staff need to train continually and understand exactly what to do in the event of an emergency. Institu- tions need to work with their campus security team to conduct "table- top" drills on their timely warning and emergency notifications pro- cedures and processes to test effectiveness and for process improvement. Important documented results and that all findings lead to improved processes.
Information Security on Campus
Colleges and universities should maintain an information security policy to provide a security framework that ensures the protection of campus information from unauthorized access, loss or damage while supporting the open, information-sharing needs of an academic cul- ture. Classifying information is important; dictating what level of security is placed on that information and establishing whether the information is internal, restricted or public.
The email system design needs to include auditing and logging control for quick and inappropriate use to support an investigation. Built-in trigger warnings, such as certain attachments should not be delivered outside of internal distribution.
Information systems must be rigorously maintained, and with updated software systems to prevent malware attacks, phishing and ransomware.
Consider a security warning about a predator on campus that is generated from a crowd-based risk intelligence and safety system, which is shared with a physical security team who can act and ensure that a threat doesn’t become a tragedy. Telemetry gleaned from cam- eras, which alert to suspicious activity which empowers on-the- ground security professionals to take action?
Campus Security
While college campuses are statistically safer than the at-large com- munity, a major reason is the deployment of dedicated and highly visible security resources committed to keeping campuses safer. Campus security must find the right balance between creating an open and free environment and upholding the duty to protect people and property. The solution includes a mix of staff, technology, facility design, and crime prevention education to develop a program that is effective and affordable.
Keeping campuses safer requires preparing for and responding to many possible threats. Is the campus doing what they need to effec- tively balance their risks with a tight budget? Key questions for cam- pus administrators to ask to ensure they are building an effective security program include:
1. Are you spending appropriately given the risks your campus uniquely faces?
2. Do you have the right mix of sworn and non-sworn officers?
3. Are your public safety officers equipped and trained?
4. Have you thoroughly evaluated the implications of using students
in any quasi-security roles? What are the overtime implications for
understaffing?
5. Do you have the ability to surge to meet seasonal and emergency
demands without taxing your staff?
There are many different risks connected with various types of institutions and each campus has a unique profile given its urban nature, types of programs, hours of operation, and building mix. Stakeholder expectations are rising with serious legal and liability
34 campuslifesecurity.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
By Craig Matsumoto
Administration Partnership
High priority placed on security to protect students, staff and visitors