The Internet of Things is taking college campuses by storm. From a Google Home in a professor’s office to a control system in a campus power plant, IoT devices are rapidly spreading, with no sign of slowing down. Within three years, analysts project, IoT devices may outnumber traditional computing devices by a 2-to-1 ratio. These devices offer diverse benefits, but they also introduce new security concerns.

In fall 2016, hackers drove these concerns home when they harnessed thousands of video cameras and other IoT devices to conduct the largest distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in internet history. Those attacks highlighted the question of IoT security in the minds of many IT leaders. Campuses should learn from this experience and take steps to keep their networks secure in the IoT era.

The Changing Connected Campus

IoT devices aren’t entirely new. Colleges often deploy sensors for physical plants that transmit data about temperature, humidity and other issues to centralized control systems, which use this data to optimize functionality. Such devices were once hard-wired to control systems, but many institutions now connect them to the network.

Published April 17, 2017 on edtechmagazine.com

Read the full story: Keep Your Campus Both Smart and Secure as IoT Expands