Because colleges and universities are high-value targets, campuses are extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks. Higher ed institutions hold valuable research, IP, and volumes of personal information on current and former students and staff. Ransomware is on the rise, and according to RFID and contactless technology supplier, ELATEC, nearly 75% of this type of cyberattack against campuses succeed.

But they say, there are things that can be done to minimize your institution’s risk, and campus cards and credentials can play a part in the effort.

The university can take advantage of the ID badge or mobile credentialing system already in place for physical access control on campus

It is widely known that password-based authentication systems are highly vulnerable, still many colleges and universities rely on them for a range of user authentications. Eliminating passwords is crucial for a variety of reason:

• Weak passwords and reuse across applications leave accounts vulnerable to brute force attacks and credential stuffing
• Password sharing between with friends compromises system security
• Phishing attacks and social engineering trick users into revealing passwords
• Malware records keystrokes to capture passwords
• Improperly stored passwords – without sufficient hashing and salting – can expose passwords in mass.

Increasingly, password-based authentication systems are being replaced by more secure solutions that rely on cards, mobile credentials, and multifactor authentication.

Cards and mobile credentials require a physical token to be present for authentication, introducing an additional layer of security. “In most cases, the university can take advantage of the ID badge or mobile credentialing system already in place for physical access control (PAC) on campus, creating additional simplicity for users and university IT,” says an ELATEC spokesperson.

Contactless cards and mobile credential systems utilize encryption, making unauthorized access or cloning more difficult. When combined with PINs and biometrics on the mobile device, authentication methods stronger multifactor authentication is achieved.

To learn more about how cards and credentials can help reduce risk for cyberattacks, read the article at ELATEC.com.