UNC installs online safeguards

In an effort to secure students’ personal information and avoid identity theft, University officials last week contracted a leader in Internet protection.

Covelight Percept Protection and Fraud Management System will be used as a safeguard for Student Central.

“We are trying to make computing safer for everyone,” said Douglas Brown, manager of security resources at the University. “We are very interested in protecting the sensitive information that is out there.”

Bruce Pharr, director of corporate marketing for Covelight, said Percept is a device for privacy protection and fraud management that will protect important information, such as a person’s ethnicity and personal identification number that are available on Student Central.

Pharr said the two sectors that experience the most cases of identity theft and other breeches are financial institutes and university campuses.

“I recall when registration was when you stood in a long line in the gym,” Pharr said.

“Now registration is this tremendous time-saving portal. Along with that convenience goes the fact that it opens doors for people with malicious intent to access student information.”

Pharr said most security hardware is focused on protecting the perimeter to make sure hackers are not coming in from the outside.

These types of hardware do not, however, make much of an impact on open-access portals that can be accessed with stolen identification and passwords.

“We are looking at activity that is typical. If we start detecting a different level of activity then we are alerted to take action,” Pharr said.

“If a student logs in from two separate locations at the same time, then something isn’t right.”

The University has used Covelight security products for more than a year.

“This isn’t anything new or different; this is a company we are familiar with, and we have been using their products for a while,” Brown said.

Brown also said Covelight is only one piece of the puzzle in UNC-Chapel Hill’s computer security system.

“Our approach to security has several different layers, like an onion,” he said. “This is just one layer of the onion.”

UNC-CH is not the only state university using Percept.

Pharr said UNC-Pembroke also is using the device on three of its applications: online course manager, recruiting and a student faculty portal.

Pharr said he applauds the University’s effort to secure its online systems.

“It shows tremendous foresight on behalf of the University,” he said. “They are taking action before something happens, and that is to protect you and your information.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.