The California State University system operates 23 campuses throughout the state. Malware infections pose a significant challenge for universities since they must operate very open networks that support an unlimited number of access devices. To evaluate the impact of malware on the San Marcos campus, Trusteer and California State University created a five week internship program for 10 students led by company security researchers. The goal of the study was to assess the presence of malware on the campus network and develop an INFOSEC policy to help protect endpoints from infection.
“Malware is a big and growing threat to the California State University system and every other higher education institution in the country,” said Teresa Macklin, Director of Information Security for California State University at San Marcos. “It was a privilege for 10 of our students to learn and work side by side with Trusteer experts for five weeks. This was an invaluable experience for them, while their findings will help us improve the security of our campus networks across the state.”
Ten students from the San Marcos campus were selected to participate in the five week research study led by Trusteer security experts. To assess the impact of malware on the CSUSM campus, the program focused on:
a. Identifying various malware types
b. Studying malware impact on various operating systems and applications
c. Investigating malware and application exploits across mobile devices
d. Evaluating prevention measures to protect against Day Zero malware, social engineering attacks and credential theft
“University campuses are some of the most difficult networks to protect against malware,” said John Gormally, Enterprise Sales Manager for Trusteer, an IBM company. “Working with the University of California and this talented group of students gave our researchers valuable visibility into malware activity and behavior that is difficult to replicate anywhere else. This study was a great learning experience for everyone involved.”