Post-pandemic Data Security and Privacy Challenges: Considerations for the C-Suite

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most higher education institutions to pivot rapidly to a virtual environment. Not even the most creative of table-top exercises imagined a scenario where the viability of the entire enterprise rested on the robustness and integrity of the information technology infrastructure. An anecdotal scan of the higher education landscape seems to suggest that the sector as a whole fared reasonably well, in no small measure due to the ingenuity, expertise, and resilience of our information technology workforce. However, the rapid migration online also expanded the attack surface from a cybersecurity perspective, thus raising a host of data security and privacy challenges. These challenges notwithstanding, presidents (CEOs), provosts (CAOs), business officers (CFOs), and information officers (CIOs) are already leveraging the lessons from the pandemic to re-imagine teaching, learning, and working in the post-pandemic era. Given that cybersecurity is of paramount importance for continuing to operate successfully in a virtual environment, CISOs and CPOs are key leaders who must also be included in these conversations. This session will explore and discuss key considerations C-suite leaders have top of mind relative to data security and privacy as they re-imagine the future of high education, manage the transformation, maintain a strong cybersecurity program, and position the institution for a bright future.