Texas A&M System Deploys New Tech to Combat Ransomware

skull with key and data symbols

The Texas A&M University System has become an early adopter of a new ransomware solution from Sectigo. The company recently partnered with cryptographic operating system developer SPYRUS to create an automated digital identity product that will help ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of university data, according to a news announcement.

"It is increasingly important for enterprises to manage and secure digital identities properly," explained Damon Kachur, vice president for IoT solutions at Sectigo, in a statement. "The collaboration between Sectigo and SPYRUS combines purpose-built PKI solutions with cryptographic operating systems to fully automate digital identity management, helping to assure organizations that their sensitive data is protected from cybercriminals."

By securing the university's authentication, encryption keys and algorithms, the Texas A&M deployment will allow university researchers to "meet all of the requirements for Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations, which is stipulated by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) clause 252.204-7012 in accordance with NIST SP 800-171," the announcement said.

"We expect solutions offered by SPYRUS and Sectigo to help ensure strong authenticated data encryption that will protect universities' intellectual property," noted Kevin R. Gamache, chief research security officer with The Texas A&M University System. "This model will scale to assure that all university research is secured and compliant with DFARS."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • glowing brain, connected circuits, and abstract representations of a book and graduation cap on a light gray gradient background

    Snowflake Launches Program to Upskill 100,000 People in Data and AI

    Cloud data platform Snowflake is embarking on an effort to train and certify more than 100,000 users on its AI Data Cloud by 2027. The One Million Minds + One Platform program will provide Snowflake-delivered courses, training materials, and free access to Snowflake software, at no cost to learners.

  • two abstract humanoid figures made of interconnected lines and polygons, glowing slightly against a dark gradient background

    Microsoft Introduces Copilot Chat Agents for Education

    Microsoft recently announced Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, a new pay-as-you-go offering that adds AI agents to its existing free chat tool for Microsoft 365 education customers.

  • hand touching glowing connected dots

    Registration Now Open for Tech Tactics in Education: Thriving in the Age of AI

    Tech Tactics in Education has officially opened registration for its May 7 virtual conference on "Thriving in the Age of AI." The annual event, brought to you by the producers of Campus Technology and THE Journal, offers hands-on learning and interactive discussions on the most critical technology issues and practices across K–12 and higher education.

  • Three cubes of noticeably increasing sizes are arranged in a straight row on a subtle abstract background

    A Sense of Scale

    Gardner Campbell explores the notion of scale in education and shares some of his own experience "playing with scale" — scaling up and/or scaling down — in an English course at VCU.