“Information security is a vital prerequisite for trust in research and scholarship, especially as digitisation progresses,” President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), Professor Dr Horst Hippler, said today in Mannheim. For this reason, he urged university leaders to address information security as a strategic priority. The HRK General Assembly has therefore resolved that a recommendation be prepared for university leaders as well as accompanying implementation guidelines.
“Universities, like other institutions, are increasingly exposed to dangers and risks for information and knowledge,” Hippler said. “As a science organisation, the HRK is leading the way. It is examining possible solutions that give the necessary consideration to academic freedom and autonomy. This means that information security cannot be limited to defensive measures alone; it must protect not only the integrity and confidentiality of information, but also the availability and exchange of information.”
Raising awareness of the problem is a first step towards optimising information security, Professor Dr Monica Gross, the HRK Vice-President responsible for this issue, explained. “Universities must sensitise employees and students to this issue and raise awareness about information security through discussion, campaigns and training.” She said that the overall objective was to create an information security structure that would be updated regularly, be known to all groups of people and, above all, be practised on a daily basis.
Vice-President Gross announced that her committee would prepare a recommendation for university leaders as well as detailed guidelines for mid-level management.
