Higher education institutions are consistently targets of ransomware attacks, with 66% of institutions reporting that they were hit by ransomware in 2024, according to Sophos. Because of the heightened risk, institutions need tools that provide security directly to users without further straining IT budgets.
The various security features automatically included with Windows 11 — including Microsoft Defender products, identity protections and application security — give colleges and universities a hefty toolbox of products to work with, offering numerous benefits to students, teachers and IT staff. Here are five things to know about Windows 11 security features.
1. How is Windows 11 Making Sign-on More Secure?
Microsoft’s latest OS comes with Windows Hello, which allows for passwordless authentication. Students and staff can simply look at the camera to sign on rather than having to remember a complex password. Institutions can set up password-free authentication via face recognition or fingerprint verification.
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2. How Does Windows 11 Prevent Data Theft or Exposure?
BitLocker helps prevent data theft or exposure from lost, stolen or inappropriately decommissioned devices. It encrypts entire volumes to protect data from unauthorized access, even if the drive is removed and connected to another system. This feature also automatically encrypts the OS drive and fixed-data drives on devices that meet certain security requirements.
BitLocker can also be set up to require a PIN or a startup key stored on a removable device to unlock the drive during the boot process.
3. How Does Microsoft Purview Work?
Defender for Endpoint, which can be used with a third-party anti-virus platform, provides the telemetry for Purview, Microsoft’s compliance and data security platform. Here, IT professionals can monitor, view and respond to threats, all in a unified security portal. They can also prioritize and automate compliance-related tasks.
Purview not only secures data in Microsoft 365 applications but also offers information protection, data loss protection, data lifecycle management and insider risk management features. Together, these tools allow for continuous monitoring, protecting networks from malicious activity and any inadvertent data sharing.
4. How Can Purview Address Artificial Intelligence?
As students and faculty ramp up their use of artificial intelligence in the classroom, the oversharing of data is a major concern. Purview offers visibility into whether students and faculty are using unauthorized generative AI platforms.
5. How Can Windows 11 Protect Against Sketchy App Downloads?
Windows 11’s new Smart App Control and the related Windows Defender App Control work in the background to protect the system from malicious, untrusted or potentially unwanted applications. It does this by preventing the execution of apps identified as harmful or untrusted by Microsoft’s Intelligent Security Graph, a cloud-based security service.
The Signature Verification feature kicks in when the Intelligent Security Graph cannot make a confident prediction about an app, initiating a check for a valid digital signature.
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