Seton Hall’s Department of Information Technology announced the launch of an updated cybersecurity system on Sept. 26. This new system is better suited to detect and respond to threats to the school’s cybersecurity, according to the department.
Eric Lopez, the director of IT Security, explained the improvements made to the cybersecurity system.
“Instead of just relying on outdated methods that recognize known threats, we now use tools like machine learning and artificial intelligence to spot unusual activity patterns,” Lopez said.
The SHU network now actively looks for possible vulnerabilities and threats, rather than only responding to familiar problems. The most significant improvement, made with the help of AI, is speed.
“AI can catch new and more sophisticated attacks, even if they don’t follow familiar patterns,” Lopez said. “This helps us respond quickly, sometimes immediately, to potential security issues.”
Lopez said he and his team felt that these updates were necessary due to the increased complexity of cybersecurity threats.
“Our old systems worked well against known attacks,” Lopez said. “But with new tactics like social engineering and fileless malware becoming more common, we needed to step up our game.”
His caution is validated by the various cybersecurity breaches at other universities throughout the United States. In 2023 alone, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, and Hawaii Community College were all targets of successful virtual attacks that affected hundreds of thousands of students. SHU’s IT department updated the university’s defenses to prevent any similar security issues.
Lopez spoke on how this new system will affect students and faculty who regularly use their devices.
“There is no change in the user experience,” Lopez said. “The system works quietly in the background, using very little computer power.”
When informed of the updated system, Ella Miller, a junior accounting major, said that she “didn’t notice anything different on [her] end in the past few weeks.”
While the user experience has stayed consistent, students are divided on the introduction of AI into SHU’s technology systems. Miller expressed her concern.
“What is it being used for?” Miller asked. “Is it making the decisions?”
Alternatively, Olivia DeStefano, a sophomore Italian Studies major, was interested in the prospect of AI assistance.
“Seton Hall shouldn’t shy away from using AI, especially in the tech realm,” DeStefano said. “I feel like it helps the tech department, and everyone else, do their jobs more efficiently.”
According to Lopez, AI is not making the security decisions, but rather acting as a “threat detection system.”
“We use AI to monitor and analyze large amounts of data from computers and devices, looking for anything unusual, like strange file activity or network behavior,” Lopez said. “It, and the rest of the updates to the system, are meant to be protective measures that defend students’ private data from potential attacks.”
Brigid McGlone is a writer for The Setonian’s News Section. She can be reached at brigid.mcglone@student.shu.edu.
