Scholarly Networks Security Initiative (SNSI): working together to combat the threat of cybercrime

Cybercrime is a huge threat to the entire scholarly ecosystem and safeguarding data and privacy is paramount. Higher education institutions need protection from cyber-attacks. Their data and their users’ data must be protected.

Researchers need confidence that research they are using is correct, up to date and properly connected to the scientific record.

Cybersecurity isn’t just an issue for publishers. It isn’t just a challenge for librarians. It is not just an obstacle for institutions or nuisance for researchers. This is an issue for all of us, and a problem that we firmly believe can be best addressed sustainably and effectively together.

Group of people working to solve cybercrime on laptops at a desk

About SNSI

SNSI brings together publishers and institutions to solve cyber-challenges threatening the integrity of the scientific record, scholarly systems and the safety of personal data. Members include large and small publishers, learned societies and university presses and others involved in scholarly communications.

Working together

SNSI ecosystem chart showing how libraries, academic IT security teams, researchers, and publishers are working together to fight cybercrime
SNSI ecosystem chart showing how libraries, academic IT security teams, researchers, and publishers are working together to fight cybercrime

Publishers and librarians have a good record of collaboration to solve real pain points experienced by researchers and students, examples of recent cooperation include:

  • Crossref ensures that research outputs are easy to find, cite, link, assess, and reuse.
  • seamlessaccess.org is making it easier for researchers to access articles using their institutional logins when they are not on campus.
  • GetFTR is helping researchers quickly access the articles they need from a wide variety of discovery tools that they are already using.

We now need to work together to achieve our shared mission - the safety and security of personal data. Cybersecurity isn't just an issue for publishers. It isn't just a challenge for librarians. It is not just an obstacle for institutions or nuisance for researchers. This is an issue for all of us, and a problem we firmly believe can be best addressed sustainably and effectively together.

The SNSI University Relations Group has been formed to help address this. Several librarians, representatives from leading organizations and other key stakeholders have kindly agreed to provide SNSI with independent advice and feedback on our program, which will be turned into tangible actions the group takes.

Did you know?

300

Fake websites and login pages linked to 76 university library systems around the world were found in August 2018.

3rd largest

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre lists the education sector as the 3rd largest target for cybercrime, ahead of retail.

Over 400

Universities and institutions across 41 countries have had their networks and data comprised by illegal website SciHub.

$1.14M

The ransom a leading medical-research institution working on a cure for Covid-19 had to pay when its servers were hacked.

Learn More

If you would like to speak to an SNSI representative to find out more about our activities please contact us.

Reach out
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