There is no doubt that the education sector is seeing a transition and a shift in how teaching and learning are being facilitated within higher learning institutions, with the use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Moodle becoming a necessity. With this kind of technology comes risks associated with data security. Below we look at why LMS security is such an essential factor today and what makes Moodle so secure and safe.
What is Moodle?
Moodle is an Open-Source learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system. This LMS solution aims to enhance the flexibility and agility of higher education institutions by empowering them to create personalised learning experiences for students while facilitating both blended learning and e-learning. One of the most significant selling points of Moodle LMS is its several functionalities that support almost any pedagogy. This innovative multi-language LMS is also fully customisable and scalable and fosters engagement and collaboration through functional and easy-to-use course design and management tools. Moodle has also been built with data security and data protection in mind.
The importance of data security and security
You may be thinking, why would it be necessary for an LMS to be built with data protection and security in mind? The simple truth is that in the age of digitisation that we are living in, cyber security risks are a real threat. With a higher education institution controlling so much student and institutional data, this must be kept safe from cybercriminals. LMS security is essential for mitigating cyber-attacks and assisting institutions in ensuring data integrity, content security and access control. Let’s see how Moodle provides this below.
Key Data Protection and Security Features Offered By Moodle
Moodle as an LMS has been designed to be secure and follows a strict development process called “security by design”. This means they embed a security mindset right from the start in their development to deliver a secure platform.
Like most online platforms ensuring data protection and security is an ongoing process. This is why Moodle relies on its community to constantly monitor the source code and collaborate in making the platform more secure through public and well-established procedures. In this way, any bugs are detected and fixed fast, reducing vulnerabilities and security breaches.
Moodle has also set up a security program with Bugcrowds that enables global security researchers to constantly test the platform to highlight any security issues. This allows for the fast detection and fixing of any problems or issues, ensuring that your data is always safe.
With Moodle LMS, you are guaranteed complete data control and transparency. The platform does not collect, use or monetise student data or personal information. As a higher education institution, you have full control over your data, including how and where you store that. The software provides several tools to keep learners’ data private and secure. It is also important to mention that Moodle requires all available plugins to implement a Privacy API to ensure they’re GDPR compliant.
Even with all these security measures in place, threats are still possible, which is why Moodle has highlighted several best practices and top security tips. These include:
- Encouraging backups as part of your security strategy. This also involves testing your restoration procedures.
- Only load software and services you will use.
- Make sure to perform regular updates.
- Use https to secure all pages, not just the login page.
- Use strong passwords for admin and teachers.
- Only give teacher accounts to trusted users.
- Use different passwords on different systems and different machines.
Conclusion
From the above, it is clear that LMS security is necessary to avoid cyberattacks, data breaches and the risk of losing all of your information when your system is compromised. Moodle LMS has several top data security features in the design and development of the platform to ensure data security and protection. These LMS security features provide you with complete data control while mitigating data protection threats.
