The Legislative Audit Bureau report released Monday highlights University of Wisconsin System security issues, recommending the development of a systemwide security program.

Ray Cross, UW System president, said in the report the Board of Regents responded to LAB’s recommendation by unanimously adopting a new systemwide policy on information technology security. UW System hired a chief security information officer to lead the move toward a statewide IT security policy in March 2015.

According to Alex Hummel, UW spokesperson, the LAB recommendations, which the UW System agrees with, encourage more collaboration between UW institutions to strengthen its IT security.

Hummel said the collaboration is especially beneficial for smaller institutions that are at greater risk due to their smaller staff sizes. According to the audit report, institutions with smaller IT staffs may have a difficult time maintaining separation of duties, and adequately monitoring security policies and procedures.

Cross said UW institutions will minimize access to confidential and sensitive UW System material for security purposes. The LAB said the details of their findings are not open to the public, due to its sensitive nature.

“The audit bureau … [did] not get into too much detail, because they wanted to prevent … revealing information [from causing ] potential threats,” Hummel said.

UW Board of Regents Data Privacy and Security Council met Wednesday to further discuss the development of new IT security policies.