The North Dakota University System recently participated in a pilot tabletop exercise with the department of Homeland Security and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
The focus was cybersecurity threats to higher education.
University System Vice-Chancellor Phil Wisecup called it helpful.
"We looked at the things we ought to be looking at," Wisecup said in an interview.
He said universities are big organizations -- and big targets.
"It's a network, and people are interested in what's going on," Wisecup said. "Sometimes, they're not necessarily people who we want to share with."
And Wisecup said the exercise was good for North Dakota’s system.
"The folks I talked to came away saying it was very helpful," Wisecup said. "It focused us on potential issues."
Wisecup said it gave the system a tool to think about this issue themselves.
"That's wonderful," Wisecup said. "It's the old saying about giving a man a fish, or teaching him how to fish."
Wisecup said the exercise was so successful, it will now be used across the country.