Failing grade for computer security on campus
Filed in archive Scams by mstandaert on April 07, 2005
At the New York Times ...
A recent spate of computer-security incidents at colleges and universities has drawn attention to the apparent tension between concerns over academic freedom and the need to protect sensitive information. Stanton S. Gatewood, chief information security officer
at the University of Georgia, which suffered a security breach last year, noted that higher education is "built on the free flow of information and ideas," saying that college and university networks are designed based on that ideal. The result, however, is a tempting target for
information thieves. According to the Office of Privacy Protection in California, colleges and universities in that state have accounted for more data incidents since 2003--close to 30 percent--than any other group. Although some states now prohibit using Social Security numbers as identifiers in many databases, their continued prevalence makes changing structures difficult. The University of Michigan, for example, spent seven years weaning itself off Social Security numbers. Because testing agencies and other organizations continue to use them, however, the university finds it still has to track them.More on this story at Concept and Emerging Technologies.
A recent spate of computer-security incidents at colleges and universities has drawn attention to the apparent tension between concerns over academic freedom and the need to protect sensitive information. Stanton S. Gatewood, chief information security officer
at the University of Georgia, which suffered a security breach last year, noted that higher education is "built on the free flow of information and ideas," saying that college and university networks are designed based on that ideal. The result, however, is a tempting target forinformation thieves. According to the Office of Privacy Protection in California, colleges and universities in that state have accounted for more data incidents since 2003--close to 30 percent--than any other group. Although some states now prohibit using Social Security numbers as identifiers in many databases, their continued prevalence makes changing structures difficult. The University of Michigan, for example, spent seven years weaning itself off Social Security numbers. Because testing agencies and other organizations continue to use them, however, the university finds it still has to track them.More on this story at Concept and Emerging Technologies.
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