• Round Rock ISD ensures a safe and productive online environment with Vericept Monitor
  Mon, Mar 31, 2008    Primary Topic Channel:  Filters & firewalls
  Like most school districts, Round Rock Independent School District is dedicated to providing its students with the latest internet technologies to advance the education process while maintaining the safest and most productive online environment. But achieving this balance is an ongoing challenge—and one that Round Rock ISD realized it could no longer accomplish with its existing IT resources. [ Read More ]

   

• Mount Pleasant solves its network security challenges
  Sun, Apr 01, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Network administration
  The Mount Pleasant, Texas, Independent School District faces security challenges common to many K-12 school systems: a diverse and changing—sometimes precocious—user base, a relatively open environment, and few financial resources. [ Read More ]

   

• With PC tracking software, stolen laptops recovered almost instantly
  Mon, Jul 01, 2002    Primary Topic Channel:  School Administration , Funding
  As mobile computers become an increasingly standard part of K-12 instruction, schools are looking for ways to protect their technology investments. Absolute Software claims its ComputracePlus program is the first software-and-service solution to enable the recovery of lost or stolen PCs almost instantly. [ Read More ]

   

• Data security is top tech issue for colleges
  Thu, Mar 20, 2008    Primary Topic Channel:  Safety & security
  A computer break-in at Harvard University highlights the growing challenges the nation’s colleges and universities face in trying to safeguard students’ private information, USA Today reports… [ Read More ]

   

• Princeton researchers discover data-theft method
  Fri, Feb 22, 2008    Primary Topic Channel:  Research , Computer security
  A group led by a Princeton University computer security researcher has developed a simple method to steal encrypted information stored on computer hard disks. [ Read More ]

   

• Fending off digital thieves
  Mon, Jan 21, 2008    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  Within 10 hours on Jan. 9, computer hackers lurking in cyberspace scanned Virginia Tech’s computer networks 15,000 times, looking for a way to reach information such as credit card or Social Security numbers. That keeps people such as Randy Marchany busy, competing in a fast-paced race that schools run with hackers to safeguard information. [ Read More ]

   

•  

  
  Penn student charged in cyber attacks
  Fri, Nov 30, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  A University of Pennsylvania junior is one of eight people charged in the latest phase of an FBI investigation into the criminal use of “botnets,” or collections of compromised computers under the remote control of a hacker. [ Read More ]

   

•  

  

  IT security dominates campus concerns
  Wed, Oct 24, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Safety & security
  Higher education’s embrace of information technology might be rapidly expanding in many areas, but on the hot-button issues of IT security and crisis management, hundreds of campuses are not keeping up, a nationwide survey suggests. [ Read More ]

• Education is the key to better security
  Fri, Jul 13, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Safety & security
  School districts rely too heavily on technical solutions to protect their networks and buildings, and they need to focus more attention on communicating and educating their students about physical and cyber dangers—that’s one of the key findings in technology reseller CDW-G’s “School Safety Index,” a research project benchmarking the current status of public K-12 school district safety. [ Read More ]

   

•  

  
  District posts confidential data online
  Mon, May 21, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  In one of the worst security breaches ever in a public K-12 school system, confidential data for thousands of Indianapolis Public Schools students—including, in some cases, medical information and Social Security numbers—were accidentally posted online. [ Read More ]

   

• Laptop theft puts 40,000 school employees at risk
  Thu, May 17, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  Two laptop computers containing the names and Social Security numbers of about 40,000 current and former employees of the Chicago Public Schools were stolen from district headquarters April 6. While school district officials promised tighter security, Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart said she’s “furious” about the breach that left employees vulnerable to identity theft. [ Read More ]

   

• Latest data security risk for schools: Copiers
  Thu, May 17, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  As schools take steps to protect the security of data on their computer networks, experts warn they also should consider securing copiers and scanners that could be used to copy sensitive information. [ Read More ]

   

• Computer snafu leads to school data loss
  Thu, May 10, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that a computer malfunction has caused the loss of academic data for hundreds of Eastern New Mexico University Students. Experts say that the temperature increased in a room at the Roswell campus that houses a server, causing it to crash. In addition, a backup system also failed. [ Read More ]

   

• New OU chief promises greater security
  Fri, Mar 09, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  Ohio University has hired a new technology chief to oversee computer systems that hackers compromised in a high-profile security breach last year, the Columbus Dispatch reports. [ Read More ]

   

•  

  
  Firms fret about eMail security
  Thu, Jan 11, 2007    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  The New York Times reports that an increasing number of internet-savvy workers are forwarding their office eMail to web-based eMail services such as Google, Yahoo, and Hotmail. Employers are not pleased, as they fear that potential security breaches and corporate secrets could leak out the “back door” of well-protected computer networks into the greater web environment. [ Read More ]

   

•  

  
  UCLA probes computer security breach
  Wed, Dec 13, 2006    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  In what is believed to be one of the largest computer security breaches ever at a U.S. school, a hacker broke into a UCLA database containing the names, Social Security numbers, and other personal information of some 800,000 current and prospective students, school officials said Dec. 12. Though not all of the records were accessed, officials are urging anyone who might have been affected by the breach to contact credit reporting agencies and take steps to minimize the risk of identity theft. [ Read More ]

   

• Colleges hit hard by ID theft
  Tue, Aug 01, 2006    Primary Topic Channel:  Computer security
  In the wake of an audit that resulted in the suspension of two top-level information technology staffers, officials at Ohio University are working to correct mistakes that compromised 173,000 Social Security numbers in school computers. The latest in a string of high-profile security breaches at several major U.S. colleges and universities, OU’s troubles have prompted school technology directors nationwide to reexamine an important question: how to balance the need for personal security with the educational benefits of an open and accessible technology infrastructure. [ Read More ]

   

• eMail gaffe reveals sensitive student information
  Thu, Sep 01, 2005    Primary Topic Channel:  Safety & security
  Officials at the University of Kansas have stepped up their eMail and data security training for employees after more than 100 students who failed their classes last semester found out who shared their misfortune. [ Read More ]

   

• Data theft plagues campus networks
  Sun, May 01, 2005    Primary Topic Channel: 
  Welcome to every chief information officer’s latest nightmare: What once was thought to be secure personal information, locked away in a digital database and password-protected for only privileged eyes to see, is now all too often finding its way into the public domain—forcing frustrated school IT staff to rethink how their institutions approach network security. [ Read More ]

   

• Experts: Watch for end-of-year rise in online attacks
  Wed, Dec 29, 2004    Primary Topic Channel:  School Administration
  School technology directors should make sure their anti-virus software is up to date and should take whatever additional steps are necessary to protect their computers before staff and students log on after the holidays, computer security experts warn: Hackers, spammers, and spies go into overdrive in December and January, when unsuspecting neophytes unwrap new computers, connect to the internet, and—too often—get hit with viruses, spyware, and other nefarious programs. [ Read More ]

   

• Know your hacker lingo
  Wed, Dec 29, 2004    Primary Topic Channel:  School Administration
  Phreaks, spoofers, and spammers want to invade your school and home computers, and the tricks of their trade include airsnarfs, wabbits, and fork bombs. [ Read More ]

   

Additional resources

Cyber Security for the Digital District
http://www.securedistrict.org

This project from the Consortium for School Networking aims to provide school and district leaders with vital information to ensure the privacy and security of data within their systems.

NetDay Cyber Security Kit for Schools
http://www.netday.org/cyber_security_kit.htm

The “NetDay Cyber Security Kit for Schools” features tools and resources to raise awareness among K-12 educators, students, and families about online safety and computer security. The kit includes “What Every District Administrator Needs to Know about Cyber Security,” “Action Items to Secure Your Home Computer,” and more.

The 20 most critical internet security vulnerabilities
http://www.sans.org/top20/

The System Administration, Networking, and Security (SANS) Institute releases this annual list, compiled with the help of the FBI and more than 50 security experts, to address software bugs and common mistakes that compromise computer and network security.

The National Cyber Security Alliance
http://www.staysafeonline.info/

This group of business and government organizations works to educate citizens on the importance of protecting their personal computers. This site has information and resources that explain the basics of online dangers.