Teachers speak about campus security
Last fall I was involved with a Zogby International survey, in which 400 K-12 teachers answered all manner of campus security questions. There were some interesting findings. Nearly…
SAFE
Safe Center
Mizzou balances line between protecting students and staying out of faculty’s way
Universities pride themselves on giving students the intellectual freedom to explore their academic interests in an open, independent, and safe learning environment. A critical component of this mission…
Don’t take chances with information
While Twitter delivers quick messages, mass notification systems have several key advantages that make them invaluable to school administrators in an emergency.
Stop the bullying
Data indicating that more children are being bullied in and out of school, along with news that a 15-year-old girl committed suicide after being bullied by classmates, have…
District sued for ‘illegal’ search of student’s cell phone
A Pennsylvania school district that was at the center of a highly publicized "sexting" case was sued May 20 by a teenager who claims her principal confiscated her…
Facebook, MySpace confront privacy loophole
Facebook, MySpace and several other social-networking sites have been sending data to advertising companies that could be used to find consumers' names and other personal details, despite promises…
Administrators take top role in security
Everyone involved with our schools has a role in keeping our campuses safe and secure. That includes teachers, staff, parents, students, and law enforcement.
Focus on higher education security
The recent death of a University of Virginia student and the arrest of her former boyfriend for suspected murder once again casts a shadow over the safety of…
Maintain your security investment
Perhaps even more than other big cities, Detroit has suffered from our nation's recent economic problems. It's gotten so bad that next month the city's school district will…
Keep the gates locked
A group of eight high school boys armed with metal baseball bats recently attacked about 50 fourth and fifth grade ... Read more
The cybersecurity boom
Analysts have noted a growing boom in cybersecurity work, the Washington Post reports. From small, recently-established firms all the way up to the well-known defense contracting giants, local…
Report: No spying in Pa. school laptops case
There's no evidence a suburban Pennsylvania school district used school-issued laptops to spy on students, despite its questionable policies and its lack of regard for students' privacy, according…
Know your security risks
Before beginning any major campus security project or even a minor upgrade, I recommend a thorough risk assessment. Most quality, experienced security integrators will provide one free of…
It could happen here
Most of us would like to think that the campus where we work or send our children to school is safe--free from the shootings, stabbings, and assaults we…
Digital copiers pose security threat
Although stolen laptops and computer-savvy hackers are frequently the focus of school security discussions, information retained when sensitive documents are photocopied poses another very real, although often overlooked,…
Employee in webcam spying flap: Teen had no expectation of privacy
A school technology official at the center of a webcam spying scandal says the Pennsylvania student suing her employer should not have had any expectation of privacy, because…
Family: Pa. district snared thousands of secret webcam images
New allegations have surfaced in the case of a suburban Philadelphia school district accused of activating laptop web cameras to spy on students in their homes.
Study: Young adults do care about online privacy
All the dirty laundry younger people seem to air on social networks these days might lead older Americans to conclude that today's tech-savvy generation doesn't care about privacy.…
Public access to school computers raises questions
A move that will let schools use federal e-Rate funds to help their stakeholders get online by opening up their computer labs to the community after school hours…
9-year-old hacks into Fairfax schools’ computer system
Are you smarter than a third-grader? Because the online education system used by the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia apparently is not, reports the Washington Post. Police…
Facebook unveils revamped online safety site
Facebook has launched a revamped internal site designed to help people stay safe and report threats while on the popular online hangout, reports the Associated Press. Facebook's "Safety…
9 charged with bullying Mass. teen who killed self
Nine teens have been charged in the "unrelenting" bullying of a teenage girl from Ireland who killed herself after being raped and enduring months of torment by classmates…
Student loan company: Data on 3.3M people stolen
A company that guarantees federal student loans said March 26 that personal data on about 3.3 million people nationwide have been stolen from its headquarters in Minnesota, reports…
Web slurs target teen suicide victim
A community reeling from the suicide of a popular high school senior turned its sorrow to outrage March 26 over a practice known as "trolling."
How should Facebook and MySpace handle cyber bullying?
A 13-year-old boy was questioned by school administrators about insulting comments he’d made about his classmates on his Facebook page only to learn that the Facebook page was…
A simple fix for internet censorship in schools
Schools and libraries are hurting students by setting up heavy-handed web filtering policies that block access to potentially educational sites, writes Computerworld blogger Mitch Wagner.
Mobs are born as word grows by text message
So-called “flash mobs” that form with the help of social technologies have become part bullying, part running of the bulls in Philadelphia as teenagers sprint through the streets,…
Privacy battle looms for Facebook, Google
European regulators are investigating whether the practice of posting photos, videos, and other information about people on sites such as Facebook without their consent is a breach of…
Schools beef up security for web applications
K-12 schools and colleges are adding extra layers of security to web applications that are being used for everything from eMail service to group assignments. The extra security…
Virtual PC hole could lead to attacks, security firm says
An unpatched weakness in Microsoft's Virtual PC could leave organizations using the virtualization software vulnerable to attack, CNET reports.
How privacy vanishes online
Using bits of data from social-networking web sites, researchers have gleaned people’s names, ages, and even Social Security numbers, reports the New York Times.
Internet safety video could win young filmmakers $10,000
Computer security company Trend Micro has an offer for any teen or adult who cares about internet safety and security and wants to become an award-winning filmmaker, CNET…
FCC announces Children’s Agenda for broadband
Digital access, literacy, citizenship, and safety are the four key areas of focus in the Federal Communications Commission's plan to bring broadband access to all children.
Report finds online censorship more sophisticated
The Associated Press reports that Repressive regimes have stepped up efforts to censor the internet and jail dissidents.
Global agency reconsiders new domain for porn sites
A global internet oversight agency is reopening discussions about whether to create a ".xxx" domain name as an online red-light district where porn sites can set up shop…
Cyber-bullying cases put heat on internet giants
The internet was built on freedom of expression. Yet, society wants someone held accountable when that freedom is abused—and major internet companies like Google and Facebook are finding…
Ohio State to rethink its emergency-alert system
When violent crimes are reported on campus, police are required by federal law to notify the public. But officers from the Ohio State University Police are worried that…
Fake drug scam hijacks British college web sites
British academic institutions have unwittingly become the accomplices of criminals selling fake drugs online, reports the BBC.
Botnets continue to threaten campus networks
Web security experts say university IT officials should stop using students’ Social Security numbers as identifications, because about 5,900 known botnets have stolen valuable information from computers in…
Redrawing the route to online privacy
On the internet, things get old fast. One prime candidate for the digital dustbin, it seems, is the current approach to protecting privacy on the internet, according to…