THE Journal — Security/Privacy
Franklin ISD Implements Audio over IP in 2 Schools
Franklin Independent School District (ISD) in Franklin, TX has begun using Barix AG Exstreamer 100 Audio over IP decoding devices for school-wide voice, music, and bell-tone distribution in two schools. The solution provides administrators and teachers with a control system that interfaces with audio and video devices in the schools.
(6/9/2008)
Library Self-Checkout System Shrinks
Library Automation Technologies has released what it's calling "the world's smallest self-check for libraries." FlashScan-MAXine measures 33" x 22" x 22" and allows libraries to let patrons check out their own materials. It's wireless, which makes it portable and can be upgraded for RFID; plus it supports front-gate security.
(6/6/2008)
Channel One Network And i-SAFE Partner for Online Safety Awareness
Teen news and content provider Channel One has partnered with electronic safety firm i-SAFE in an effort to enhance and increase electronic safety awareness among teens. The organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding, committing to work together to provide video programming and curriculum-based tools to students through the Channel One News broadcast and the i-SAFE and Channel One Web sites.
(6/3/2008)
Clinton Public Schools Signs Three-Year Contract for Security Service
Massachusetts-based Clinton Public Schools has signed a three-year contract with QED Connect, an information security company. Clinton will implement Omni Manager, an online service, to provide Internet filtering, monitoring and reporting on 250 computers district-wide.
(5/29/2008)
Student Hacker Breaks into PA District Network and Steals Data
A Pennsylvania school district will be hosting a community-wide "cyber information session" in the wake of an early May computer breakin. On May 9, a student hacked into the Downingtown Area School District network from a classroom computer and copied files that included dated personal information and Social Security numbers of school employees and community members.
(5/28/2008)
Van Dyke Public Schools Deploys NetOp Software for Master Control in Classroom
After two years of working with NetOp School, the Van Dyke Public School System in Michigan has gone public with details about its installation of the software, which lets teachers control and interact with classroom computers.
(5/27/2008)
Astaro Updates Security Appliance
Astaro Corp. announced an updated version of its security appliance, Astaro Security Gateway.
(5/22/2008)
Plagiarism Tool Scans 1 Million Papers
CMS/LMS provider Blackboard reported Monday that its plagiarism detection service, SafeAssign, has now been used to scan more than 1 million student papers. Blackboard debuted SafeAssign about nine months ago.
(5/20/2008)
Security: Schools Frustrated by Budget, Staff Constraints
While schools have spent the last year beefing up their physical security infrastructure, the quality of their data security has apparently dropped. According to the 2008 School Safety Index, conducted by Quality Education Data and released this week by CDW Government (CDW-G), district IT professionals rated their own "cyber security" 25 percent lower this year than they did in last year's survey results, while their physical safety score rose 39 percent over 2007.
(5/20/2008)
Sarasota County SD Ramps Up Video Surveillance
Sarasota County School District in Florida is expanding its video surveillance program, bringing the total number of installed cameras to more than 2,500, according to GVI Security Solutions, Samsung's security technology master distributor.
(5/19/2008)
JDCHS Streamlines Backup and Recovery for Mac Network
Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper, UT faced a problem with its hybrid tape/disk backup and recovery system: It didn't always work, and, when it did, it was slow. So the school recently replaced the system with a pure disk-based RAID to handle its more than 455 networked Macs, along with offsite archive drives for business continuity/disaster recovery.
(5/15/2008)
Osage County: Security in a Small School District
The Osage County R-II School District in Osage County, Missouri, is tiny--600 to 650 students, according to Richard Becker, technology coordinator. Yet it faces the same computer security challenges of larger districts with far fewer resources—a scarcity of resources that includes staffing. Becker himself makes up half of the entire technical team.
(5/13/2008)
Site Provides Free Interactive School Security Awareness
A free, interactive School Security Awareness Map and blog went live online in April at www.schoolsafetynews.com. Developed by SafePlans and designed to inform stakeholders on the need for improved school safety, the site includes a map that displays relevant school security-related issues.
(5/13/2008)
El Paso ISD Adopts District-wide IP Video Surveillance
El Paso Independent School District in Texas said it's planning to deploy IP video surveillance across al of its high schools and middle schools. EPISD is the seventh-largest district in the state, with 92 total campuses.
(5/13/2008)
Study: Top Web Application Vulnerabilities Remain Unfixed
Organizations still aren't doing enough to protect their data from Web application vulnerabilities, according to a study released Tuesday by security firm Cenzic. The study, Application Security Trends Report, Q1 2008, identified "1,409 unique published vulnerabilities for the first quarter of 2008, with Web technology vulnerabilities comprising 70 percent of the vulnerability volume...."
(5/13/2008)
VBA To Return to Mac; Office 2008 SP1 Released
Microsoft Tuesday released Service Pack 1 for Office 2008 for Mac, the first major update to what the company called its most successful Mac Office launch in 19 years (in terms of sales volume). In a surprise move, Microsoft's Mac Business Unit also announced that it plans to bring Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) back to the Mac platform with the next major release.
(5/13/2008)
Prep School Rolls Out Internet Security System
John Paul II High School, a coeducational Catholic college preparatory school in Plano, TX, has selected Dallas-based DeepNines Technologies' iTrust security platform to control emerging Internet threats.
(5/12/2008)
LanSchool 7.1 Adds Blocking and Monitoring Features
LanSchool Technologies this week released LanSchool 7.1, an update to the company's classroom monitoring and control software suite designed to limit what students can do with their computers. Version 7.1 adds new device blocking and monitoring capabilities and also includes performance and usability enhancements.
(5/8/2008)
School Web Lockers Debuts 'Profanity Filter'
Web technology provider School Web Lockers has launched a new service for its collaboration and file sharing system: profanity filters.
(5/6/2008)
Children's Way Beefs Up Security in K-6 Virtual World
Non-profit developer Children's Way Foundation has teamed with eGuardian to bolster security on its Woogi World, an online virtual world for K-6 students. The agreement allows Woogi World to incorporate eGuardian's online verification service as a means of safeguarding kids from online strangers who might be posing as other children.
(5/1/2008)
SafeSchools, Keenan To Launch Safety Training for California Schools
Keenan & Associates and SafeSchools have joined forces to create an online training program for California public educational agencies. Beginning this summer, Keenan will provide all of its property and casualty clients with access to these training tools through "Keenan SafeSchools," a Web-based delivery system for safety and risk management training modules.
(4/28/2008)
Long Island District Deploys Network Cameras
The Long Beach City School District in Long Island, NY is using network cameras from Axis Communications to provide surveillance at its schools. Designed by A+ Technology Solutions, the system leverages the district's existing infrastructure and provides the benefit of high-resolution clarity for positive identification.
(4/28/2008)
Information Security Set for Explosive Growth
Driven by compliance and public confidence issues, information security is expected to expand dramatically over the next few years, according to new research released by Frost & Sullivan and (ISC)². Worldwide, the number of information security professionals will grow from 1.66 million in 2007 to about 2.7 million in 2012, experiencing a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent.
(4/23/2008)
Microsoft Investigating LocalSystem Access Bug
Security personnel in Redmond are investigating a newly reported zero-day bug vulnerability in Microsoft operating systems and server systems. The bug, disclosed Thursday by Bill Sisk, security response communications manager for Microsoft, allows escalation of privilege to occur for authenticated users under specific conditions.
(4/22/2008)
Hoax Subpoena E-Mails Shine Light on 'Spearphishing'
Last week, hundreds of executives at some of America's most well-known companies received e-mails that they probably didn't want to get--even if those messages weren't a hoax.
(4/22/2008)
