THE Journal — Security/Privacy
HP Makes Push into Data Encryption
HP has introduced several products to address data protection and compliance in storage environments, including add-ons that do automated data encryption on tape drives and libraries. Among the offerings: a secure fabric switch; an encryption kit for tape autoloaders and libraries; integration of compliance and management appliances; and, a free online security assessment tool.
(4/9/2008)
Microsoft Proposes Cross-Industry Effort To Address Online Trust Challenge
Microsoft Corp. this week initiated a call for action to address the future of security and privacy on the Internet. In a speech by Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, the company proposed "End to End Trust," a pitch for organizations, including vendors and user organizations, to work together to create a more secure and trusted online environment.
(4/9/2008)
Taxing the System
Eager to comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which addresses concerns over access to "offensive" Internet content on school and library computers, the Poway Unified School District made a move this year to ensure that its 33,000 students are kept as far away as possible from such content. By beefing up its Internet content-filtering, the San Diego, CA district also put itself in the position to qualify for federal grants not accessible to schools that don't comply with CIPA.
(4/8/2008)
Consulting Firm Launches Training To Show Educators How To Defuse Hostility
Anzen, an Alexandria, VA company that provides personal security training for public and corporate organizations, announced a new program to address safety in educational institutions. Called USA Safe Schools, the initiative provides schools with tools and training to reduce hostile threats to teachers and students.
(4/8/2008)
Network-based Alarm System Sends Silent Alert
A Spokane, WA company has developed a computer network-based alarm system that allows users to trigger an emergency alarm through their computers to send a silent alert to all other users logged into the same network. Pentad Systems' LANalarm could complement text messaging-based notification systems, which tend to have a lag between the time the emergency is communicated to administrators and the notification is actually sent out to participants.
(4/8/2008)
Clarkston Schools Deploys iTrust To Secure Internet Usage
Clarkston Community Schools has selected DeepNines iTrust, a multi-layer security defense system that guards against unauthorized Internet usage while prioritizing network traffic.
(4/8/2008)
Baltimore Deploys Parent Notification Program
Baltimore City Public Schools this month announced that it has implemented Global Connect's Parent Notification System for communicating with parents and staff members. The school district, which serves about 82,000 students, will begin using the Global Connect system in May.
(4/7/2008)
Cypress-Fairbanks Deploys Network Monitoring Tool
Network management software developer Ipswitch announced that the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), a large public school district in the state of Texas, has selected WhatsUp Gold to monitor and manage its wide area network (WAN) infrastructure.
(4/4/2008)
Honeywell Survey Shows Security Convergence Popular but Elusive
A survey by Honeywell released Wednesday reveals that although some organizations are integrating physical security measures such as video surveillance and access control with traditional IT security system, significant barriers to convergence still exist.
(4/2/2008)
Microsoft Joins MIT Kerberos Consortium
The MIT Kerberos Consortium has added Microsoft to its ranks of formal industry supporters. The company joined the group Monday as a founding sponsor, gaining a seat on the executive board, which also includes representatives from Apple, Sun, Google, and, of course, MIT itself. Microsoft's director of Windows Core Security, Slava Kavsan, will occupy the board seat.
(4/1/2008)
Compliance Framework Database Updated
Consulting and publishing firm Network Frontiers has released the Q1 2008 Unified Compliance Framework (UCF), a database used in compliance management systems. UCF maps hundreds of regulations, including privacy information, HIPPA, PCI-DDS and Medicaid/Medicare mandates, into a master hierarchal framework. This latest version of the UCF consolidates cross platform configuration management controls into a single set of controls.
(3/31/2008)
Crossroads Debuts Backup Encryption Module
Information security provider Crossroads Systems this week released a new encryption module for its Crossroads Virtual TapeServer. The module, SecureVTS, is an integrated solution that provides security for backed-up data for compliance and business continuity.
(3/28/2008)
Web Gateway Offers All-in-One Web Security
Astaro Corp. has announced a security appliance line that integrates URL filtering, malware detection, application control, and bandwidth optimization. The Astaro Web Gateway is deployed as a hardware or virtualized appliance and managed through a single browser-based graphical interface.
(3/25/2008)
Vantage, 8e6 Partner for Safe Search for Schools
Ed tech developer Vantage Learning and security technology provider 8e6 have teamed up to launch a new secure Internet search engine designed specifically for K-12 school districts. The partnership combines Vantage's iSEEK "natural language" search engine with 8e6's Web filtering to provide targeted searches for academic users while excluding material that might be deemed potentially inappropriate for school-aged kids.
(3/24/2008)
Free Software Identifies Applications Requiring Administrator Rights
Enterprises can now more easily determine which applications their employees run that require administrative rights, a condition that makes the environment more susceptible to malicious users and viruses and prevents compliance with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and HIPAA. BeyondTrust’s free Application Rights Auditor automatically identifies and reports Windows applications that need elevated user rights.
(3/21/2008)
IBM Addresses Web 2.0 Security Concerns With 'SMash'
IBM announced new technology to secure "mashups," Web applications that pull information from multiple sources, such as Web sites, enterprise databases, or e-mails, to create one unified view. Mashups allow users to gain insight on complex situations but, as with all Web-based initiatives, security has been a concern.
(3/18/2008)
Video Surveillance Joins Blackboard Commerce Suite
Ed tech developer Blackboard this week launched a new video surveillance solution for its campus management system called Blackboard Video Surveillance. The new tool, announced at BbWorld Commerce conference in Phoenix, AZ March 10, will become part of the Blackboard Commerce Suite, a payment and security management system designed for education.
(3/12/2008)
A White Hat Talks about Modern Malware
When Julie Amero was convicted of four counts of risk of injury to a minor in Connecticut last year, it was a wake-up call for many schools to make sure their anti-virus and anti-spyware software was kept up to date. Amero was the substitute teacher who had chased students off of the regular teacher's computer and taken charge of the computer, on which pornographic images then allegedly started appearing. (Since then her conviction has been vacated, and she awaits a new trial.)
(3/11/2008)
Toronto District Installs VPN Appliance To Speed Remote Report Card Application Access
The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) has deployed a remote access program from Juniper Networks to manage teacher and staff access to a Web-based report card system from remote locations. The Juniper Networks SA 6000 SSL VPN 6000 appliance, designed for large and multinational enterprises, features a secure socket layer (SSL) acceleration chipset to speed CPU-intensive encrypt/decrypt processes.
(3/11/2008)
Chicago Schools, Police To Share School Security Camera Video
Chicago Public Schools and city administrators have agreed on a partnership that will give the Chicago Police Department and the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications a remote connection to the cameras installed inside and outside Chicago schools.
(3/11/2008)
RFID Installation Speeds and Secures School Library Processing
Red Mountain Middle School in Deming, NM has implemented a radio frequency identification technology in its library for self-service checkout. The school chose RFID technology from Integrated Technology Group, which specializes in library automation technologies. The school, which opened in 2007 and currently has about 900 students, has a library collection of 9,000 volumes. That is expected to grow to 20,000 by the next school year.
(3/10/2008)
Student Hacker Sought Class Rankings Data
Chicago newspapers reported on a student who hacked into the computer system of the New Trier Township High School District. The intent, according to investigators, was to obtain grades and ACT scores to determine class rank and share it with other students. The information was made public by the school district in a recent memo to parents.
(3/10/2008)
5 New Schools, Districts Adopt 'Web Lockers'
Five school groups have signed on for School Web Lockers, a file sharing and storage provider. The new customers include the Roman Catholic Diocese Schools of Albany, NY; Clarkstown Central School District in New City, NY; De La Salle Institute in Chicago, IL; New Urban High School in Milwaukie, OR; and Pierson Vocational High School, in Nogales, AZ.
(3/10/2008)
Study: The Year's Top-10 Web Application Vulnerabilities
Web applications, by far, dominate the list of application security vulnerabilities facing IT organizations. While 29 percent of vulnerabilities are attributable to network and infrastructure weaknesses, a full 71 percent are attributable to both open source and commercial Web applications, according to a report released recently by security firm Cenzic Inc., "Application Security Trend Report for Q4 2007."
(3/4/2008)
SafetyCare Launches Wireless Emergency Response System
Security technology firm SafetyCare debuted a new emergency response system targeted toward education: SchoolTrak. The new system is designed to provide turnkey campus safety features for classrooms and other campus facilities through wireless technologies.
(2/26/2008)
