Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Campus Security Focus
The Internet Crime Cafe
3/9/2007
estimates the total cost to American industry for all types of computer crime as about $400 billion dollars a year.'That's where the money is'
What's behind this trend? The rise in cybercrime is closely linked to the now almost ubiquitous use of credit cards (see The end of the cash era in the February 17th, 2007 issue of The Economist) and growth of Internet banking and shopping. It is now relatively easy to steal quietly, remotely, and anonymously. When the famous 1930s bank robber Willy Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, his reply was, "That's where the money is." His response is equally true in today's cyberworld.
Although organized crime may lack the expertise to commit cyber crimes, they have the money to recruit the necessary talent. Hacking has become so commercialized that you can even buy a book, online of course, on hacking!
Personal financial information is becoming a commodity item. A quick online Internet search yields sites selling social security numbers for $35 to $45 each. While the purchaser is usually asked to verify that the request is legitimate, flimsy responses often work. E-mail address lists go for as little as $39.95 per million addresses. It costs $400 for a complete package containing the information needed to gain control of a bank account. Making matters even worse, in the rush to make public records available online, sensitive financial data is too often made available for free as well. A county clerk's website included tax lien information for ex-congressman Tom DeLay that included his social security number!
For all of these reasons, the FBI has made its third highest priority to "protect the United States against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes." That puts cybercrime right behind protecting the country from terrorist attacks and espionage and well ahead of such traditional areas as violent and white-collar crime (Federal Bureau of Investigation Strategic Plan 2004-2009).
So what does all this mean for higher education data security? Education's culture of openness, lack of central controls, decentralized and transient user population, and high-speed network access make us attractive targets. We can expect increasingly targeted attacks on our financial systems. We've been warned.
Reader input wanted
The kind of topics can you expect to see in this column are ones that might be too time critical, to limited in scope, or too speculative to be appropriate for a full length article in the monthly Campus Technology Magazine or T.H.E. Journal. Columns being considered include interviews with leaders and visionaries in the security community, emerging problems and solutions, long term trends and speculation, and, of course, timely events. I'd like to get feedback, opinions and suggestions from you, the reader. What would to hear about? Do you agree or disagree with the opinions expressed in the column? Have you heard something you are willing to share with a broader community?
Doug Gale is president of Information Technology Associates LLC (http://www.itassociates.org), an IT consultancy specializing in higher education. He has more than 30 years of experience in higher education as a faculty member, CIO, and research administrator. He can be reached at dgale@itassociates.org.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- College of Southern Nevada Implementing Angel To Run Online Courses
The College of Southern Nevada (CSN), a community college in Las Vegas with 41,000 students, has adopted the Angel Learning Management Suite (LMS) to support its online course offerings. In Spring 2008 CSN began evaluating alternatives to WebCT, which it currently runs, and made the decision to adopt Angel in the fall. In January 2009, CSN's 865 sections of online enrollment will be delivered using the Angel LMS.
- Toshiba Brings DisplayLink to Docking Station
Toshiba has introduced a new USB docking station that incorporates DisplayLink--a technology that allows computers to connect to projectors and other types of displays through USB 2.0.
- Mitsubishi Ships SXGA+ Projector with DICOM Simulation
Mitsubishi has begun shipping a new LCD-based SXGA+ projector aimed at higher education, specifically medical schools. The new MH2850U, according to Mitsubishi, is "specially engineered for projecting DICOM simulation images for use in medical education and training."
- First Look: Komodo IDE 5.0
Last month, ActiveState released Komodo IDE 5.0, the company's latest integrated development environment (IDE). Komodo supports multiple programming and markup languages, including HTML, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, Java, Python, C++ and more. It does not support some .NET languages at present, such as ASP/ASP.NET, C# and VB.NET.
- IBM Offers Cloud Computing Help
IBM last week announced consulting services specifically designed to help organizations assess their options in using cloud computing technology. "Cloud computing" is a much argued term, but it typically refers to solutions delivered over the Internet, rather than via customer premises-installed software.
- Hollins U Chooses Omnilert for Emergency Notification Ahead of VA Deadline
Hollins University, among other higher ed institutions in Virginia, has implemented Omnilert's e2Campus emergency notification system (ENS) just ahead of a state-mandated deadline requiring them at every public institution of higher education by Jan. 1. Hollins itself isn't a public campus, but wished to implement an ENS before the end of the year, the school said in a company statement.
