Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News Feature
Once More unto the Breach
4/13/2007
"By following best practices, universities, as well as other large organizations, can reduce the likelihood of a data breach and the severity of damage when a breach does occur."
RSA's Parkerson offered these suggestions:
- Locate and classify the information in the protected classes in every system in which it is stored or communicated
- Determine whether having such data around for a particular application or system is really necessary; if not, lessen your risk by purging or truncating it.
- For the remaining data that must remain in full original form, acquire encryption solutions appropriate to the system type where the data exists (e.g. database encryption, storage encryption, laptop encryption, etc.).
- Ensure the solutions you acquire already include the necessary key management functionality, as managing keys on your own is too difficult.
"Unfortunately, the damage is done," said BSI's DiMaria. "In conjunction with [notifying the public], they should immediately be reevaluating their processes (all inputs and outputs), not just technology (and we must recognize that they may in fact be doing this). While technological evaluation is important, the internal processes are equally important but far too often ignored. A full gap analysis against a recognized standard such as ISO 27001 is in order to identify opportunities for improvement. Using such a standard reduces the risk that something might be missed.
"Once these opportunities are identified," he continued, "immediate corrective action should be taken with a long-term plan following close behind to ensure the health of the system is continuously monitored and preventive actions are implemented on a regular basis."
We will keep you updated on developments in the UCSF incident as details become available. See the links below for more information.
Read More:
About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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.
