THE Journal — Security/Privacy
Q1 Labs Offers Free Tool for Log and Compliance Management
Q1 Labs announced the availability of a free, downloadable log management and compliance product that provides users with visibility across networks, data centers, and infrastructures.
(11/20/2008)
LAUSD Uses Secret Weapon in Laptop Theft Recovery
Laptop theft in schools is rampant. The Racine Unified School District in Wisconsin reported dozens of computers stolen from its schools this fall. In Northern California, three custodians were arrested in connection with a series of thefts at the Oakland Unified School District, involving computers and other electronics. A library aid for the Del Olmo Elementary School in Los Angeles was arrested in September for the theft of five computers at her school.
(11/11/2008)
ICOP Digital Launches Digital Video School Bus Surveillance System
ICOP Digital has announced a new school bus security camera system that incorporates a set of digital video cameras and a controller. The system is designed to provide surveillance for passenger cabin video and audio monitoring, recording of stop-arm violators, and views of the driver area, and bus entrance. Increased camera capability also allows for windshield-mounted cameras that record activity in front of the bus, including student crossings, intersections, and level (railroad) crossings.
(11/11/2008)
SMobile Releases Antivirus To Protect Google Android Phones
SMobile Systems has released an antivirus program for phones running Android, the Google-developed operating system. The company already offers similar solutions for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, and iPhone devices.
(11/11/2008)
Oregon School Districts Move to EMC for Remote Data Backup
Clackamas Education Service District (ESD), a state-funded agency providing centralized educational programs and services, has introduced remote data backup services from EMC to 10 school districts in Clackamas County, OR.
(11/11/2008)
UK Schools Still Need Help Guaranteeing Web Safety
A recent survey of secondary school pupils has exposed a growing problem with Web security in UK schools. In an informal poll posted on Facebook by SmoothWall, which sells Internet security software, 49 percent of 13 to 17 year olds admitted to using illicit tools to access blocked Web sites in school.
(11/11/2008)
Blue Coat Integrates Network Appliances
Blue Coat Systems has released a new software plugin that will integrate two of its network appliances--ProxySG and PacketShaper--to allow them to share information to improve efficiency and security.
(11/10/2008)
Plagiarism Detection System Adds URL Filtering, Reporting Groups
iParadigms has released a new version of its iThenticate plagiarism detection platform.
(11/6/2008)
Spam Attacks on the Rise in Q3
Identity thieves and hackers appear to be coming at Windows users from all fronts, most commonly with spam. They were particularly active during the third quarter of 2008, when they did it eight times more frequently than in the previous quarter, according to a report released Monday by Sophos.
(11/3/2008)
Dubai Schools Install Astrata Group Bus Tracking Technology
As part of student safety programs, Al Mawakeb School and the International School of Arts & Sciences in Dubai, UAE, have been recipients of a contract awarded by Academia Management Solutions International (AMSI) to Astrata Group to track and monitor buses at the schools.
(10/28/2008)
Stephen S. Wise Temple and Schools Ramps Up Video Surveillance
Stephen S. Wise Temple will be implementing Proximex Surveillint video surveillance equipment to protect its campuses, students, faculty, and congregants. The project includes integrating about 100 cameras located in four schools on three campuses and using Proximex Surveillint to manage multiple video, access control, video analytics, and intrusion detection systems. The temple, located in Los Angeles, supports 1,700 preK-12 students and 650 faculty and staff.
(10/28/2008)
IT Security: What K-12 Admins Need To Watch
With schools and the Internet becoming increasingly intertwined, district IT systems are more and more likely to fall prey to cybercriminals looking for their next victims. Knowing this, school districts must become more vigilant about protecting faculty, students and machines from hackers who see such systems as the perfect breeding ground for viruses, botnets, malware and other threats.
(10/28/2008)
Bad Times Call for a Security Check, Experts Say
"Disaster breeds opportunity," so the old slogan goes. But when it comes to uncertain economic times, organizations should double-check their internal policies and procedures, security experts say.
(10/27/2008)
NetSupport School Expands Feature Set, Adds Vista and Windows Server 2008 Compatibility
NetSupport has recently announced the release of NetSupport School 10.01, adding a range of new features to the currently shipping version.
(10/24/2008)
Malware Disguised as Social Networking Tops Emerging Security Threats
What's the top threat to data security going to be in 2009? According to the GTISC Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2009 out of Georgia Tech's Information Security Center, the answer is malware specifically disguised as "benign social networking links."
(10/17/2008)
Florida District Deploys Mimosa NearPoint for Data Archiving and eDiscovery
Orange County Public Schools in Florida said it plans to deploy Mimosa NearPoint in an effort to streamline its e-mail archiving process. The solution will also enhance the district's ability to search and recover the stored data for a variety of applications, including eDiscovery and litigation.
(10/14/2008)
Where Does Access Control Fit in the K-12 Security Mix?
As a part of overall security initiatives in schools, electronic access control is little used, according to a recent survey of school resource officers (SROs) and administrators in K-12. The survey revealed that only 28 percent of responding schools felt "extremely confident" in their ability to ensure perimeter doors would securely lock in case of an emergency lockdown; yet 91 percent of respondents said it was critical to be able to lock down the school in the event of an emergency.
(10/14/2008)
East Grand Rapids Public Schools Deploys Avenda User Management Software
East Grand Rapids Public Schools has selected a network access control system from Avenda Systems to provide identity and resource management across the district. The software manages who can log in into the network and what those users can access. The district has about 2,800 students and is located in western Michigan.
(10/14/2008)
Survey Reports School Resource Officers Most Important 'Tool' for School Access Control
A recent survey of school resource officers (SROs) and administrators has revealed almost three-fourths of respondents aren't "extremely confident" in their ability to lock down their school in case of an emergency, citing limited budgets as the primary obstacle.
(10/14/2008)
Knox County Schools Get Boost in Security Funding Following School Shooting Death
A month and a day after a high school shooting left a student dead, county commissioners in Knox County, TN have approved $195,000 for additional security mechanisms at Knox County Schools, the district where the shooting took place.
(10/14/2008)
Student Reports Intentional Security Breach in Greenville County
A student at a high school in South Carolina recently informed the district's technology services department that he was able to bypass security controls to gain unauthorized access to a district file server containing students' names, addresses, Medicaid ID numbers, and Social Security numbers.
(10/14/2008)
Surveys Raise Doubts on Virtualization Security
Migration to virtualization won't be the quick transition that some technology evangelists have predicted, according to recent surveys by two IT security companies. Nor is virtualization as secure as many might want it to be.
(10/13/2008)
Symantec To Expand Cloud Presence with Purchase of MessageLabs
Symantec Corp. has agreed to acquire MessageLabs, a provider of online messaging and Web security services, for about $695 million. MessageLabs sells managed services for anti-spam, anti-virus, image control, content filtering, instant messaging security, boundary and policy encryption, and e-mail arching and backup. The acquisition is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year.
(10/13/2008)
Calgary Board of Education Deploys Sonitrol Access Control
The Calgary Board of Education recently announced it will deploy a Sielox access control system in 72 of the district's more than 220 K-12 schools.
(10/8/2008)
LanSchool 7.2 Adds Testing Features, Beefs Up Thin Client Support
LanSchool Technologies has released LanSchool 7.2, an upgrade to the company's K-12 classroom management system. The new version adds new features for interactive with student computers and also enhances support for thin client technologies.
(10/3/2008)
