The school understands the importance of this after hackers broke into the health-services database earlier this year and gained access to the personal records of about 160,000 individuals.

The data-masking technology is incredibly interesting since it hides data in plain sight so that a students first and last name could be right there on the computer screen but, because the lettering has been moved around, it camouflages the true information.  The same technique is being used to conceal student identification numbers and other sensitive data.

Since a master copy of the real information is kept in a separate database it is still important for educational institutions to make sure that their network is properly protected with up-to-date security software.

Students can take the extra step of making sure that their personal computers are protected with products like Computrace LoJack for Laptops.

image: sxc.hu/svilen001

Indeed, this is becoming a very serious and potentially deadly issue.  In 2006, the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier made headlines since she had been the victim of cyberbullying on MySpace.  The perpetrator ended up being an adult neighbor who was pretending to be a teenage boy.

On the flipside, students were suspended for bullying their principal through Facebook by calling him a “Grinch of School Spirit” and making sexually explicit, derogatory comments about him. 

The proposed legislation was actually inspired by Megan and has been dubbed the “Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act.”  Since people from all walks of life can now be hurt electronically (often anonymously), this legislation seems like a good idea, but the committee members felt that it could lead to a breach of free speech.

The bill aimed to specify “serious, repeated hostile communications made with the intent to harm” and one would think that this falls under the category of harassment, which is not permitted, regardless of one’s right to express themselves freely.

Without any legislation in place, the rules are very murky on this issue, which makes it hard to hold anyone accountable for their actions and how they might be harming someone else.

Since no action was taken on the proposed bill, the future of cyberbullying remains in question. 

image: Flickr Creative Commons

The webinar will include input from Eric Willard, Chief Technology Officer, Community Unit School District 300, and Carol Johnston, Senior Product Manager, Absolute Software.

Learn how one of Illinois’ largest districts proves accountability by:

• Tracking laptops at all times using minimal resources
• Minimizing the risk of loss and theft
• Monitoring hardware/software usage for effective budgeting
• Avoiding financial penalties by ensuring software license compliance

Learn more about the webinar here.

We’ve talked in the past about social networking, privacy and cyberbullying, with Facebook being sited often as a platform used by cyberbullies.

Today I stumbled across a video about how to configure your privacy settings on Facebook – a video teachers may wish to share with their students, or parents with their kids:

For resources on bullying for parents and teachers, check out the list available on the BC Ministry of Education.

Via SafeKids

The first place video, made by the John F. Ross CVI school in Ontario, was entitled ‘A Lesson in Privacy’:

The video shows a little turtle signing up for Facebook, providing lots of private information that people shouldn’t share online. A little snail tries to teach the turtle a lesson in online privacy. The 7 finalists can all be viewed here.

If you’re an educator or parent, perhaps the videos would be a good tool to illustrate the topic of privacy. Or perhaps you can use it as inspiration to start your own video project! Also check out the My Privacy Quiz, to see how well you know your privacy rights in Canada, and the top 10 things you can do to protect your privacy.

Via privacy commissioner blog

The Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF) out of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society was created in February 2008 by the Attorneys General Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking and MySpace. After a year of study, the final report was presented to the 52 Attorneys General in December of 2008. The task force was made up of a group of 29 Internet businesses, non-profits, academics and tech companies.

The report found that the risks minors face online are not significantly different than those they face offline – though they are complex and multifaceted. Part of this conclusion was drawn from a lack of data about sexual predators using social networking sites. As they age, the report found that minors were contributing to some of the problems they face online.

Interesting conclusions from the study:

• Bullying and harassment – mostly by peers – are the most frequent threats both online and offline
• Unwanted exposure to pornography does occur online, but mostly to those seeking it out
• Social networking sites are not the most common space for solicitation and unwanted exposure to problematic content – though they are used by peer-to-peer cyberbullies
• Minors most at-risk online are those who engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other areas of their lives – psychological makeup and family dynamics predict risk better than use of certain technologies
• Almost all technologies present privacy and security issues
• Social networking sites have been aggressively pursuing technologies that promote safety for minors – innovation is promising

The report concludes that there are promising developments in technologies to protect kids online but that such technologies are not enough:

“Technology can play a helpful role, but there is no one technological solution or specific combination of technological solutions to the problem of online safety for minors. Instead, a combination of technologies, in concert with parental oversight, education, social services, law enforcement, and sound policies by social network sites and service providers may assist in addressing specific problems that minors face online.”

The task force set out a series of suggestions for the Internet community, the Attorneys General, to parents and more. They point out that more resources should be allocated to all the many-faceted stakeholders working to protect minors online.

See the report presented and debated in this video and download the final report here.

Via MSNBC

The study is very in depth, looking to many areas of budgets and cost-custting, from thermostats to staff levels. Currently, 67% of those superintendents polled describe their districts as “inadequately funded.”

Highlights from the study:

• 36% of superintendents have increased class sizes
• 35% have reduced instructional material
• 30% are considering lay offs, while 48% have already reduced staff-level hiring
• 95% say unemployment has impacted the families of students in their districts
• 87% say the economy affects the schools’ capacity to maintain focus on student learning (similarly, most indicate the same inability to focus on instructional improvements, learning needs of all students, and meeting performance assessments)

There is no doubt that education is vital to a healthy economy, so a struggling education system could, according to AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech, “multiply the negative impact and prolong the economic downturn.”

Although the survey did not ask about IT budgets in any way, I would imagine that IT has been as impacted by tighter budgets in the education sector. It will put extra pressure on IT departments to find solutions that help automate tasks and increase efficiencies. Also, given that data breaches in the education market account for a significant portion of all breaches in 2008, reductions in security spending could increase the risk of data breach (which is a costly issue). Download the study here. [PDF]

Another extremely interesting article on the topic of education looks to Obama’s campaign and what lessons the education sector can learn from his embrace of technology during his campaign. Obama’s campaign made effective use of social media – Facebook, Twitter, blogging – to get in touch with young voters. A strategy that had more young voters out to the polls than any time in the last 34 years, and which teachers can take inspiration from in terms of getting their students involved. Continue reading about this here.

Learn more about Absolute Software’s initiatives in Education here.

Via eschoolnews

CAIMR is hosted by Indiana University and is a non-profit corporation of thought leaders who share a common interest in identity management. Their mission is to “study identity issues impacting commerce, government, and national security, their social implications, and the processes, technologies and policies designed to deal with them.” However, despite all that, the goal is to develop real world solutions to these issues. The outcomes may be in the form of industry or law enforcement best practices, technologies, policy adjustments or training and educational materials.

CAIMR notes that the goal is to be able to adapt more quickly to evolving identity fraud and cyber crimes, understanding the constraints and challenges faced by each set of stakeholders. Gary R. Gordon, scholar in identity management at Indiana University School of Law, will be executive director at CAIMR.

Four initial areas of study will be:

1. Public safety: identity theft, cybercrime, fraud, sexual predator detection, etc.
2. National security: cybersecurity, human trafficking, terrorist tracking, etc.
3. Financial and corporate fraud: mortgage fraud, data breaches, insider threats, healthcare fraud, etc.
4. Individual protection: identity theft, fraud, etc.

Partners in CAIMR include the US Secret Service, VISA, Wells Fargo & Company, and many more.

Via network world, security watch

The e-Rate program provides discounts for schools of 20-90% for telecommunication services including Internet access. The proposed Broadband Data Improvement Act, introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, has a provision that would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish a nationwide campaign to “increase public awareness and provide education regarding strategies to promote the safe use of the Internet by children.”

Originally, a separate bill entitled ‘Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act’, was proposed to congress. The Senate Commerce Committee merged the language of this bill into the Broadband Data Improvement Act, which has now become law. The new law recognizes that education must go hand-in-hand with technology to protect children from online predators.

The Online Safety and Technology Working Group was established, under the legislation, to evaluate online safety education efforts, parental control technologies, and much more. In addition, a section of the Act requires that schools create an Internet safety policy that educates minors “about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response.”

I think it is great that steps are being taken to increase the awareness of online safety issues for children.

Via eschoolnews, eweek, consumer affairs, cnet ; Image: Microsoft Office Clipart / iStockphoto.com

On November 5, 2008 at 2pm ET / 11am PT, Absolute Software is sponsoring a webinar on laptop management and theft prevention.

The webinar will be hosted by eSchool News with speakers from two school districts discussing best practices for managing laptops and deterring theft. Paired with the recently published case study of Kent School District’s asset management program, Absolute is offering up some great resources right now for mobile security planning for the education sector.

To register for the 1 hour webinar, click here. And you can learn more about the webinar here.