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Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
Data breaches cause concern on campuses | Interactive Feature
Officials say measures are in place to protect privacy of students, staff
Elizabeth Rubin
Data breaches and identity theft have become a prime focus on college and university campuses.
A recent report by Educational Security Incidents found that the number of data breaches on college campuses rose 67.5 percent last year, compared to 2006. But at Penn, officials say, a number of measures are in place to protect data.
According to a policy Penn has had for 10 years, "anyone storing any confidential University information has to meet a set of security standards," David Millar, the University's information-security officer, said.
These standards include proper security patches, strong passwords and trained staff. Penn also scans computers for weaknesses twice a year in order to prevent data breaches or possible leaks of information.
Kenneth Green, founding director of The Campus Computing Project, said most reported data breaches occur because of "perpetual adolescent issues," referring to the independent academic program or research lab that links to a centralized network and fails to meet the security standards set up by the parent network.
"If you follow the rules, you reduce the risk," he said. "But you have to recognize that rules continue to change as the environment changes."
In order to prevent problems common with its decentralized network, Penn has developed an annual assessment of the 20 to 25 schools and centers, Millar said.
A recent report by Educational Security Incidents found that the number of data breaches on college campuses rose 67.5 percent last year, compared to 2006. But at Penn, officials say, a number of measures are in place to protect data.
According to a policy Penn has had for 10 years, "anyone storing any confidential University information has to meet a set of security standards," David Millar, the University's information-security officer, said.
These standards include proper security patches, strong passwords and trained staff. Penn also scans computers for weaknesses twice a year in order to prevent data breaches or possible leaks of information.
Kenneth Green, founding director of The Campus Computing Project, said most reported data breaches occur because of "perpetual adolescent issues," referring to the independent academic program or research lab that links to a centralized network and fails to meet the security standards set up by the parent network.
"If you follow the rules, you reduce the risk," he said. "But you have to recognize that rules continue to change as the environment changes."
In order to prevent problems common with its decentralized network, Penn has developed an annual assessment of the 20 to 25 schools and centers, Millar said.
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