Universities Need a Privacy Refresher Course

Why aren't higher education institutions prioritizing Internet data security? This study shows that 100 percent of doctoral schools and liberal arts colleges had a non-secure data collection page and less than 30 percent of universities even make privacy policies available on their Web sites.

When it comes to privacy, universities and colleges need to go back to school.

Bentley College and Watchfire, a company specializing in online risk management, just surveyed 236 institutions on their online privacy policies. The list was culled from universities and national liberal arts colleges appearing in the 2004 U.S. News and World Report ranking of America's best colleges…(CNET.com)

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Securing UC Berkeley's Network

The University of California at Berkeley has made a name for itself in networking, with innovations such as Unix, Berkeley Internet Domain Name, Smart Dust and SETI@home. But the school has made headlines over the past few years for some things of which it is less proud, namely a couple of security breaches (a stolen laptop containing personal information on graduates and a compromised database of California residents).

In an interview with Clifford Frost, director of Berkeley's Communications and Network Services, talks about his efforts to ensure that when people think about IT and Berkeley they think about "innovation" not "infiltration." …(Network World)

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Universities Snatch Up Unused Cable for High-Speed Networks

Higher education is still benefiting from the telecomm industry's struggles, as consortia buy up "dark fiber" – optical fiber that's already in place, but not being used. In addition to 10-Gbps IP network connections, these fiber paths can carry non-IP traffic, a capability few conventional Internet service providers offer...(InformationWeek)

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Movie, Record Industries Target College LANs in Piracy Battle

"We cannot ignore the growing misuse of campus LAN systems or the toll this means of theft is taking on our industry.” That was the message from the MPAA and RIAA to network administrators at 40 universities last week. According to the industry groups, students are increasingly using programs like Direct Connect, MyTunes, and OurTunes to trade copyrighted material on campus LANs…(RealTechNews)

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