Blackney discusses campus IT security, safeguards
Guari Khanolkar
Issue date: 6/2/06 Section: Sci-Tech
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In these attacks, students and faculty at Ohio University had their private information exposed to intruders.
The Computer Security Institute (CSI) reported in its 2002 Computer Crime and Security Survey that the threat from computer crime and other information security breaches continues unabated and that the financial toll is mounting. The survey results were based on responses from 503 computer security practitioners from institutions across the country, including universities.
"Institutions are focused on protecting the data on their servers because one misappropriated server could contain personal data on tens of thousands of people," said Ken Blackney, associate vice president of IRT core tech infrastructure. "Security at Drexel is a high priority and the University has made substantial investments and taken numerous steps to increase the level of security surrounding personal data under its care."
The last major security breach at Drexel occurred several years ago and involved a non-administrative server that was, at the request of the academic community, run with substantially less security measures than the administrative servers operated by IRT at that time. Blackney said that IRT no longer runs machines configured in that manner, regardless of user requests.
To counter the threat posed by breaches in security, IRT has created and grown a security staff of three full-time employees, installed various firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention systems, upgraded network equipment, software, operating systems and applications.
Blackney said that the main risk faced by students and faculty is the misappropriation of their computing and network resources.
"Intruders often attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in software so that they can remotely control personal computers and their cable modem or DSL connections. They then use these resources to attack other systems. Recently, peer-to-peer and instant messaging applications have been used as attack vectors for personal computers."
As vice president of IRT, Blackney's security interactions are primarily internal to IRT staff but are extended to Public Safety, the Office of General Counsel and outside law enforcement agencies as and when needed.
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