Considering the unprecedented budget hardships in higher education, now may not seem to be an auspicious time to be emphasizing the importance of continuing, or even perhaps increasing, investments in information security. Decisions regarding these matters are usually in the hands of the CIOs, leaving information technology (IT) leaders in…

Since laptop programs extend instruction beyond the campus, it is then a must for schools to try a variety of solutions to protect their machines--and their users. Combining high-tech safeguards with face-to-face user education is a must for schools whose laptop programs allow students to take the computers off-site. For a cautionary tale on the…

We report on the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a case-based instructional environment designed for learning network engineering skills for cybersecurity. We describe the societal problem addressed, the theory-based solution, and the preliminary testing and evaluation of that solution. We identify an architecture for…

In this article, the author describes a new cybersecurity course at the University of Abertay Dundee in Scotland. Geoffrey R. Lund, leader of the software-applications program at Abertay, says the course prepares students for a rapidly growing job market by teaching that the best defense is a good offense. Professors set up a network of 20 or so…

Take a look around the bus or subway and see just how many people are bumping along to an iPod or an MP3 player. What they are listening to is their secret, but the many signature earbuds in sight should give one a real sense of just how pervasive digital audio has become. This article describes how that popularity is mirrored in library audio…

In this article, four directors discuss the security challenges that keep them worried and what they do about it. Dwayne Alton describes how his school district, IT School District of Lee County, Fort Meyers, Florida, collaborated with Cisco and installed an intrusion detection system which alerts IT staff when someone creates their own access…

At least 18 colleges are scrambling to inform tens of thousands of students that they are at risk of having their identities stolen after SunGard, a leading software vendor, reported that a laptop owned by one of its consultants was stolen. The extent of the problem is still unknown, though many of the campuses that have been identified are in…

We have developed a tool called Secure WEb dEvelopment Teaching (SWEET) to introduce security concepts and practices for web application development. This tool provides introductory tutorials, teaching modules utilizing virtualized hands-on exercises, and project ideas in web application security. In addition, the tool provides pre-configured…

The eleventh annual EDUCAUSE Current Issues Survey shows some very familiar themes among the top-ten IT issues of strategic importance to technology leaders in higher education. Indeed, all ten of the issues from the 2009 survey are back, albeit in a slightly different order. In addition, Strategic Planning returns as an issue of renewed…

Database security is a growing concern evidenced by an increase in the number of reported incidents of loss of or unauthorized exposure to sensitive data. As the amount of data collected, retained and shared electronically expands, so does the need to understand database security. The Defense Information Systems Agency of the US Department of…

Learning management systems (LMSs) have dominated the teaching and learning landscape in higher education for the past decade, with a recent Delta Initiative report indicating that more than 90 percent of colleges and universities have a standardized, institutional LMS implementation. While the LMS has become central to the business of colleges…

If you work at a community college that teaches cybersecurity, it pays to be located in the backyard of a spy agency. Just don't ask Kelly A. Koermer, administrator of the Anne Arundel Community College, what's inside those dark towers at Fort Meade. She points out other highlights of the restricted region: an employees-only exit off the highway,…

This paper presents a platform on which a new generation of applications targeted to aid the self-organised learner can be presented. The new application is enabled by innovations in trust-based security of data built upon emerging infrastructures to aid federated data access in the UK education sector. Within the proposed architecture, users and…

Electronic transcripts are no longer a concept awaiting definition. They are here to stay. Although paper transcripts remain the standard--at least in terms of volume--an ever-increasing number and eventual majority of students and alumni will expect if not require electronic transcripts. College registrars and admissions officers' obligation to…

Student computing is now mobile. For college students across the nation, convenient access to information--anytime, anywhere, on demand--has become not only a priority, but a necessity. To successfully serve the needs of this current generation of students, colleges and universities must recognize the trend and align services accordingly.…