Lesson Eight

Due to the nature of our program, every student has a computer in the classroom and is on that computer for the bulk of the day. It is extremely important to keep these machines secure. In order to do so, first we have an acceptable use policy in place. That is sort of the first line of defense. Secondly, every computer has McAfee virus protection. All of this runs behind a firewall that is pretty darn secure. To reduce the instances of exposure to viruses, certain sites are blocked through the server. All social networking sites are banned, along with any site with questionable content. Students do not have access to email through the server, and cannot get to sites like hotmail or gmail. Teachers are repeatedly warned about opening any attachments or emails from people that they do not know. Despite all these precautions, our system is still not one hundred percent secure

My biggest fear where hackers are concerned is the security of the personal information of students. Our program files often contain references to cases in the juvenile justice system and mental health issues in addition to grades and personal info. If a hacker were to get access to Infinite Campus and the hard drives of the Comprehensive Care counselors the intruder would know a student's name, address, grades, discipline issues, court cases before the judge, and any mental health issues a student was being treated for. Can you imagine the calamity that would ensue? Parents, rightfully, would be incensed.

I truly believe that our district does everything within its power to keep the system secure. As far as I am aware, we have never had an instance of outsiders hacking the personal information of students. This is not to say that we don't have our share of viruses that shut down the system at times. Today, for instance, have the classrooms in the building had a virus on their email that somehow morphed into destroying the network connection of those classrooms. Monitoring students, along with the latest virus protection and smart usage, can help reduce these issues.