This will probably interest MSU system administrators:
Thursday, April 18, 2002
Higher-Education Organizations Plan a Coordinated Approach to
Network Security
By FLORENCE OLSEN
Today more than a half-dozen higher-education organizations
are expected to endorse a national effort to improve the
security of the computer networks and information systems used
by colleges and universities.
The organizations, which include the American Association of
State Colleges and Universities and the National Association
of College and University Business Officers, say they intend
to develop a coordinated strategy to prevent
information-security breaches, which have been becoming
increasingly frequent and disruptive on many campuses.
Educause and Internet2, two higher-education technology
organizations, are leading the effort. It is being endorsed
by, among others, the American Association of Community
Colleges, the Association of American Universities, the
American Council on Education, the National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities, and the National
Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.
Today, at the Networking 2002 Educause conference in
Washington, the groups that will be involved in the national
effort plan to announce a "framework" for responding to the
information-security challenges facing colleges and
universities.
The organizations' member colleges will be asked to make
information security a "more visible priority" on their
campuses; to use existing security software more effectively;
to develop new, advanced security software; and to work more
closely on security issues with industry and the federal
government.
"Information technology is at the heart of how research and
education gets done, so ensuring that this infrastructure
remains secure and reliable is important," said Greg Wood, a
spokesman for the Internet2 consortium.
The text of the groups' "framework for action" is on the
Internet2 Web site (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, available
free).
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Copyright 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
