http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/04/29/schools_scramble_to_safeguard_computer_systems/ By Maria Sacchetti Globe Staff April 29, 2006 Private industry long ago adopted safeguards against hacking, but public schools, which just began putting student records online in recent years, are only starting to recognize their vulnerability. The allegations that a student gained access to a teacher's computer at Boston Latin School and saw tests and student records apparently took officials by surprise. Boston Public Schools had begun to talk about improving computer security at all schools before the alleged incident, but immediately tightened security afterward. ''For lack of a better term, this is sort of a test case to figure out where security breaches might be," said Jonathan Palumbo, a school system spokesman. Lexington High officials are debating whether to e-mail report cards to parents, weighing the convenience against the security risks. Brookline High forced teachers to make their passwords tougher to guess this year after students broke into the computer system to change grades. ''You can't assume that you're smarter than the kids about computers," said Michael Frantz, assistant headmaster at Brookline High. ''It certainly is a wake-up call. . . . This kind of thing can really happen to us." Decades ago, public schools were untroubled with computer security. But now 95 percent of the state's classrooms are wired for the Internet, according to the state Department of Education. Teachers store grades on the Internet. Clerks track student absences and tardiness online. Some even share that with parents: letting them check online to make sure their child went to school or to monitor their grades. A year ago, Lexington High investigated a student on allegations that he altered his attendance records, which had been posted online. The school now wants to e-mail report cards, but officials said they are not sure whether the school has protected itself well enough against hackers. ''I really worry about that. We're certainly behind," said Bill Cole, a dean at the school. ''We definitely have a population here that would see it as a challenge here and break in." This school year, Brookline High officials suspended the two students it caught breaking into the computer system and changing grades. ''You can't make a guarantee that it wouldn't happen again," Frantz said. ''We're more careful, and things are tighter than they were. I think it would be a lot more difficult for it to happen." Charlie Lyons, superintendent and director at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, in Billerica, said he spends $50,000 a year on computer updates and security. He also hired a director of computer services because the school has nearly 700 computers. ''There's no system that's unbreakable. There's going to be some kid from MIT that's probably going to . . . be able to break into any system in the world," Lyons said. Francis Cahill, who taught Latin at Boston Latin School for 33 years before retiring in June 2005, said more teachers who used to keep grades on paper and tests in files are relying on computers. Students are ''a lot more sophisticated than a lot of the teachers," said Cahill, who had never heard of a student breaking into the school's computer system during his time at Latin. ''Kids are always looking for a leg up no matter what school they're in. It doesn't surprise me at all. ''I would guess that in any kind of school where kids are trying to get into college, the same kind of thing could happen." Tracy Jan of the Globe staff contributed to this report. © Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company _________________________________ InfoSec News v2.0 - Coming Soon! http://www.infosecnews.org
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