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Security/Privacy

European Union Sponsors Global Malware Study

8/10/2007

The European Union has awarded a group of academic and commercial researchers a $7.1 million grant to analyze data on global malware activity and trends, according to Stephano Zanero, a researcher at the Italian university Politecno de Milano, who is helping lead the three-year project.

Penn State Researcher Posts Marine Corps SSNs

8/10/2007

A Penn State researcher in June accidentally posted the names and personal data of about 8,400 United States Marines, the university confirmed last week.

UNC Research: Malware Now a Sophisticated Industry

8/10/2007

A study by a criminal justice professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has found that selling malware has become a sophisticated business supported by advertising, marketing, and support services. UNCC Assistant Professor Thomas Holt said the study was based on research on 30 different hacker forums around the world but focused on six forums, including ones hosted in eastern Europe.

UC Davis Concludes E-Voting Systems Hackable

8/10/2007

A report by the University of California, Davis has found three electronic voting machines being considered for California state polling are susceptible to both physical and electronic tampering from tools ranging from screw drivers to Trojan horse programs.

Apple Patches iPhone Bug Found by Hopkins Alum

8/10/2007

Apple has issued 48 software patches for a raft of applications, including its hot-selling iPhone and the Web browser Safari (for Windows).

Stolen Yale Computers Contained 10,000 SSNs

8/9/2007

According to the Yale Daily News, Yale University alerted 10,000 current and past students, as well as 200 staff, that two computers stolen from the College Dean's Office July 17 contained their social security numbers.

e2Campus Now Broadcasts Messages to Alertus Beacons

8/9/2007

Mass notification system maker Omnilert has partnered with Alertus Technologies to let the e2Campus higher education alert system broadcast messages to Alertus Technologies Notification Beacons.

Facebook Becoming Malware Magnet, Experts Warn

8/9/2007

Popular college social networking website Facebook attracts thousands of developers wanting to enrich its functionality. But in the process it has become a magnet for malware, according to experts from the security firm VeriSign.

RedSky Launches Campus Alert Tool

8/9/2007

Automated E911 provider RedSky Technologies (Chicago, IL) has released Broadcast Alert, a tool to help emergency and security personnel reach higher education campuses and school districts with emergency and alert messages.

Security Student Video Contest Winners Picked

8/9/2007

A group of higher education computer security groups announced the winners of a computer security awareness student video contest, which is part of a national awareness campaign to help tighten computer security at colleges and universities.

The Calm Before the Calm?

8/9/2007

August is a time of calm for most in the education community. But our students are out there interfacing with the world and getting ready to bring back all sorts of things with them to our campuses when they arrive in the fall. Are we ready?

Let 1,000 Flowers Bloom: Oracle Seeds Tech in China

8/6/2007

Oracle Corp. is trying to enter the booming Chinese economy on the ground floor. The software firm has introduced an "Intro to Computer Science" course to universities and "senior vocational schools" throughout the country via its Oracle Academy program.

Campus Technology Innovator Deploys eTelemetry's Locate

7/27/2007

Coppin State University (Baltimore, MD) has deployed Annapolis, MD-based eTelemetry's Locate appliance in order to passively match users with their IP address and PC and switch ports in real time.

Back in the Petrie Dish, but for How Long?

7/26/2007

Think back a few days. Do you perhaps remember awakening in the middle of the night, totally creeped-out, as though there were something ominous slouching through the darkness....

Who is Where on the Network?

7/25/2007

Coppin State University (MD) now has an automated, centralized view of their network that facilitates both long-term planning and real-time problem solving.

New Ohio U CIO Knocks Out Strategic Plan in 75 Days

7/24/2007

Bruce Bible, Ohio University's recently appointed chief information officer, has completed an initial 75-day review of OU's information technology needs. The result is a new IT-management strategy to restructure the central office, designate advisory groups, and identify opportunities to collaborate with IT workers across the university's Athens and regional campuses.

HEA Reauthorization Amendment To Crack Down on University File Sharing

7/24/2007

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to introduce a new amendment to the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act requiring a number of universities to police and report uses of illegal file sharing on its campuses.

Bull Durham: Duke WiFi Outage Leads to iPhone Outrage

7/23/2007

The media's search for iPhone flaws maintained its pace last week when Duke University's wireless local area network (WLAN) jammed for 10 to 15 minutes, apparently the result of newly commissioned iPhones inundating the university's Cisco wireless network servers.

Admissions of Guilt

7/19/2007

One of the discussions I have been in for the last week or two has been about the growing use within academia of MySpace information for what verges on "official" purposes.

UVA-Wise Taps Mirage for Network Security

7/18/2007

The University of Virginia's College at Wise (UVA-Wise) will implement network security technology from Mirage Networks (Austin, TX) to protect network communications at its residence halls.

Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Cyber Heart?

7/13/2007

Universities don't become headlines because a $2,000 computer is hacked or lost. They become headlines when sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and medical information is stolen. In terms of liability, the asset is not equipment; it is information.

Cardiff U Identity Project Widens Access to Campus Systems

7/13/2007

Cardiff University in Wales is leading an effort to persuade universities across the U.K. to share research on each other's campus online activity as a way help fight online fraud, hackers, and malicious software attacks.

FBI, Carnegie Mellon Identify 1 MM BotNet Nodes

7/13/2007

The FBI and Carnegie Mellon University's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) have identified the IP addresses of more than 1 million zombie computers throughout the United States as a part of security sweep nicknamed "Operation Bot Roast."

U Texas Project To Train Health-Emergency Responders

7/13/2007

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has formed a partnership with a simulation software firm to develop Web-based content for training staff in emergency response procedures.

UC Santa Barbara Prof Studies Psychology of Phishing

7/13/2007

Most e-mail scams work by luring victims with a sense of familiarity or legitimacy, according to a new study by a University of California, Santa Barbara psychologist.