THE IT DEPARTMENT IS THE FRONT LINE when it comes to network security and technology training. Along with juggling budgets, guiding projects, and maintaining adequate staff, the campus CIO has to ensure technology on campus not only aligns with student expectations but is usable and used. As a new semester gets under way and network usage increases, Ronald Danielson, vice provost for Information Services and chief information officer at Santa Clara University (Calif.); Bruce Maas, CIO at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Celeste Schwartz, vice president for Information Technology at Montgomery County Community College (Pa.); Sam Segran, associate vice president for information Technology and CIO at Texas Tech University; and John Smithers, CIO at Johnson & Wales University (R.I.), took time to discuss everything from P2P networks to managing change in a virtual roundtable for University Business.
P2P file sharing is a problem on many campuses. What steps have you taken to respond to the campaigns against illegal music and movie downloads? How involved do you think colleges and universities should be in the issue?
Ronald Danielson: I don't like the phrase "respond to the campaigns against illegal downloads." It seems to imply that universities are working at cross-purposes to copyright holders, or that we've been ignoring the issue, and certainly neither is the case. Santa Clara is diligent in educating students, faculty, and staff about their responsibilities under copyright law and the potential penalties they may face if they violate it. But we also do that for photocopying as a violation of copyright, although less vigorously. I believe colleges and universities owe our students, faculty, and staff informed information about the subject and about the risks they face. From the little factual information I've been able to find about the subject, my sense is that higher education is being disproportionately targeted by the entertainment industry related to downloading.
Bruce Maas: While we do not actively monitor our networks for this type of behavior, we respond promptly to valid and legal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claims by disconnecting network access privileges to the individual identified with the offending IP address. Network service is restored to that person only after verification that the offending material has been removed from the offending computer and the individual assigned to the IP address completes an online course developed to educate the campus community about legal and illegal file sharing.
Sam Segran: We use network technology to block P2P based on the protocols used. But we also have policies prohibiting the use of P2P on the network. Texas Tech is a state university; in April 2006 the governor signed a policy forbidding P2P on state networks. We've negotiated with Ruckus and iTunes for a free music download site, and we distribute handouts at freshman orientation, and to parents, faculty, and staff. John Smithers: We have Packeteer Packetshapers at each internet gateway at each campus that prohibits that traffic from passing to and from our network. We don't allow any subnets, wireless networks or any type of network other than our own, so we monitor for that. We shut them down when we find them.
A recent CDW-G survey suggested that the greatest threat to network security may actually be from users within the university itself. How do you safeguard your network against your own users?
R.D.: There are several different security issues related to this: keeping on-campus people from accessing network resources they shouldn't, making sure computers connected to the network aren't harboring security threats, and controlling network traffic so that no individual disrupts the services of others.
Celeste Schwartz: People don't want to talk about these things. Security is the thing you worry about day and night.
R.D.: For a number of years we have required students in our residence halls to register their computers before connecting to our networks, and we will extend it to faculty and staff this year.
