Educause Security Discussion mailing list archives
Security Awareness & Social Networking Services
From: "Tim M. Crawford" <tcrawford () GSB STANFORD EDU>
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:41:51 -0700
Folks, October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month! It¹s a time to consider what additional information and guidance would help make students, campus administrators, faculty, and staff less vulnerable to security threats and to take steps to deliver that advice. Thinking beyond obvious threats and obvious target groups is key. A case in point Students are the common target audience of institutional advice on security and privacy risks associated with online social networking services. It would be a mistake, however, to omit such advice from security awareness programs aimed at faculty and staff. The popular LinkedIn social networking service markets itself to experienced professionals and claims to have more than 15 million such members, with 23 new ones joining every minute. Facebook, Myspace, Digg, Orkut and other services similarly attract those beyond college age. One might easily assume that mature adults would be more cautious about the type of information they share on these networks. Many, however, don¹t take the time to learn about profile settings they could enable to limit access to their information. Also, it¹s too easy to forget that while friendships (especially online ones) can wax and wane, what¹s posted on the web, stays on the web. By their very nature online social networks create a sense of community and camaraderie that make self-discipline hard to maintain when sharing opinions, photos, and other private information. Personal reputations of faculty and staff, and by extension the reputations of institutions that employ them, are at stake. Personal safety is also a concern. Creating awareness among these individuals encourages them to balance the risks against the benefits of using social networking sites. Incorporating this topic into an institution¹s overall security awareness program is a natural fit. Further information on social networking is available on the EDUCAUSE website at http://connect.educause.edu/term_view/social+networking and security awareness program resources are available at http://www.educause.edu/ResourceKitforNationalCyberSecurityAwarenessMonth/74 79. Additionally, the 2007 student video contest winners cited below address social networking and can be a resource to campuses: TMI: Too Much Information http://www.researchchannel.org/securityvideo2007/displayevent.aspx?rid=11006 Web of Risks http://www.researchchannel.org/securityvideo2007/displayevent.aspx?rid=10990 Identity Theft for Criminals http://www.researchchannel.org/securityvideo2007/displayevent.aspx?rid=11088 Regards, Tim ______________________________________________________ Tim M. Crawford | Director, IT Operations Stanford Graduate School of Business (o) 650.724.2447 | tcrawford () stanford edu (c) 650.804.1300 | Yahoo IM: timmcrawford
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- Security Awareness & Social Networking Services Tim M. Crawford (Oct 22)