Re: Secure Web Directory?

[Linc Nesheim <nesheijl () WHITMAN EDU>]

Various changes have been made to our public directory over the years.
 Most of those were attempts to thwart the scraping of contact information
-- throttling, limit number of results, requiring extra clicks, etc.  Some
were effective for short periods after implementation, but none for very
long.

We currently have a memo/proposal going through internal channels
recommending we remove the universal public directory altogether.  Any
department or group that wants contact information available via
unauthenticated methods is free to post it on their self-managed sites.
Our full directory still being searchable behind our portal for internal,
authenticated users.

As a side note, I participated in a focus-group a couple of years ago where
we learned the surprisingly-common behavior of how folks search for
information -- go to Google.com and search for institution name + search
term was used more often than going to a particular site and using the
site's internal search mechanism.  This suggests the intended audience for
these public directories may not actually be the most active users.  :-/

Linc

-

*Linc Nesheim*
Information Security Officer
Whitman College
*509-527-5852*


On Fri, Mar 8, 2019 at 5:21 PM Fisch, Neal <Neal.Fisch () csuci edu> wrote:

> Good afternoon all,
>
>
>
> In an attempt to cut down on the amount email phishing we receive we’re
> interested in see if any universities are protecting (or considering to
> protect) their outward facing web directories, or if they have any other
> solutions against directory scraping that have been useful.
>
>
>
> Thanks all and have a great weekend!
>
>
>
> Neal
>
>
>
> *Neal Fisch*
>
> *Director, Enterprise Services and Security*
>
> *Information Security Officer*
>
>
>
> California State University Channel Islands
>
> One University Drive / Camarillo CA 93012
>
> Email:  neal.fisch () csuci edu
>
>
>
> [image: Channel-Your-Potential-Email-Footer]