News for and about the Internet2 community

["Michelle Pollak" <>]

EDUCAUSE EXPERT AND OTHERS TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS ON CYBER SECURITY
AWARENESS AND EDUCATION

WASHINGTON, DC -- April 21, 2004 -- Rodney Petersen, EDUCAUSE policy analyst
and security task force coordinator, provided Congressional testimony
(<http://www.educause.edu/asp/doclib/abstract.asp?ID=SEC0407>) today on the
importance of increased support for a broad range of cyber security
awareness and education initiatives. Testifying with other proponents of
security awareness during a hearing on "Protecting Our Nation's Cyber Space:
Educational Awareness for the Cyber Citizen" held by the House Government
Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental
Relations, and the Census, Petersen said, "If the improvement of cyber
security is indeed a national priority, then we need to see an infusion of
public and private support flowing to our schools and institutions of higher
education."

"The present challenges of cyber security require the establishment of a
life-long culture of security from the cradle to the grave," declared
Petersen, who serves on a national task force on cyber security awareness,
co-chairing the Subcommittee on Schools and Institutions of Higher
Education. Other key points in the testimony were:

* Colleges and universities have a stake in supporting their future students
in the K-12 setting, and
* Security information should be effective, easy-to-understand and have
minimal impact on learning styles and level.

This same testimony also covered efforts of CyberSmart
(<http://www.cybersmart.org>), a nonprofit organization that provides
curricula and training programs for administrators, teachers, and students
on secure, responsible, and effective computer and Internet use. According
to Jim Teicher, executive director of CyberSmart, "In the past, cyber
security has been the domain of computing professionals and law enforcement
agencies. But with the mainstreaming of the Internet, cyber security is now
a shared responsibility of adults and tech-savvy children alike."

In a related initiative, the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN;
<http://securedistrict.cosn.org/>) in partnership with Mass Networks
Educations Partnership has also developed Cyber Security for the Digital
District to provide schools and school districts with vital information on
education networks in order to ensure the privacy and security of data
within their systems. Steve Miller, executive director of Mass Networks,
warned, "It is vital that K-12 leaders be concerned and careful in
protecting their student's safety and their system's security, but we can't
over-react. Instead, we must adopt straightforward security practices that
recognize risks and deal with them proactively, providing our children with
access to information and ensuring their freedom to learn."

On yet another front, the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security
Task Force http://www.educause.edu/security/task-force.asp>) has established
an Education and Awareness Working Group to implement and publicize various
methods by which awareness of information technology security issues are
raised among college and university computer and network users,
administrators, and executives. Most recently, the working group encouraged
colleges and universities to observe Cyber Security Day and is generating
momentum toward the next Cyber Security Day on October 31, 2004. The working
group is also building a collection of College and University Education and
Awareness Resources
(<http://www.educause.edu/security/resources/awareness.asp>). The working
group also contributed to the Awareness Task Force report that is available
at <http://www.cyberpartnership.org>.

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ABOUT EDUCAUSE
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher
education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The
current membership comprises nearly 1,900 colleges, universities, and
education organizations, including 180 corporations. EDUCAUSE has offices in
Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at
<http://www.educause.edu/about/>.

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ABOUT INTERNET2
Led by more than 200 U.S. universities working with industry and government,
Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and
technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of
tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia,
industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy.
For more information, visit <http://www.internet2.edu>.