[September 16, 2011] Schools take closer look at computer security Tweet LAS CRUCES, Sep 16, 2011 (Las Cruces Sun-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The recent hacking incident into the El Paso Independent School District intranet site has reinforced a fundamental cyberworld lesson for school officials in Dona Ana County: One slip-up and your system can be hijacked and your stuff stolen. "Buyer beware. Nothing is for free," said Shaun Cooper, chief information officer at New Mexico State University. Every communication, he said, every email, download and click made on a web-connected computer is a way a hacker can slip in, secretly take over your system and pilfer your information. "There are many people knocking on your computer's doors," said Cooper. And, he added, "users are the No. 1 cause for data leaks" by somehow allowing hackers enough room to infiltrate a system. Once inside the El Paso school district's intranet system -- hacking, in this case, probably meant figuring out the password, local experts said -- hackers had access to the trinity of identify theft: name, Social Security number and birth date. To protect students from becoming part of an identity theft scam, schools in Las Cruces have responded to online security threats by no longer collecting Social Security numbers from students. "We used to collect Social Security numbers, years ago. We now assign an ID number to a student that is not related to their Social Security number," said Jo Galvan, spokeswoman for Las Cruces Public Schools. "It is not necessary to provide a Social Security number to enroll in our school system. That way there is more protection for a child's privacy." LCPS stopped collecting Social Security numbers from students in 2008 after some special education students and school staff had their private information posted on an unsecured website for several days. "We took a number of precautions because of that," said Michael W. Cook, coordinator for communications for LCPS. The district then paid $75,420 for a yearlong credit monitoring system to catch any identify theft attempts stemming from that situation, Cook said. None were encountered, he added. In 2004 both NMSU and the University of Texas at El Paso stopped the use of student's Social Security numbers. Neither the Hatch or Gadsden school districts ask for student Social Security numbers. "In New Mexico, all students are identified by a state code, not a Social Security number," said Ben Potts, the network administrator for the Hatch Independent School District. "That code is linked to a student's name, but not their Social Security number. So if somebody gets access to that, they can't apply for a credit card or anything with it because it's only used for school." Yvonne G. Casillas, coordinator for data analysis for GISD, also said there were no Social Security numbers for students on their online data files. "We have to generate a state identification number when a student is enrolled," she said. Cooper acknowledged that protecting online information is a difficult task, especially considering that many people increase their risks by regularly viewing and interacting with their sensitive data. "The demand for connectivity and data access is high. That is a growing threat for security violations," he said. Even with all the precautions, he added, "there are hackers out in the world with the capability to break in anywhere." Reyes Mata III can be reached at (575) 541-5405. Avoiding identity theft Here are a few things that can help protect you from identity theft: -- Continually check the accuracy of personal accounts and deal with any discrepancies immediately -- Avoid questionable Web sites -- Practice safe email protocol: -- Don't open messages from unknown senders -- Immediately delete messages you suspect to be spam -- Only download software from sites you trust. Carefully evaluate free software and file-sharing applications before downloading them. -- Get the latest Windows software patches -- Use public computers with extreme caution -- Install security software products Source: www.webroot.com, an Internet security company ___ (c)2011 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]