Project to Monitor College Networks May Help Thwart Hacker Attacks
n a research project that could reshape how computer administrators safeguard the security of the Internet, as many as 10 colleges may contribute data on attacks on their networks to a central database.
Software on the colleges' computer networks will, on a regular basis, automatically gather information on the status of the networks. If a network is attacked by a hacker, administrators will have easy access to "before" and "after" snapshots of the network to help them fight off the attack.
"They can really get a 360-degree view of what's going on," said Steffani A. Burd, executive director of the Information Security in Academic Institutions research project at Columbia University's Teachers College. "That's never been done in academic institutions before." She said the system, supported by a grant from the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice, has already been tested at three colleges.
This article, written by Vincent Kiernan, appeared in the October 10th, 2005 publication of The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Published Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005