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February 26, 2008, 11:18 AM ET
Chronicle Tech Forum: 'Where Did I Leave That Student Data?'
Tampa, Fla. — It seems like every time Beth Cate walks into a classroom to teach at Indiana University, she finds a thumb drive that has been accidentally left behind by an absent-minded colleague. She wonders whether there might be any private student data on that drive — like graded papers — which could mean an illegal leak of personal student information by the university.
Keeping student data on physical devices like those USB drives is one of the newest legal land mines for campus administrators, said Ms. Cate, who is the university’s associate general counsel, during a panel at The Chronicle’s Technology Forum here. “I really worry about mobile devices,” she said.
Tracy Mitrano, director of information-technology policy and of computer policy and law at Cornell University, agreed that physical security of storage drives and computers is a growing problem. “Human error often lies at the bottom of a lot of data breaches,” she said. “It’s not necessarily the sophisticated hacking incidents.” —Jeffrey R. Young
Categories: TechForum2008, Security
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