Few institutions have had their technology-security practices scrutinized as thoroughly as has Ohio University. Then again, few institutions have been victimized by five separate security breaches in the span of about a year.
In the wake of the hacking incidents, Ohio has replaced its chief information officer, vowed to spend more money on technology, and pledged to revamp its beleaguered IT office. But many of the students, alumni, and employees whose personal information was left exposed still find themselves asking the question: How did Ohio’s IT department lose its way in the first place?
An article in The Post, Ohio’s student newspaper, provides some details. The Post says the university’s troubles began in the 1990s, when its communications-network-services branch — which dealt with Internet and telephone networks — split from its computer-services department. The communications department was “entrepreneurial,” reports the newspaper, while the computing office was “bureaucratic and by the book.” The Post suggests that friction between those two “polarized” departments contributed to Ohio’s security meltdown. —Brock Read
