September 2003 — Editorial
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Security and Privacy of Information
Conclusions
We know the problem of security and privacy of information will not go away. It is recognized as a serious problem that requires top priority. For example, in the Palo Alto Unified School District in California, where wireless computer connections are used throughout its offices and on various campuses, a reporter from the Palo Alto Weekly was able to obtain students' grades, home phone numbers, addresses, medical information, psychological information and full-color photos of the students using a laptop and wireless connection card. This situation has been given top priority by the district.
However, what extreme situations are we willing to tolerate. When public schools in Biloxi, Miss., opened last month, the district had digital cameras recording each minute of every classroom lesson. Now, hundreds of Internet-wired cameras are running all day in an effort to deter crime and general misbehavior among the district's 6,500 students and teachers. The system lets principals and security officers view a classroom from any of the school's computers by using a password.
We must all be fully aware of what is happening to information, which we previously thought was private and secure. Perhaps, we need more education as to what we should and should not do.
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