Monday, June 8, 2009

Infinite Campus Student Software Security Issue?

– Student changes grades in a school’s computers

The Courier-Journal is reporting on a student who is being denied access to her graduation ceremony after she conspired with another student to change grades in the Jeffersonville High School’s computer system.

While this incident apparently took place up in Indiana, it provides another case in point that some students will work very hard to compromise computer systems – especially those that have things like their grades in them – and there is a history of students sometimes succeeding.

We need to insure that Kentucky’s new Infinite Campus computer system, which now tracks student grades here, is more robust than the system used in Clark County, Indiana. Infinite Campus holds a lot more sensitive information besides just student grades, and a compromise could have serious consequences for parents as well as their student children.

(Corrects earlier version of this post which assumed the high school in question was in Kentucky as the Courier article did not identify the state where the school is located)

1 comment:

freeourpows said...

Having worked with electronics and information systems for the past 25 years, I can tell you that these PC based systems on networks that are tied into the internet can and will be compromised.

Security flaws are always there and it is a constant battle to fix them. As system updates occur, fixing old flaws and adding enhancements, new flaws are created.

It is a never ending battle.

The solution: Stop keeping sensitive data on students and families on these computer systems. Schools are going beyond their intended function and have entered into social engineering, indoctrination, and police business.

They should get back to the mission of teaching real knowledge as opposed to indoctrinating, and also stop baby-sitting.