District Administration - June 2006 - (Page 40)

TECHNOLOGY After Palo Alto's hacking incident, i ng games. Scigliano says her staff conducted St i ll, the risk is present. Hernacki's a security audit, upgraded systems suggestions include controlling access and tightened security holes. They through usernames and passwords, Hacker Toolkit also developed a six-page pamphlet limiting access to specific computers outlining basic computer security and setting up networks to minimize Hackers rely on commonly available tools to practices. Scigliano gave copies of their reach outside school grounds find the weak points in wireless networks. this pamphlet to school principals, see the Safer Wi-Fi sidebar . The good news: Your IT people can use the who then conducted training sessions Ga r ten urges school districts to same tools to find out where your network's with their staffs. The pamphlet was address the Wi-Fi security problem as defenses need reinforcement. Here are some very helpful for us in terms of teach- soon as possible. They'll be able to i ng our staff and training them about secure their networks faster than we of the most popular programs: security and confidentiality, says did because the tools have evolved, Scigliano. They were aware of things but they better start now. They AirSnort they needed to do with student infor- should think about the consequences airsnort.shmoo.com mat ion stored in fi ling cabinets, but if someone breaks in. This popular tool monitors traffic on encrypted they weren't aware of what it meant Once the network is secured, you Wi-Fi networks. Once it's gathered enough for e-mail, online fi le storage and can't rest on your laurels. Hackers those kinds of things. are continually honing their tech- data, it's able to figure out the encryption key, n iques and developing new attacks, thereby allowing access to the network. Barring the Doors so your staff needs to stay abreast of the latest security developments. Fou r years after its audit, Poway has NetStumbler That means refreshing your network removed all of the rogue hotspots www.netstumbler.com security every three to six months to and has fully embraced Wi-Fi this NetStumbler was one of the earliest and most make sure it's hardened against the time, with district oversight and most likely attacks. Security can get plenty of security. In fact, many popular wardriving tools. It monitors the air- obsolete, just like your equipment, schools now include a clock tower waves for nearby Wi-Fi networks, providing says Garten. architectural feature where wireless information on each one it detects. NetStumbler Hav i ng an outside auditor come transmitters can be located, provid- only works with certain Wi-Fi access cards. in and give you strategic advice is i ng greater range for the networks. very helpful, adds Scigliano, whose However, network connections are Kismet district also used Farm9. The per- encrypted. The district also has a spec t ive provided by an outside party designated chief security officer who www.kismetwireless.net can uncover weaknesses you might can shut down a school's network if A more modern and capable wardriving pro- otherwise miss, and also provides a a hacking incident is underway. In gram, Kismet works with many Wi-Fi cards. roadmap for security enhancements most districts, it would take four to In addition to identifying nearby networks, and future upgrades. five phone calls to shut down the net- Kismet also provides traffic monitoring sniff- Compa red with a typical network, work, Garten says. At Poway, it takes ing so hackers can eavesdrop on wireless Wi-Fi still has a lot of maturing to do, just one call to the security officer. says the former hacker. If a school Br ia n Hernacki, an architect in data transmissions. decides to take the risks in setting one the R&D lab for security software up, they need to make sure that all of vendor Symantec, confi rms that secu- SAINT the teachers and faculty know to be r it y is an issue for school districts, www.saintcorporation.com / cautious in keeping sensitive informa- but notes that most wireless hacking products /products.html tion off the network. And adminis- incidents are not as serious as those T h e SAINT vulnerability scanner checks trators need to stay up to date with described by the former hacker and vulnerabilities in the network. Do all Scigliano. It is in pretty rare cases every computer on your network for security that, and you can rest easy, knowing that they're actually hacking into vulnerabilities, providing a report that you can you've kept hackers away from the school resources, says Hernacki. use to eliminate weak spots and shore up gates for now. DA More common abuses are simply your defenses. using the Wi-Fi network in an unau- t hor i zed fashion, such as connecting Dylan Tweney is a writer based in San via a laptop in the cafeteria or play- Mateo, Calif. 40 June 2006 District Administration wireless1.w.indd 40 5/15/06 4:19:10 PM http://airsnort.shmoo.com http://www.netstumbler.com http://www.kismetwireless.net http://www.saintcorporation.com/products/products.html

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2006

Contents
Editor's Letter
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Graduation Woes
The Hidden Downside of Wireless Networking
Cover Story: John Q. Porter: Leader/Pioneer/Secret Shopper
8th Grade Algebra: Finding a Formula for Success
Building a Strong Community Partnership
Join the A/V Club
Big Brother Gets Bolder
Security Trends
The Online Edge
Speaking Out
Problem/Solution
Research Corner
Research Corner
Computer Literature
New Products
By the Numbers

District Administration - June 2006