UNIVERSITY attempts to access personal information are sometimes intrusive and unnecessary -- Social Security numbers are our identities on Grounds and the University has access to most students' bank accounts and financial information. Student identification cards become more important than birth certificates. Yet, Alderman Library's recent transition to computer logins, in compliance with ITC's goal to secure the University network, is not a breach of privacy but instead a logical step for better protection of personal data.
ITC requires this authenticated login because it discourages unauthorized people from using the computers, protects against cyber attacks launched from anonymous machines and follows an overall strategy to increase security. Students must now create a login password to access computers in Alderman Library. Before, students were able to use computers without any login information. Approved non-University patrons can obtain guest login names and passwords from the library service desk. The ITC Web site states this system creates "a secure network" which "is harder to hack and does a better job of protecting University data."
The first student complaint is the paranoid explanation -- "ITC can see what I am doing." Yet Shirley Payne, ITC director of security coordination and policy, assures that only login information is collected. ITC is not tracking student e-mails, downloads or Internet sites. Also, this data is only used if there are reported problems or an investigation is warranted. The login times help ITC to locate computer users who attempt to damage the network. ITC is not tracking students' every computer movement -- instead they enact login procedures to deter inappropriate behavior that "could negatively affect the thousands of people who rely on the network to accomplish their academic and business-related work."
Given that the University stores important information concerning students' identities on networks, any attempt to improve computing security is not only welcome, but essential.
The argument of inconvenience is merely an excuse for lazy students. The entire login process takes less than a minute, which pales in comparison to the advantages of free access to computers and safer networks. Data security is far more important than waiting an extra minute to use a computer or check e-mail.
The new procedure also prevents unauthorized users from logging on to other students' accounts or accessing their information. An automatic logout feature terminates a computing session if there is no action for 14 minutes. Therefore, unauthorized individuals cannot access another student's e-mails, home directory files or commit identity theft and cyber crimes.
As for computer hackers and illegitimate users, the login procedure deters irresponsible computing behavior. Philosopher Michel Foucault, in "Discipline & Punish," describes Jeremy Bentham's model of the "Panopticon," a centralized supervisory institution that promotes the feeling of always being watched. This insecure feeling will shape individual behavior that deviates from accepted norms. Surveillance, Foucault explains, needs to exert power that is both visible and unverifiable. In evaluating ITC's login procedure, the surveillance power is visible since users must login for each computing session and unverifiable because unauthorized individuals may be monitored if there are reported problems. ITC's surveillance model, then, prevents cyber attacks and forces library users to practice responsible computing behaviors.
Granted, the notion of ITC "watching over you" may scare some paranoid individuals. But Payne believes "the purpose of the login procedure is not to monitor activity, but rather to help us resolve problems should they occur." Also, students should be more concerned about protecting personal data. Whether students are worried about junk mail, identity theft, credit card fraud or other privacy issues, new directives like the login procedure help to secure the same network that contains all of our personal information. ITC's knowledge of login information on library computers is much less intrusive than hackers' acquisition of students' personal information.
Michael Behr's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at mbehr@cavalierdaily.com.
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