The Oxford Student
Failed security unacceptable
Editorial
SourceEach week students, tutors and the University hierarchy read reports and opinion articles which highlight areas and issues which students have concerns over, be it rent, accommodation, exam regulations or reform of the students' union. Issues such as rises in battels affect all of us, whereas the affiliation or otherwise of JCRs to OUSU may be of interest to none but a tiny percentage of students.
However, there is no doubt that every reader of this newspaper should be shocked and angered by our front page story showing that colleges' computer networks are vulnerable. Every University member has email, the majority of us are connected to college ethernet with our own computers, and we all swipe our Bod cards to gain access to University buildings. Whether we like it or not, we are being watched by security cameras and our personal details are held by the University and by colleges.
We invest our trust in the University. The University assures us that the information we provide is safe and claims we are protected under the Data Protection Act. But as our report shows, these guarantees are open to question. The Oxford Student came under serious pressure not to publish this story. However, after seeking legal advice, we feel that it is in the interests of students and the public to be aware of how startlingly easy the system can be abused.
The implications of these security failings raise issues beyond those of privacy or technical expertise. Rather, the evidence before us - which The Oxford Student printed purely to highlight the problems to the University's authorities - shows that the University has singularly failed in its fundamental duty to protect its students. The potential implications of research being stolen, students being watched, information from computers downloaded, personal information being used with malicious intent - not to mention the chaos which could ensue from a hacker with a twisted sense of humour during times when finalists or first years are revising - are almost impossible to contemplate, or appreciate in their entirety.
The Oxford Student calls on the University and its colleges to face up to this embarrassing debacle, and sort out the security - intellectual and actual - of every one of its members. Only then can our confidence in this university be restored.