target: how is your AUP monitored?

[Richard Smyth <rsmyth@MEC.EDU>]

Folks,

Our school is trying to develop an Acceptable Use Policy.  I

recently talked to the school lawyer who is reviewing it,
and he made it sound as though an AUP that can't be enforced

is basically a "paper tiger" that might invite litigation
rather than prevent it.

He wants to know exactly what kind of monitoring we will be
able to do of the students.  In other words, to what extent
would we be able to catch them, for example, downloading a
pornographic
site, or selling drugs over the internet using their email
account, or using their mother's credit card to buy
something, or performing an act of hacking?

We use BESS filtering from N2H2, by the way.

We'll soon be getting a G3 server with ANAT (Apple Network
Administrator Toolkit)--compliments of the e-rate.  I know
that Network Assistant allows for observation of student
workstations and also keeps track of who logged in to what
machine and used which programs, etc.  But as I understand
it, I'm not sure, short of catching a student in the act of
some inappropriate behavior, that we can catch students
doing many of the behaviors covered in an AUP.

His words were that "protections need to be near absolute to

manage potential liability issues."  My intuition is that
he's being too cautious.

Here are my questions:

1.  Is he being too cautious?

2.  What are the limitations of software and hardware in
terms of monitoring inappropriate student activity?

3.  Are there software packages that I'm not aware of that
would aid in such monitoring?

Thank you for any help you can give me on this matter.

Richard

p.s. I will post a hit on this.  Let me know if you do NOT
want your name in the hit.


________________________________________________________
Richard Smyth
Librarian/Cybrarian
CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL
74 Union Park Street
Boston, MA  02118
617-695-2306 (voice)
617-542-1745 (fax)
rsmyth@mec.edu
http://www.cathedral.mec.edu

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
    All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
 listserv@listserv.syr.edu         In the message write EITHER:
 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
 3) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv
 For LM_NET Help & Archives see:  http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=