Technology Department

RESA has updated the link to SMART web (this is where you can see your paycheck). This may cause some frustration for users if you are using a bookmark.

The link from the Staff Page on Dearborn Public Schools website has been updated. Please use that link.

One of the things that we take very seriously is security. The safety and security of our users and data are important. This responsibility is not just for the Technology Department but is the responsibility of every user. Some times, people do what is expedient, instead of what is safe. One example that we had this year was a teacher signing into a computer and then letting a substitute use that computer. Unfortunately, the substitute made some poor decisions. (Just a reminder to NEVER share your credentials with someone else or sign into a computer and let someone else use it. This can lead to many uncomfortable situations. It’s also against federal law).

Because we take security seriously, we frequently have to ask questions and seek clarification about accounts and access. Recently, I had someone ask why I cared, and what were the possibilities of a compromise (frequently called a “hack”, but hacking is more specific than a compromise) of our data.

The K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center posted a map of Cyber Incidents:

*Note that these are only the reported compromises.

Compromises occur due to a wide range of conditions that include, but are not limited to:

• a misconfiguration on a server
• an employee giving out their credentials
• a contractor who copies information
• malware installed by a user
• ransomware installed by a user
• email phishing that was successful

These compromises happen to all different sizes of districts and background. While the districts vary greatly in terms of size, socio-economic status, funding and more, the impact is similar for all.

…the impact of publicly-reported K-12 cyber incidents is significant. During 2018, such incidents resulted in the theft of millions of tax payer dollars, stolen identities, tax fraud, altered school records, website and social media defacement, and the loss of access to school technology and IT systems for weeks or longer.

Recently, several other governmental agencies have been successfully compromised. The cost of recovering from those compromises can be expensive in terms of actual dollars, time to recover and lost data.

• Baltimore – $18.2 million dollars
• Atlanta – $2.7 million dollars
• Riveria Beach – $600,000

These are only a few of the city governments that have been compromised. There are a great many more agencies and businesses that have been compromised.

We anticipate attempts to compromise networks to continue to increase. Importantly, one of the most important defenses against compromise is every user. There are important steps that you can take:

• NEVER share your passphrase with anyone
• Do not reuse passwords on multiple sites
• Be wise about making sure that you are not entering your user name and password on a scam site (you should be going to the site, not using a link)
• Turn on 2-step authentication everywhere that you can
• Report suspicious sites

Please bear this in mind the next time security questions come up. The Technology Department is being “mean” or “rude”, the stakes for online security are high.

Just a quick reminder that all badges expire as of June 30th. We are working on updating some of the courses, so Required Courses are currently unavailable.

We will let you know when the courses are once again available for completion.

Summertime and the living is easy, but the work is hard. Some people think that we have the summer off. Summer is actually a very busy time for us. For example, we have the following projects scheduled for summer:
– Update the district web site
– Update iLearn
– Update iBlog
– Update OTRS
– Update Student Sites
– Update DEC
– Update Pin It
– Develop and implement internal Documentation system
– Develop training on Grackle Docs
– Review/Update all Required Courses (ADA,Bloodborne Pathogens,OCR,RBB, Title IX) with generating departments/groups
– Update Non-Instructional Evaluation Process
– Implement e911 on the new phone system
– Update individual school web sites
– Update departmental web sites
– Update RBB reporting
– Update School Specific Google Accounts
– Develop/Implement Workflow Approval Process

We’re actually working on even more. We’ll have more information to follow. Have a great summer!

The web remains a fascinating place. It is exciting and ever-changing. Recently, due to security concerns, we had to make some changes to Chromebooks. Any Chromebooks that are used by students are now limited to the DPS network. That is, any and all student Chromebooks can only connect to the DPS wireless network. If those Chromebooks attempt to connect to any other network, the user will see a message that the administrator has disabled this network.

Staff Chromebooks are not limited to the DPS network. Staff Chromebooks will work on any network.

A recent ruling reminds us all of the importance of following copyright. HISD (Houston ISD from Texas) was recently ordered to pay $9.2 million dollars ($9,200,000) due to copyright infringement. (Just think about what that $9.2 million dollars could be used for).

The staff of the school took willing steps to ignore copyright. However, this is also a reminder that we must follow copyright. Generally, we don’t post material that we didn’t create or that we don’t know is licensed under Creative Commons.

This includes not only print, but audio and video as well.

Thus, it is important to remember that Dearborn Public Schools believes in following copyright.