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concern but I doubt these could be signifi cantly dangerous in a Wi-Fi environment. There’s always risk, and properly supervised, it shouldn’t be allowed to be an issue. I’ve long been an advocate of reducing the level of security so that sites such as Pinterest and Facebook can be used in schools as they carry a wealth of safe information which can be used to great eff ect in the classroom.
Martin Hamilton: The key question here is whether we truly mean BYOD, or whether we are talking about a school-mandated or supplied technology. Even with compulsory enrolment in Mobile Device Management (MDM) systems and other security precautions such as separate wireless networks for teachers and pupils, a degree of control is surrendered when pupils bring their own devices into school. And once that school- supplied Android tablet goes home, it may well have had its boot loader unlocked, been rooted, and a custom ROM image installed. For many pupils this will be a badge of honour – equivalent to hacking the school’s Econet network in the BBC Micro era. And whether the device is provided by school or brought in from home (should that home be able to aff ord it), we have seen from numerous BYOD pilots that physical security of the device and the safety of the child carrying it can be jeopardised, from bullies in the playground to organised crime.
Jon Silvera: We were scared of calculators once. However the evolution from writing 8008135 to instantly available hardcore and extreme porn, unrated video, TV watching and gaming clearly demonstrates we have a long way to go, in my opinion, before we can truly welcome this advance.
cases led by the BYOD trend. Students are demanding the ability to print directly from mobile devices and from the Cloud, as document sharing and online storage become the everyday norm. Print features such as follow-me printing, with ID or swipe card-protected print release security, have seen vigorous development in the last year, both in terms of technology and popularity.
Will security issues threaten the development of BYOD in schools?
George Burgess: Of course they will to an extent, but security issues can be overcome with proper governance and the implementation of certain technical safeguards. For instance, one way to ensure a certain level of security might be to insist all student devices are connected to a school Wi-Fi network, enabling the school to bet er control what they can connect to.
Shaun Eason: It depends on how far schools want to go in locking down their network. There comes a point when there is so much security it makes it very diffi cult for you to do anything on computers apart from Offi ce documents. What’s on personal mobile devices is a
Shaun Wilkinson: Security is clearly an issue, but at UTAX we see it as an opportunity rather than a threat. Any data leak could cause huge reputational damage to a school as well as personal damage to individuals. There are also fi nancial threats. For example, contract information, payment details, bank details… on a daily basis, school printers handle a wealth of information that could be exploited, with printing directly from mobile devices a potential area of weakness. As a result, schools have every reason to ensure their IT infrastructure is up-to-date and fully protected from all cyber security and data leakage. By investing in the right hardware and software now, schools will be well placed to take advantage of effi ciencies brought by new equipment, often saving money in the process, while opening up the opportunities surrounding interactive teaching methods, MOOC, Cloud-based learning environments and collaboration, safe in the knowledge that security will not be breached. We’ve seen a rise in educational establishments
looking for clear data security measures on new print and multifunctional device MFD hardware, alongside guarantees that print and scan data is safe. That’s why we’ve introduced security software on our machines that encrypts and overwrites the hard disk randomly to prevent data restoration. Extensive protection on network level is also included.
Shaun Wilkinson, managing director, UTAX (UK)
CON T RIBU T O RS:
James Penny, solutions director, European Electronique
Jon Silvera, founder and managing director, Fuze Technologies
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