During the height of the war in Iraq, UH-Clear Lake implemented a series of measures designed to increase computer security.

The threat levels were at a level "red" alert status; because reports from the National Infrastructure Protection Council indicated that hundreds of Web sites nationwide were defaced with anti-war jargon and university networks were being scanned and misused by unauthorized outsiders.

The university is now at a level "yellow" alert status and has continued to operate smoothly. The recent security measures have reduced vulnerability by monitoring the networks and limiting the access to only authorized users. As a result, these measures are beneficial, because user bandwidth is increased.

"Reducing the amount of traffic has made things better for the students and faculty," said Margaret Lampton, the associate director and security administrator of the University Computing and Telecommunications department. "This allows us to prevent outsiders from exploiting the university's resources and allows students and faculty to utilize the additional bandwidth."

All Internet sites have continued to operate appropriately and all university computers were, and still are, able to send e-mail from off-campus sources.

"We wanted all new security transitions handled smoothly, so it would have a minimal impact on the students and faculty," said Michael Livingston, director of applications development and deployment. "Our goal was to make sure overall university computing community is safe and all academic resources and business continues to function properly."

The University Computing and Telecommunications Department has posted a set of guides-lines and an explanation of how the new security measures will affect students and faculty. Visit www.uhcl.edu for more information.

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