Word: blackboarding
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...This is not hacking; this is vandalism,” the statement says, with the expectation that this distinction will comfort fearful clients. The threat to users of the system, however, is very real, whatever name Blackboard wishes to give...
...response by Blackboard has been less than reassuring. They secured a restraining order to stop the two hackers from sharing their findings and issued a statement criticizing them for illegally dismantling a Blackboard device in the process of discovering the problem. The statement also downplays the significance of the security flaw, saying that it is only by physically tampering with its devices that hackers can abuse the system...
...students claim that they approached Blackboard when they first discovered the problem, but that the company was unreceptive to their findings. They say that threatening to share the information with other hackers was a last-ditch effort to get the company’s attention. In its statement, Blackboard acknowledges the frequent cooperation between hackers and technology firms in improving security, but its response to this incident offers little evidence that it is truly willing to engage in such cooperation...
...Blackboard seems more interested in covering up the problem than in actually fixing it. The company has given no indication that it will take measures to improve security, and seems to have devoted most of its attention to playing word games and directing blame for the problem against the two students...
Blackboard’s apparent reluctance to deal with the problem means that it is up to Harvard to protect the interests of Crimson Cash users. The University should actively pressure Blackboard to improve the security of its systems, and should be prepared to switch to another service if Blackboard is unable or unwilling to do so. Although the cost of installing a new system would surely be high, the present system with its security glitches may soon become intolerable if exploitation of the sort described by the two hackers becomes rampant. The considerable volume of money transacted through...