Word: logging
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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None of the students whose names appeared in the log knew of its existence. Only three of the seventeen students contacted by The Crimson expressed indifference that their activities could be publicly examined. The rest clearly--and rightly--took strenous objection to this invasion of privacy...
Steen acknowledged the ambiguity of Harvard's policies, describing the particular rules governing access to the log file simply--and too easily--as "a grey area." While users should realize that ultimately there is no such thing as network privacy, passing sensitive matters off as "grey areas" is no answer either. Many state, federal and international laws already recognize e-mail transmissions and network accounts as valid legal documents and entities. Some schools, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have sensible policies which are consistently interpreted and applied. They define users' rights and responsibilities, and limit the technical capabilities available...
When the public log file was discovered, one HASCS employee said that it could have been closed down "in a matter of seconds, but that HASCS does not currently have time to be pro-active." Steen added that "it's a manpower issue." Without any central policy to guide its actions, HASCS is left to deal with problems on a "case- by-case basis." It shows itself both inefficient and ineffectual when a member of the Standing Committee on Information Technology describes the group's working guidelines as "kind of vague." Under these conditions, HASCS will be dealing with thousands...
When repeatedly asked about why there was a delay in the closing down of the log file, Steen claims offhandedly that there were simply no complaints about it, and that "there are technical issues involved." When the log file was finally closed down, Steen was unable to say "what impact [the closure] will have. It may affect something else that needs it. We'll have to wait and see." Such technical insecurity is cause for concern...
...College should send e-mail messages to all network users to make them aware of the system's capabilities and failures, and of their own responsibilities within that system. In addition, if HASCS makes users aware that harmless commands such as 'finger' allow others to note their last log-in times, users will not have unrealistic expectations for complete network anonymity. Without articulating exactly what constitutes inappropriate behavior on the network, there is no standard by which any behavior can be judged...