In recent conversations with Local Authorities it is clear that they are concerned about Information Security – they are worried about the new, punitive, powers of the Information Commissioner’s Office – fines of up to £500,000 can now be issued to organisations that lose or misuse sensitive personal information.  These fines apply to schools too!  The previous maximum fine had been £5,000.

In my previous role I worked with Becta on their Information Security guidelines and you can find them here.  It’s also worth reading Ray Fleming’s blog.  Ray writes an excellent Microsoft centric blog for UK schools and it’s worth signing up to his RSS feed.

If you’re preparing to implement a parental reporting environment or allowing remote access to your school’s management information system you need to be safe and not sorry – read the Becta guidelines, do your risk assessment.

A rare commercial message from me – we have, within OPENHIVE, a number of solutions to the technical issues – so take some time to browse through the product set and contact us if you want further information.

So are you secure?  Information Security should be part of everyone’s regular risk assessment. It’s not just a technical issue, the cultural and behavioural issues need addressing too and these belong firmly with the school leadership team and the Governing Body.  The financial and reputational risks are too great to ignore.

Patrick Kirk