Principles to Guide Efforts to Improve Computer and Network Security for Higher Education

The EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force held an invitational, NSF-sponsored workshop at Columbia University in August 2002. Based on research into principles articulated by a variety of academic groups and statements by invited experts, the group proposed that higher education's efforts to improve computer and network security be guided by a set of six principles:

• civility and community
• academic and intellectual freedom
• privacy and confidentiality
• equity, diversity, and access
• fairness and process
• ethics, integrity, and responsibility

The authors recognize that these principles are broad; each institution must ultimately determine the principles that are most relevant and valued by its own community. This set of principles is intended to serve as a starting point for campus discussions about computer and network security. The higher education community is invited to provide suggestions and changes to this document.