In addition to carting Yaffa blocks, Papasan chairs and other school-related paraphernalia to their dorm rooms, on-Grounds residents had one more move-in day task this fall. Beginning this semester, all on-Grounds users of the University network are required to register their computers with ITC.
In the wake of security breaches such as the Blaster.B worm, this registration is intended to enable ITC to more quickly track down compromised computers. ITC hopes the ability to respond quickly will minimize damage done not only to that computer but potentially to other machines on the network. The registration database will record each machine's hardware address and attach it to a student's name, making it a simple matter to match a computer to a student, said Jim Jokl, director of communications and systems for ITC.
"We were spending lots of effort trying to find the owners of machines that were hacked and that were causing problems," Jokl said. "Now it will be easy to find the person who owns the machine so they can be warned and work on cleaning up their computer."
Shirley Payne, director of security coordination and policy for ITC, emphasized the necessity of the new process.
"The registration system is an absolutely essential process that we have to have in place to keep our network operating well for the community at large," Payne said.
While this development promises to increase network security, however, it also may put students at risk. Just as ITC can identify computers with harmful viruses, it also can identify machines that are being used to download copyrighted material.
While the University does not monitor network use for illegal acts, the entertainment industry does, Payne said. Members of the entertainment industry monitor internet activity for illegal transfers of copyrighted materials. When they identify such transfers, they notify the administrator of the network being used, which in the case of University students living in dorms, is ITC.
Under the digital millennium copyright act, ITC is required to provide these industry members with as much information as possible about the users suspected of making illegal transfers, Payne said.
With the new registration system, ITC will be able to easily identify students suspected of illegal downloads by name, and legally will be required to pass this information along to industry members, putting students at increased risk of prosecution for downloading copyrighted materials.
"Either the activity was increasing or the entertainment industry was getting more aggressive, but as the school year progressed the numbers [of complaints] were growing and growing and by the spring we were up to a hundred a month," Payne said.
In response to the increased number of complaints from the recording industry, ITC has stepped up its efforts to discourage students from illegally downloading music and other copyrighted files, Payne said.
"I think there are people who don't understand this is a legal issue," she said. "Students may be personally at risk for lawsuits."
This risk has not gone unnoticed by third-year College student James Gammon, who lives in the International Residential College. Gammon, who already registered his computer with ITC, said he has reduced the amount of downloading he does since moving on Grounds. While Gammon said he understood the need for the registration system, he felt that on-Grounds students were perhaps being unfairly scrutinized.
"I personally feel as though it's a bit of an infringement on my privacy, since it seems unfair that people who live on Grounds should be tracked while those who live off Grounds aren't," Gammon said."On the other hand, I realize that U.Va. stands the risk of a lawsuit from the RIAA if it doesn't seem like the University is making an attempt to do something about downloading."
Gammon added that his sister "just started school at Middle Tennessee State University, and they've blocked all access to downloading programs, so I guess what U.Va. is doing is less drastic than that."
ITC officials confirmed student fears of greater accountability online, but maintained the new system is designed to protect the University network, not bust students.
"That's definitely not why we're putting in," Payne said.
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