Academic Computing Vulnerabilities: Another View of the Roof
Ellen Rassas Cohn, George E. Klinzing, Irene Hanson Frieze, Susan M. Sereika, Clement Addison Stone, Clara M. Vana · D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh) · 2004
President Kennedy’s 40-year-old quotation is as timely as ever when applied to academic network failures. In anticipation of Y2K, and later as a result of heightened security concerns following the events of September 11, 2001, numerous colleges and universities developed formal planning documents to guide their responses to unexpected network outages. Typically, vigilant institutional financial auditors or information technology directors initiate campus-wide crisis planning efforts. The University of Pittsburgh similarly maintains an updated Y2K-derived plan, and, like many academic institutions, enjoys a reliable and stable computing environment. Recognizing, however, that unanticipated network outages can seriously interrupt business functions, the university also initiated a faculty-driven audit to identify the potential effects of network failures on academic functions. As a result of what we learned from this initiative, we suggest that other institutions may similarly benefit from integrating two complementary approaches to network disaster planning.