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CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW
Corporation [NASDAQ:CDWC]
and leading source of Information Technology (IT) solutions to
governments and educators, today released the findings of the CDW-G
School Safety Index, a research project benchmarking the current status
of public school district safety. Based on 14 elements of physical and
cyber safety, the survey of 381 school district IT and security
directors highlights the indicators of strong district safety programs,
as well as the barriers to school safety.
The CDW-G School Safety Index reveals that districts are having greater
success with cyber security than physical security. Key findings from
the School Safety Index include:
School districts rely too heavily on technical solutions to protect
networks and buildings and need to focus more attention on educating
students about physical and cyber dangers
Tech-savvy students are putting the district network and themselves at
risk by sidestepping IT security procedures through measures like
proxy servers
Districts rely heavily on the telephone to communicate with faculty
and parents during emergencies
Lack of budget, staff resources and proper security tools limit
districts’ ability to protect themselves
“The School Safety Index helps educational
stakeholders understand the broad spectrum of tools available to them to
improve both cyber and physical security,”
said Bob Kirby, senior director K-12, CDW-G. “CDW-G
examined a broad range of security topics, from data monitoring and
building access to security software and safety education. The index
shows the potential for schools to do more –
especially in the areas of safety education and emerging communication
technologies.”
By understanding the baseline, CDW-G hopes districts will use the index
to examine their particular security issues and how to address them
better, Kirby noted.
Cyber Safety
Out of a possible 110 points on the CDW-G cyber safety index, the
districts surveyed scored 55.3. While many districts are monitoring
student Internet activity (81 percent), blocking Web sites (95 percent)
and placing computer monitors in view of adults (89 percent), only 38
percent have a closed district network to provide more control over
communication and content access. A new challenge for IT directors,
however, is the growing sophistication of tech-savvy students, who have
figured out how to build proxy sites to get around closed networks.
Nearly every district reported having an acceptable use policy (AUP),
but as with any policy, its true strength lies in frequent dissemination
and review with users. However, 37 percent of districts update their
AUPs less than once a year. “Popular social
networking sites such as Facebook have just opened up to high school
users in the last year, which means that many districts have no stated
policy about students using district resources, especially bandwidth, to
access these sites,” Kirby noted.
Additionally, the survey finds that just 8 percent of districts provide
cyber safety training to students, despite the long-term effects of
identity theft and the potential impact that inappropriate content can
have on a student’s college and career plans.
Districts report that they rely more on filtering software to protect
networks than on actively engaging students to be part of the safety
solution.
Physical Safety
Districts scored much lower on the physical safety index, with the
national average at 44 out of a possible 160 points. Sixty-three percent
of districts are utilizing security cameras, with many more considering
their use over the next two years, but only 24 percent of districts
report having real-time access to sex offender databases. “It’s
as important for districts to know who is trying to gain access to their
campuses as it is to watch them once they are there,”
Kirby said.
The survey also shows that districts have room to improve their
emergency communication programs. During a campus emergency, districts
report utilizing intercom systems most often (48 percent) to convey
information to faculty. Phone calls are also the preferred method for
reaching parents in an emergency, at 54 percent. Only 1 percent of
districts are considering mass notification systems like text alerts to
cell phones.
“In an emergency, every moment is critical,
and education is a late adopter of mass notification systems,”
Kirby said. “Mass notification systems allow
districts to instantaneously reach out to any one of a number of
pre-selected groups to disseminate information, from first-responders to
faculty to parents. They are a tool that federal, state and local
governments have embraced post-September 11, and the applications for
education extend well beyond emergencies to improve overall
school-to-home communication.”
Call to Action
As half of all districts cite budget restraints as their primary barrier
to improving security, the School Safety Index can help IT and security
directors make the case for additional funding by helping district
leaders understand the tools and resources that may prevent or mitigate
security breaches, thereby lessening the long-term impact that a breach
can have on a district. CDW-G also recommends that districts turn to
peers and the vendor community to understand their options regarding new
security technology and best practices.
Whether it is physical or cyber security, the threats that districts
face will become increasingly sophisticated. With a solid framework, the
right tools and proper planning, districts have the opportunity to
prevent breaches and anticipate threats.
Methodology
The CDW-G School Safety Index is based on a survey of 381 public school
district IT and security directors. The survey was conducted online and
by phone by Quality Education Data. The survey has a +/- 5 percent
margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level.
For more information about school cyber safety, please visit www.cdwg.com/newsroom/schoolsafetyindex.
About CDW-G
A wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDWC), a FORTUNE
500 company, CDW Government (CDW-G) is a trusted technology advisor to
federal, state and local government agencies, as well as to educational
institutions at all levels. CDW-G offers best-in-class technology
products and services from top-name brands such as APC, Acer, Adobe,
Cisco, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Panasonic, Quantum, Samsung,
Sony, Symantec and ViewSonic. For more information about CDW-G product
offerings, procurement options, service and solutions, call
1.800.863.4239, or visit the CDW-G Web site at CDWG.com.
CDW Corporation will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the “SEC”), and
furnish to its shareholders, a proxy statement soliciting proxies for
the meeting of its shareholders to be called with respect to the
proposed merger between CDW and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC. CDW
SHAREHOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT IS
FINALIZED AND DISTRIBUTED TO THEM BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION. CDW shareholders and other interested parties will be able
to obtain, without charge, a copy of the proxy statement (when
available) and other relevant documents filed with the SEC from the SEC’s
website at http://www.sec.gov.
CDW shareholders and other interested parties will also be able to
obtain, without charge, a copy of the proxy statement (when available)
and other relevant documents by directing a request by mail or telephone
to CDW Corporation, 200 N. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills, Illinois 60061,
Attention: Corporate Secretary, telephone: (847) 465-6000, or from CDW’s
website, http://www.cdw.com.
CDW and certain of its directors, executive officers and other members
of management and employees may, under SEC rules, be deemed to be “participants”
in the solicitation of proxies from shareholders of CDW with respect to
the proposed merger. Information regarding the persons who may be
considered “participants”
in the solicitation of proxies will be set forth in CDW’s
proxy statement relating to the proposed merger when it is filed with
the SEC. Information regarding certain of these persons and their
beneficial ownership of CDW common stock as of March 31, 2007 is also
set forth in CDW’s proxy statement for its
2007 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on
April 16, 2007.
Statements about the expected timing, completion and effects of the
proposed merger between CDW and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, and all
other statements in this filing other than historical facts, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, each of which is qualified in its entirety
by reference to the following cautionary statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based on current
expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements. CDW may not be able
to complete the proposed merger because of a number of factors,
including, among other things, the failure to obtain shareholder
approval, the failure of financing or the failure to satisfy other
closing conditions. Other risks and uncertainties that may affect
forward-looking statements are described in the reports filed by CDW
with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
including without limitation CDW’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006.