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August
24, 2001
Meeting
the challenges of complying with the Children's
Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
Prepared
by Mark Uhart, Sprint Education Markets
Group
Schools
and libraries seeking to comply with the
Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
have several options. Unfortunately, there
are costs associated with each - both in
capital expenditures and in human resources.
The CIPA requires recipients of E-Rate discounts
for Internet access and internal connections
to enforce "a policy of Internet safety
that includes the use of filtering or blocking
technology." The "…Technology
Protection Measure is a specific measure
that blocks or filters Internet access.
It must protect against access by adults
and minors to visual depictions that are
obscene, child pornography or, with respect
to use of computers with Internet access
by minors - (are) harmful to minors. (The
filter) may be disabled for adults engaged
in bona fide research or other lawful purposes.
For schools, the policy must also include
monitoring the online activities of minors."
Controlling
costs while meeting federal guidelines can
be a daunting task. However, there are a
number of actions schools and libraries
can take to meet both objectives.
Controlling
access can be done by "blocking,"
a technology to limit access to specific
sites, through filtering or a combination
of the two. Through blocking, the institution
creates an access gateway that either establishes
a list of sites that may be accessed (allow
list) or a list of sites where access is
not allowed (disallow list). These are achieved
through an access control list (ACL) programmed
into the Internet router. The least expensive
option, blocking requires extensive review
of Internet material by district staff to
develop the "allow list." However,
for organizations with a very defined curriculum
and limited budget, this might be a good
starting point.
The second method is through filtering.
Access to the Worldwide Web is controlled
through filtering protocols on proxy or
firewall servers. Most K-12 commercial filtering
vendors use Microsoft® or Netscape®
Proxy Servers to filter HTTP (Web) sites,
chat and free e-mail sites like Hotmail®
and Yahoo®. Commercial filtering application
vendors and their products include: Aladdin®'s
eSafe®, SurfControl®'s Cyber Patrol®,
N2H2's Bess® Internet Filtering Service,
Palisade®'s ScreenDoor® Internet
Management Server, Symantec™'s I-Gear™
and others.* The October 2000 edition of
eSN Special Report† provided
a matrix of "The Top Filtering Solutions
in K-12 Schools."
As
with any software, it is important to understand
the business behind the product. For your
convenience, we have listed their Web sites.
*The
list of products shown above is provided
for information purposes only and does not
constitute a recommendation by Sprint.
How
to define the right system
Price alone should not define what system
you decide to purchase. Total cost of ownership
(TCO), ease of use, ease of management and
reporting, compatibility with existing hardware
and software, and scalability should affect
the purchasing decision. In addition to
the matrix in the eSN Special Report, additional
criteria you might consider in your purchasing
decision may include:
1.
Does the vendor conduct commercial advertising
via their filtering software using banners,
or other media, that distracts from Web
browsing or home page access?
2. What are the protocols supported? As
a minimum, HTML, FTP and SMTP should be
supported.
1. What server platforms are supported?
(e.g., Windows NT®, Windows® 2000,
Sun® Solaris™, Linux or Novell®)
4. What filtering methods are used?
Keyword filtering systems are the most widely
deployed. They monitor the Internet connection
for words or phrases that the organization
finds objectionable. Filtering categories
and subcategories contain lists of objectionable
keywords. This provides a major advantage
because it doesn't require constant updating
of a database of Internet sites/URLs. Web
pages, search engines, newsgroups and chat
room conversations are all filtered. The
disadvantage is that it cannot block sites
that don't have any of the forbidden words
or phrases, like sites with offensive photos.
In addition, poorly designed filtering lists
can block access to legitimate sites.
Database filtering is the other most common
method and should be used to supplement
keyword filtering. Most Internet content
filters rely on a database of pre-defined
URLs and IP addresses to filter out obscene
or inappropriate information on the Internet.
The database is updated frequently and included
in the master database file.
There
are two advantages to employing database
filtering. First, it blocks attempts to
access sites that are on the blocked list.
If a site on this list has thousands of
offensive words or phrases, it makes sense
to block access on the front end rather
than on the back end. Traffic is blocked
when it flows from the user/student to the
filtering software rather than denying access
of objectionable material into the filter
server from the objectionable site. This
saves both valuable filtering server memory,
and the users' time on the filtered network.
Second, it screens out sites specifically
designed with objectionable material, text
or graphics. A good way to compare vendors
would be to find out how many sites are
blocked under a specific category, e.g.
online auction sites, adult/sexually explicit,
gambling, hacking, drugs/alcohol/tobacco,
firearms and explosives or cults/gangs/racism.
5. How long does it take for the filtering
software to make an authorized connection
or block a site? It should not take more
than a few seconds for it to perform either
function.
6. What are the options for caching the
master filtering database? Can the database
be cached locally on a cache server as well
as from the vendor's off-site server?
7. How complete and updated is the master
database of Internet sites/URLs? Consider
the:
- size
of the master database (total number of
URLs screened);
- number
of categories and subcategories. (A greater
number of categories and subcategories
allows for greater customization.);
- frequency
of database updates and the method of
updating;
- method
of filtering, (e.g., key words, URL database
or combination of the two);
- ability
to adjust built-in caching services; and
- capability
for automatic master database maintenance.
8. For ease of installation, set-up and
management, consider:
· the window and menu format: HTML,
JAVA or proprietary;
- if
there is an install wizard and/or configuration
wizard for quick set-up and customization;
- the
method of establishing access rules (e.g.,
drag-and-drop, find-and-add/remove, import
from other proxy server or filtering application);
- if
there are on-line help files and a printable
user's guide;
- if
there is automatic scheduling and administration,
and if changes can be made remotely;
- if
the system's administrator can have remote
access (HTML format is preferred)
- if
additional sites can be added to the blocked
list;
- whether
you have the ability to block, permit
or limit access to sites by user, user
group, network or workstation;
- if
it can log and report all blocked sites
by site, category, user, network, workstation
or any combination of these;
- if
it can log and report hits of permitted
accesses by category, user, network, workstation
or any combination of these;
- if
the site categories and users can be easily
distinguishable (e.g., by color or icon);
- if
customized report formats can be prepared
to suit various needs (e.g., acceptable
use policy evaluations or curriculum reviews);
- if
there is automatic report generation and
distribution via e-mail;
- if
there are a variety of export formats
(e.g., plain text, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft
Word or HTML); and
- if
there are methods for limiting or controlling
e-mail, downloads (like freeware, MP3
and WAV files), instant messaging, Internet
chat, online radio and streaming video
for permitted sites.
9.
What other content management services are
included? Are there services like antivirus
(Java/ActiveX), antispam, antispoof, inspection
of compressed and MIME file types, etc.?
Some Internet filtering companies offer
these services as well - at a price of course.
10. Will it integrate with an existing or
planned firewall? Your Internet filtering
or blocking software should complement your
firewall, not replace it.
11. What are the up-front and annual costs
per user or network? Will it include customer
service and support?
Back
to top
†
October 2000 edition of "eSN Special
Report: The Top Filtering Solutions in K-12
Schools," eSchool News, October
2000, p. 31.
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