Gary Scarborough

Authored Comments

Pete - This is the first time I have heard of HHS and I wish it would have been around when I was that age. I work for the Rochester Institute of Technology and until just recently was the advisor for SPARSA (sparsa.org), a student club focused around security started shortly after 9/11. The club pre-exists the current security degree we now offer and I can tell you, there was a lot of trepidation at the thought of a hacker club on campus. I am happy to say that in 10 years we have only had one or two minor incidents (nothing even requiring punishment, just a warning to use better jusgdement). I have made sure that my students understand the consequences of having any kind of criminal record and the need for security clearances in this field. Are you using distro like Damn Vulnerable Linux as targets in your test bed?

Your first point is a real problem in many Universities. Having worked in a university for over a deacde, I have seen rampant academic dishonesty in students here from foreign countries. I wonder if it is because collaboration is acceptible in their home countries or if it is because of the high pressure put upon them, either succeed or go home. Thats not to say that American students don't cheat, they do. But we actually had issues with cheating being organized and done on a large scale by groups of foreign students. For instance, foreign students would show up to class on the first day with binders containing all of the materials given out over previous quarters. They would also have copies of past exams and solutions to past assignments.

However, I do agree with encouraging work in an open source project. We would have issues with IP policies about requiring such work, but it could certainly be suggested as a possible assignment.