Some students have recently expressed concerned over the security of Elon’s Blackboard Web site. Blackboard stores student grades, quizzes and assignments, making it a prime target for hackers to attack.

However, Chris Fulkerson, director of campus technology, explained that hacking into the university’s server is more difficult than many may think.

"We really try to maintain our servers as securely as we can," Fulkerson said.

In order for someone to view another student’s Blackboard site, the person would have to use a program called a sniffer. A sniffer is designed to monitor password activity on a server and pull out any passwords it can decode. A hacker could theoretically use that password to log into another student’s site and gain access to their personal information.

But there’s a catch--for a hacker to be successful in extracting a password, the student the hacker is targeting must be online and logged on to the Blackboard site at the exact moment the sniffer program is running.

Also, the hacker must have extensive technical knowledge regarding the operation of computers and servers to be able to avoid the security measures that are in place.

The university takes a number of preventative measures to prevent hackers from breaking into Blackboard server. Elon subscribes to a service that provides continuous updates of possible security concerns.

"When new Microsoft hackers are identified, the university is informed via a list serve and is able to take all necessary precautions against the new method," Fulkerson said.

The server also has internal protection systems that monitor all server activity. Additionally, Elon employs a team of technicians who remain well versed in network safety and informed of the latest developments in the hacker world.

Blackboard was brought to campus to relieve professors of the stress of having to create their own class Web pages using HTML.

"A lot of faculty had to create their own Web pages," said Jim Murphy, director of instructional design and development. "[Blackboard] was the easiest for students and the easiest for faculty to learn."

One weakness of the current system is that the information on Elon’s server is not encrypted. Under the current system, professors must manually give students access to their course’s Web site.

This summer, the university is planning to upgrade Blackboard to another system called Enterprise, made by the same company. The new software will assist with the operation of the business end of the university. Enterprise will make it easier for professors to incorporate Web sites into their courses. Students will be automatically registered for the appropriate sites when they register for classes. The system will also be able to adjust for changes that occur during Drop-Add.

The Enterprise system will also add an additional level of security to information transferred on the university’s server.

Murphy explained that one of the Elon’s most threatening security concerns can’t be solved through software upgrades.

"There are still students who forget to log out of their site," Murphy said. "That's more of a security concern than someone breaking in." Murphy says students should remain consciously aware of how accessible their personal information is to other students.

For now, Fulkerson said he thinks Blackboard is secure enough for the university current needs.