Universities have been forced to rely on remote educational technology to
facilitate the rapid shift to online learning. In doing so, they acquire new
risks of security vulnerabilities and privacy violations. To help universities
navigate this landscape, we develop a model that describes the actors,
incentives, and risks, informed by surveying 105 educators and 10
administrators. Next, we develop a methodology for administrators to assess
security and privacy risks of these products. We then conduct a privacy and
security analysis of 23 popular platforms using a combination of sociological
analyses of privacy policies and 129 state laws, alongside a technical
assessment of platform software. Based on our findings, we develop
recommendations for universities to mitigate the risks to their stakeholders.
Authors
Shaanan Cohney, Ross Teixeira, Anne Kohlbrenner, Arvind Narayanan, Mihir Kshirsagar, Yan Shvartzshnaider, Madelyn Sanfilippo