Secure_Data

Background

Life is great when technology works for you, but its a bummer when it betrays you!

Protecting confidential information is a critical new skill. As an education professional, in addition to protecting confidential data on paper, you have to also secure electronic information that may find its way into digital files, folders, or emails.

To help you, the District is recommending the use of the following two tools to "lock" confidential information up whenever you have it stored on a laptop computer, a USB flash drive (which should be avoided), or sent as an email or an email attachment.

Some critical reminders of the Texas Email Compliance Law & The Texas Administrative Code on Information Security Standards:

Specific Section on Encryption: (4) Encryption. Encryption requirements for information storage devices and data transmissions, as well as specific requirements for portable devices, removable media, and encryption key standards and management shall be based on documented institution risk management decisions.

(A) Confidential information that is transmitted over a public network (e.g.: the Internet) must be encrypted.

(B) Confidential information stored in a public location that is directly accessible without compensating controls in place (e.g.: FTP without access control) must be encrypted.

(C) Storing confidential information on portable devices is discouraged. Confidential information must be encrypted if copied to, or stored on, a portable computing device, removable media, or a non-agency owned computing device.

REMEMBER

1. All Correspondence to major educational entities will soon require transfer over the Internet either via email or file transfer (FTP ) or Online Submission. They will not accept information that is not encrypted. You will NEED to develop this skill.

2. Arp ISD email is Internet-based!! Therefore, if you email your principal, councilor, special ed teacher, or the teacher next door any student or confidential info, you are emailing via the Internet. Practice this next week sending and receiving encrypted emails. Use the password Tigers123 and give the hint "initial network password"

3. Never send confidential data via email unless it has been encrypted. Using passwords for a MS Office document is insufficient protection for confidential data; you must use AES-256 level encryption.

4. Never save confidential data on portable media such as USB flash drive (a.k.a. pen drive, stick drive) or external portable hard drive.

5. Encrypt data before storing it in cloud storage. Most commonly-used cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox, Box.net, SugarSync, Copy) solutions are NOT encrypted. Before storing data in those solutions, encrypt the data. Although Google Drive (https://www.google.com/edu/trust/) proclaims itself to be secure, you still may wish to encrypt sensitive data in a specific folder. To do this, I will share with you a second tool in the next tutorial called Boxcryptor Classic...which can be used for encrypting data in Dropbox, Box.net, or Google Drive.

6. Do NOT write your password on a sticky note and put it on your desk.

7. Before sending Confidential Data to other educators, encrypt is using the "Secure Mail for Gmail" Chrome Extension. See tutorial below for directions.

Tutorials on How To Lock/Encrypt Your Email

Step 1. Go to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/apps - the Chrome Web Store

Step 2. In the search box type Secure Mail for Gmail -- under Extensions

Step 3. Locate and Click on the +Free Button to Download "Secure Mail for Gmail" (free by Streak)

Step 4. Click Add

Step 5. This popup will appear in the upper right-hand corner of your Chrome Browser if you were successful.

Step 7. Click on the "Added Icon" of the App to view the Tutorial

Step 8: The Instructions are located on the left in the popup window of the Tutorial:

** How To Use ** 1) Install the extension (this you should have done by now) 2) Refresh Gmail - use the "Refresh" Icon in the top left menu of your Browser

3) Click on the lock icon next to the Compose Button. Depending on your "Theme" you may only see a white box next to COMPOSE..... Here is what my LOCK ICON looks like.

Your Secured New Message will look like this:

4) Compose your email and send 5) You will be required to Enter a password, your recipient will need to enter the same password to open your encrypted message. You may also provide a HINT. This password should be established by you in a completely different email or communication.

Google mail messages are encrypted internally, so messages sent between Gmail or Google Apps users are secure, but messages sent to non-Google users (e.g., those using Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo Mail) are not encrypted – without the addition of a third-party add-on like those discussed earlier.

You NEED only use your encryption App for NON-GMAIL users!!! Hope this makes life easier! :-)

Next Module -Tutorial on How To Lock/Encrypt Your Documents in Dropbox or Google Drive

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