Privacy & Security Update: September 10, 2021

privacy and security update header
Hi All CPS Staff,

CPS has been using Google Workplace for Education, previously "GSuite for Education", and previously "Google Apps for Education",  for nearly ten years now. For the purpose of this email we will simply refer to it as Google Workplace (GW).

Google Workplace for Education is a unique version of GW that meets the specific national and state legal requirements to protect student and staff data. GW has proven itself to be a very powerful and valuable tool in many aspects of our school environment. Google Drive, specifically, has made the creation and sharing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations and other files very easy for staff. With the ease of use comes potential for error and over sharing.

The purpose of this week's update is to remind everyone about being cautious when sharing sensitive data in GW. Specifically, when sharing student level data in GW please pay close attention to who will have access to this data. The sharing should follow CPS role specific access to student data. Two of the most common errors are;

1) Sharing a file to anyone in the district with a link. This practice should be very limited and only used when the content of the file has no sensitive data and is intended for every CPS staff member.  
2) Sharing student level data outside of the CPS GW domain (to non-CPSD accounts). Any sharing of files outside of CPSD is not secure. If there is a need to share sensitive data outside of CPS please contact ICTS for assistance.

In order to assist all of us to ensure sensitive data is not oversahered CPS has implemented a tool called "Managed Methods". This is a security wrapper around GW. This service will monitor and identify potential oversharing, such as a document with student level data that is shared outside of the CPS Domain. Soon ICTS will be turning on warning notices to staff that have files that appear to be overshared. If you receive such a notice and need assistance correcting the issue, please contact the helpdesk. This system is intended to be a helpful tool for us all in protecting our students' and staff's privacy.  

Thank you all for your attention to protecting the privacy of our students. As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact myself or any ICTS member.

Steve
Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.