1. Cybertraps for
Educators and Districts
Frederick S. Lane
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
San Diego County Dept. of Ed. JPA
San Diego, CA
17 January 2014
2. Background and Expertise
• Attorney and Author of 7
Books
• Computer Forensics
Expert -- 15 years
• Over 100 criminal cases
• Lecturer on Computer-
Related Topics – 20+
years
• Computer user
(midframes, desktops,
laptops) – 35+ years
• 10 yrs on Burlington VT
School Board
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
3. Lecture Overview
• Headache-Inducing Headlines
• Common Types of Incidents
• Electronic Evidence Is Everywhere
• Preparing for the Inevitable
• Risks for Administrators and
Teachers
• A Quick Intro to Computer
Forensics
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
4. Headache-Inducing Headlines
• “Parents Sue School District After Their
13-Year-Old's Suicide Following Sexting
Bullying” – Hillsborough Cty., Florida
• “Parents sue Lockhart school district
after teacher charged with sexual
assault” – Lockhart,TX
• “School Cyberbullying Victims Fight
Back In Lawsuits” – WV, PA, GA
• “School Employees Sue Cyberbullying
Students” – TX, PA
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
5. Common Types of Incidents
• Employment Issues
• Harassment/Hostile Work Environment
• Disciplinary Issues
• Student Misconduct
• Cyberbullying & Cyberharassment
• Sexting
• Teacher/Student Misconduct
• Student Attacks on Teachers
• Inappropriate Relationships
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
6. E-Evidence Is Everywhere
• Inventory Possible Devices
• Computers (Desktops, Laptops, Servers)
• Mobile Devices (Phones,Tablets)
• Peripherals (USBs, CDs, external drives, etc.)
• Inventory Possible Types of Data
• Communication (E-Mail, IMs,Texts, etc.)
• Social Media (Facebook,Twitter, etc.)
• Web Activity (URLs, cookies, bookmarks, etc.)
• Network Logs and Access Data
• Cloud Storage (Dropbox, Flickr, Boxy, etc.)
• Deleted Data
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
7. Whose Data Is It Anyway?
• Where Did the Incident Occur?
• On-Campus vs. Off-Campus
• Zone of District Responsibility Is Growing
• Who Owns and Uses the Device?
• Misconduct Using School-Owned Equipment
• Misconduct Using Privately-Owned Equipment
• Who Runs the Service?
• Evidence Hosted by District
• Evidence Created by Teachers/Students
• Evidence Hosted by 3rd Parties
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
8. Pre-Incident Preparation
• Policies and Procedures
• District Decisions re Access, Services, Storage
• AUPs for Staff and Students
• Data Handling and Response Protocols
• Professional Development for Teachers
and Staff
• Typically First Responders
• Potential Legal Risks
• Technology Is Continually Changing
• Student Education
• Critical Component of K-12 Curricula
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
9. Response to Civil Litigation
• Preservation of Potentially
Relevant Evidence
• Adherence to Established Policies for
Handling Data
• Notice of Litigation or Reasonable
Anticipation of Litigation
• Discovery Requests
• Privacy Concerns
• Burdensomeness of Requests
• Production of Data Held by 3rd Parties
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
10. Response to Criminal Activity
• Anticipate Prosecution and/or
Disciplinary Proceedings
• Adherence to Policy/Process Is Critical
• Involve Law Enforcement ASAP
• Protect and Preserve Data
• Restrict Access to Potentially Relevant
Data
• Hire a Computer Forensics Expert?
• Some Evidence Is Radioactive
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
11. Risks for Admins. & Teachers
• Good Intentions, Bad Outcome
• “Sherlock Holmes” / CSI Syndrome
• Forwarding Content for Advice
• The Cover-Up Is Always Worse
• Trying to Protect Colleagues and Friends
• Desire to Protect District by Handling In-
House
• “Delete” Is a Myth
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
12. Current Projects
• Cybertraps for Educators (2014)
• Safe Student and School Employee
Relationships (2014)
• Cybertraps.wordpress.com
• CPCaseDigest.com
• MessageSafe.com
• Informational Web Sites:
• www.FrederickLane.com
• www.ComputerForensicsDigest.com
• www.CybertrapsfortheYoung.com
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
14. Cybertraps for
Educators and Districts
Frederick S. Lane
www.FrederickLane.com Cybertraps.wordpress.com
San Diego County Dept. of Ed. JPA
San Diego, CA
17 January 2014