Irvington Schools Hire Firm to Ensure Computer System is Secure

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August 6, 2015

| by Rick Pezzullo|

The Irvington Board of Education hired a security firm last month to conduct an audit of the district’s computer system after an internal breach of security within its computer network allegedly by two Middle School students was discovered in June.

Edutech, which has also done work in Ardsley, Harrison, and the City of Rye, was given a one-year contract, but Superintendent of Schools Kristopher Harrison said the district expects to receive an initial report before the start of the school year in September.

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“In reality, we want them to look at everything,” Harrison said. “We want to ensure we have a secure computer network system. We will certainly take this as a learning experience. We’re willing to accept whatever critique comes.”

Harrison issued a letter to district parents on June 19 stating “significant evidence pointing to specific students who gained access to the district’s network through the theft of an authorized login credential” had been discovered on June 18.

Reportedly, two 13-year-old Middle School students were identified by district officials and the Irvington Police Department. One of the students was reportedly questioned for nearly three hours by Middle School Principal David Sottile.

“We’re involved in a criminal case,” Irvington Police Chief Michael Cerone said last month. “The law has been violated.”

Harrison maintained district officials were unable to provide specific details of the alleged incident or any disciplinary action that may be taken against the students in question.

“I wish we were in a position that we could share more information with the community,” he said. “Our hands are really tied on what can be said.”

Several residents told Harrison and the Board of Education that it was common knowledge that the district’s computer system was easy to access.

“The password situation at the school has been horrible for years. Passwords don’t seem to change very much,” Gordon Elliot said. “It seems like someone got access to a powerful password. It seems we made it was too easy for students to get into this.”

“They are not M.I.T. geeks. They are 13-year-olds,” said Renee Petro, mother of several students in the district. “If they can ask to tap in, that should be a red flag. In the bigger picture, they’ve helped you.”

Newly elected Board of Education President Phil Whitney said it was vital for the district to have an outside firm oversee its network.

“If we don’t hire them tonight the district won’t have any support of its computer system. That is a place we cannot leave our district because a lot of work is done over the summer,” Whitney said. “The consequences are too grim to contemplate.”

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