The Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and Networking (VA SCAN) exists for the purpose of strengthening information technology security programs within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

VA SCAN News:

Click here for the News Archive.

NOTE: VA SCAN's 2008 conference is now scheduled

Mark your calendar for the 2008 VA SCAN Conference for October 6-7, 2008 to be held at The Inn at Virginia Tech. Watch for more details.

Virginia Tech hosted SANS-EDU Week Long Classes

The courses include: March 3-4, 2008: Audit 521: Meeting the Minimum Standard for Protecting Credit Card and Other Private Information PCI CISP: The Visa Digital Dozen (Randy Marchany); March 5, 2008: Security 514: Advanced Network Worm and Bot Analysis - Hands On (Mike Poor); March 6, 2008: Security 531: Windows Command-Line Kung Fu In-Depth for Info Sec Pros (Ed Skoudis); and March 7-8, 2008: Security 601: Reverse-Engineering Malware: The Essentials of Malware Analysis
(Lenny Zelzer)

VA SCAN presented at Virginia's Educational Technology Leadership Conference

Bill Johnsen (Virginia Beach City Public Schools) and Cheryl Elliott (James Madison University) presented "Resources for Meeting Internet Safety Requirements" at the Virginia Department of Education's recent Educational Technology Leadership Conference in Roanoke, Virginia.

The Internet safety guidelines and the state technology plan require school divisions to provide a safe secure network for students and staff. This presentation by VA SCAN, a collaboration of five Virginia higher education institutions and Virginia Beach City Public Schools, provides resources for meeting these requirements.

See the presentation here.

VA SCAN's fall conference: "360° Approach to Security"

VA SCAN's fourth annual conference, "360° Approach to Security," was held on Thursday and Friday October 18-19 at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Don't miss this opportunity to hear leaders in the IT security field discuss current issues and share ideas on effective IT security practices.

For all the latest information on the Fall Conference, please visit the 360 Conference site. The "Schedule" tab provides links to the presentations, as available.

VA SCAN Wins 2005 EDUCAUSE Award for Excellence in Information Technology Solutions

VA SCAN members VA SCAN is a winner! VA SCAN received the 2005 EDUCAUSE Award for Excellence in Information Technology Solutions at the EDUCAUSE Conference, October 18-21, 2005 in Orlando, Florida.

This program honors original and creative campus projects that apply emerging technologies to improve the scholarship, service, or management practices and policies of the institution or that have the potential for changing the technology infrastructure so that new technology solutions become possible.

(From L to R, front row) Cathy Hubbs, Information Technology Security Coordinator, GMU; Shirley Payne, Director for Security Coordination & Policy, UVa; and Darlene Quackenbush, Information Security Officer, JMU. Back row: Brian L. Hawkins, President of EDUCAUSE; John Stuckey, Chair of 2005 EDUCAUSE Recognition Committee, Director of Technology Planning & Development, Washington and Lee University; Dale Hulvey, Assistant Vice President for Information Technology, James Madison University; and Wayne Donald, Information Technology Security Officer, Virginia Tech.

Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing & Networking (VA SCAN)

As higher education institutions struggle to cope with new challenges under tight resource constraints, interinstitutional collaboration is emerging as an increasingly strategic approach. IT leaders at four institutions—George Mason University, James Madison University, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech—have joined together to bolster the state’s defenses against network security problems. In an excellent example of sharing best practices, tools, and personnel, the alliance brings together Virginia higher education security practitioners, who have developed and maintain widely emulated operational security programs, with researchers responsible for creating cyber security instruction and research programs that are nationally recognized for excellence. In addition to the four founding universities, VA SCAN includes security researchers from the Institute for Infrastructure and Information Assurance (JMU), the Center for Secure Information Systems (GMU), and the Critical Infrastructure Protection Project (GMU/JMU). The goals of the alliance are to:

help avoid costs associated with security breaches
save security program development time
reduce security training costs
take advantage of economies of scale

Services include educating staff about digital security and ways to minimize threats, providing IT security training and consultation, and maintaining Web-based security-enhancing tools. Alliance members maintain an “ask-the-expert” e-mail service, a moderated mail list for general security discussions, and a specialized mail list providing security alerts. Among the Web-based resources are a self-assessment checklist, materials with which to conduct user and technical training, and links to other resources. All services are offered free or on a cost-recovery basis, and are not limited to members of the alliance. According to the award selection committee, “This alliance offers a model for resource sharing and collaborative problem solving and clearly addresses a critical issue with foresight and pragmatism.”

To read more about EDUCAUSE' awards, click here.