Virtual Classrooms and Real Harms: Remote Learning at U.S. Universities
This work addresses the critical security and privacy risks posed by remote learning technologies for U.S. universities and their stakeholders, offering practical recommendations for mitigation.
This paper investigates the security and privacy risks introduced by remote educational technology at U.S. universities during the shift to online learning. It identifies these risks through surveys with 49 educators and 14 administrators, and then analyzes 23 popular platforms, finding vulnerabilities in privacy policies and software.
Universities have been forced to rely on remote educational technology to facilitate the rapid shift to online learning. In doing so, they acquire new risks of security vulnerabilities and privacy violations. To help universities navigate this landscape, we develop a model that describes the actors, incentives, and risks, informed by surveying 49 educators and 14 administrators at U.S. universities. Next, we develop a methodology for administrators to assess security and privacy risks of these products. We then conduct a privacy and security analysis of 23 popular platforms using a combination of sociological analyses of privacy policies and 129 state laws, alongside a technical assessment of platform software. Based on our findings, we develop recommendations for universities to mitigate the risks to their stakeholders.