When Emily Johnsson opened her mail one afternoon, the last thing she expected to discover was that her driver’s license had been revoked and there was a warrant out for her arrest.

Johnsson, a 22-year-old recent graduate of Z Cosmetology Academy in Lawrence, called the police and was told to come to the station. She knew something was wrong. After nearly being arrested and taken into custody, the police determined Johnsson was innocent. Her old roommate had been using Johnsson’s identity to commit credit and check fraud with her bank account and credit cards.

According to a Javelin Strategy & Research Survey, 8.4 million American adults were victims of identity fraud in 2007, the fraud amount totaling $49.3 billion. The main cause was careless use of personal information online.

“We’re seeing an increase in spyware and virus activities. There is always an increase in the amount of people trying to do social engineering and identity theft,” said director of Information Technology Security Charles Crawford.

Through new staff positions, security initiatives, an emergency text message system and safety awareness promotion, the IT department is attempting to improve security among KU network users.

“We increased our staff and segmented out duties to better focus on specific issues,” Crawford said.

The IT department added a new staff position to its office in October 2006 to target outreach and awareness. Julie Fugett plays the relatively new role of IT systems analyst, and is devoted completely to safety awareness and outreach.

“We did four to five different evening events in residence halls, talking about the importance of protecting passwords and discussing what you put on Facebook and what you don’t,” Fugett said.

In the past, the IT department devoted one day in October to canvassing KU’s campus with note cards and discussing cyber security. This year, their approach was much more thorough and focused.

“In October, we decided to piggyback on the national campaign to promote awareness among our student body,” Fugett said.

Every day in October, the IT staff posted daily blog entries on their Web site, which provided students with practical tips and advice for staying safe and secure online.

The IT department has also partnered with the Student Involvement and Leadership Center to reach the greek community and student residence halls with identity theft presentations. Laura Bauer, program director of fraternity and sorority life, creates presentations that arm students with practical tools they need when using the Internet.

“We try to give students a view of what has gone wrong for others and what they can do to help those things with their own profiles in the future,” Bauer said.

The broad umbrella of the Information Technology department at KU covers a variety of areas including personnel, software applications, hardware and security concerns.

“As we continue to expand the network and infrastructure with more wireless and upgrading network connections in buildings, security is part of that increase,” said Director of Assessment and Outreach Bill Myers.

During the last three years, security has occupied a growing percentage of the general IT budget. In 2005, Internet security accounted for 5.1 percent of the overall IT budget. In 2006, it grew to 6.8 percent and in 2007, constituted 8.2 percent of the budget. Although the change is minor, Myers said it demonstrated the growing importance of securing KU’s ever-expanding network and all of its users.

In 2005, the IT department’s overall budget was $706,000. In 2006, it increased to $914,000 and in 2007 rose to a record of almost $1.2 million. Myers expects yet another increase in state funding this year to keep pace with the enhancements to KU’s network and security.

“I think we’ll continue to see increases in the cost of maintaining the existing infrastructure and continuing to build it to give people the tools they need,” Myers said.

The IT department is considering opportunities to spread the word of safe information practices even further. Bauer is working with the IT department to include a presentation about online safety and security in new student orientations.

“For most students, these are things they have created sitting in their bedroom. We need to help them understand that information they post is not private - it’s on the Web,” Bauer said.

Almost two years after her identity was stolen, Johnsson is still getting back on her feet and looking for a job in Lawrence. Johnsson cautioned against placing any private information on the Web, saying you just don’t know whom you can trust and whom you can’t. With the IT department’s improvements to security, fewer students will feel the effect of those who cannot be trusted.

— Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird