Educause teams with the Center for Internet Security

Under the partnership, Educause members can obtain a free license to redestribute CIS benchmarks and software tools on college- and university-owned systems. Members also can redistribute CIS tools to students, faculty and employees for their personal use.

CIS develops benchmarks for secure configuration of operating sytems, software applications, and network devices. The nonprofit organization also develops software tools that allow users to compare their system configuration with the benchmarks.

"The educational community comprises a significant portion of the universe of computer users who connect their systems to the internet," CIS chief executive Clint Kreitner said. "This agreement represents an important step toward making the internet a safer place for everyone."

Educause and CIS also are teaming up to establish technical controls baselines that colleges can present to vendors as default security configurations for systems they buy.

Educause's membership includes more than 1,900 colleges, universities and educational institutions.

www.educause.edu

www.cisecurity.org