[freehunter]

During some of my more high-security classes at school, we had to confine our classroom to a completely different network. While we were given access to and authorization to use and learn certain tools, we could not use them on the university network. This meant that when class was in session, the network administrators would shut down the switch port connecting the room elsewhere, not only cutting us off from the rest of the network but also from the Internet.

The school couldn't assure that all the data going over the wire was protected from these tools, but felt it good practice to teach us. Of course, many students then left the class after the two hours were up and stupidly practiced their newfound skills on the network anyway. After that day, we lost more than a couple students from the class (and possibly the university).

The schools know their systems are insecure. The leadership is comfortable in accepting this risk. I just wish they would make this information public to the students, so they can choose to accept the risk as well.