Content filtering software

Daniel Payne

[[1]mailto:[FOI #270161 email]]

 

 

Dear Mr Payne

 

FOI REQUEST - INTERNET CONTENT FILTERING (Bishop Grosseteste University)

Emailed: 26 May 2015 13:32

 

I acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information request (copy
attached below).

 

The request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  This means that you can expect to receive a
response from us within twenty working days or by 23 June 2015.

 

Please contact me if you have any queries about this email or about the
progress of your request ([2][email address]).

 

If you are dissatisfied with the service you receive in relation to your
request, and wish to make a complaint or request an internal review, then
please write to Dr Anne Craven, Registrar and Secretary, Bishop
Grosseteste University, Lincoln LN1 3DY ([3][email address]).

 

If you are not content with the outcome of a complaint or internal review,
you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner.  Generally,
however, he cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
complaints and review procedures provided by the University itself.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire  SK9
5AF.

 

Yours sincerely

 

MRS Guenever Moyes

Archivist & Records Manager

 

 

___________________________________

 

[4]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
Description: Description: Description: Description:
cid:image001.jpg@01CDD85F.66A255E0

 

Bishop Grosseteste University

Lincoln

LN1 3DY

_____________________________________________________

 

Telephone   (01522) 583792   |   Email   [5][email address]

Twitter   [6]www.twitter.com/bishopglibrary   |   Facebook 
 [7]www.facebook.com/bishopglibrary   |   Website   [8]www.bishopg.ac.uk

 

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

show quoted sections

Daniel Payne

[[1]mailto:[FOI #270161 email]]

 

 

Dear Mr Payne

 

FOI REQUEST – INTERNET CONTENT FILTERING (Bishop Grosseteste University)

Emailed: 26 May 2015 13:32

Acknowledged: 26 May 2015 15:42

 

I write in response to your recent Freedom of Information Request.

 

The information you requested is as follows:

 

1.         Do you employ the use of content filtering software on the PCs
based in your libraries which are connected to the internet and intended
for use by the users of your library?

 

Yes

 

If answer to Q.1 is “yes”, please:

 

2.         Provide the name and annual cost of the content filtering
software.

 

We use Watchguard ITM Firewall with Web Filtering. The web filtering
system is embedded into our Watchguard Integrated Threat management
system.

 

Whilst I can confirm that we hold information relating to the annual cost
for the complete annual system maintenance, we are withholding it under
Section 43.2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Commercial
Interests).  This is a qualified exemption which means that it is subject
to the public interest test.  In this case, we considered:

 

1.             the public interest in ensuring that the University is able
to participate competitively and fairly in a commercial activity such as
the purchase of services

2.             the public interest in ensuring that we as a public
authority get value for money when purchasing services

3.             the public interest in scrutinizing how public money is
spent (including issues of accountability and transparency)

4.             the public interest in ensuring that there is competition
for the provision of services to the public sector and for public sector
contracts

5.             the public interest in ensuring that commercial companies
are able to compete fairly in the provision and sale of services.

Having taken all these issues into account and considered where the
balance of the public interest lies, we are satisfied that the public
interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in
disclosure.  This is because disclosure of the annual cost of the system
provided by Watchguard ITM would be likely to weaken our bargaining
position in the market-place when procuring or purchasing similar services
in the future.  This would prejudice the commercial interests of the
University as a purchaser which we do not consider would be in the public
interest.  The following detailed guidance on this exemption has been
published by the Information Commissioner’s Office:
[2]http://ico.org.uk/for_organisations/guid....

 

3.         Provide a full list of the categories of websites blocked (e.g.
“pornography, gambling, phishing etc.”). If these differ according to the
user profile accessing the PC (e.g. child, student, adult, staff etc.)
please provide a full list of categories of websites blocked for each user
profile.

 

Adult

Nudity

Adult Content

Sex

Tasteless & Offensive

 

Drugs

Supplements and unregulated Compounds

Abused Drugs

Marijuana

 

Information Technology

Criminal Activity

Proxy Avoidance

Hacking

 

Internet Communications

Military and Extremist

Racism and Hate

Tasteless

Violence

 

Security

Malicious Web Sites

Spyware

Phishing and Other Frauds

Keyloggers

Potentially Unwanted Software

Bot Networks

Malicious Embedded Link

Malicious Embedded iFrame

Mobile Malware

Advanced Malware

Spam URLs

 

Personal

Spam URLs

 

4.         Confirm whether you also block specific URLs in addition to
categories, and provide a complete list of these URLs.

 

Yes

 

Tripod.com

Georgejsn.wix.com

Ezweb123.com

Jigsy.com

Lashzone.com

Media.xx

 

5.         Provide the relevant policy document or written documentation
which outlines the procedure a user must follow in instances where they
would like to gain access to a website that is blocked.

 

We do not have a specific policy.  However, staff can request exceptions
through the IT Helpdesk.  These are then reviewed by the Head of IT in
order to assess whether they are deemed to be appropriate.

 

6.         From January 2013 until the present day, please provide a list
of the URLs where users have requested access to despite them being
blocked by the content filtering software.

 

[3]www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/*

[4]www.bucs.org.uk/*

[5]www.primapr.co.uk/*

pogostick.net/*

[6]http://www.annsummers.com/

 

7.         Of the list provided in Q. 6, please detail which URLs access
was granted for and which were denied.

 

All requests were granted

 

Please contact me if you have any queries about this email or about the
information provided ([7][email address]).

 

If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received in relation to
your request, and wish to make a complaint or request an internal review,
then please write to Dr Anne Craven, Registrar and University Secretary,
Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln LN1 3DY
([8][email address]).

 

If you are not content with the outcome of a complaint or internal review,
you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner.  Generally,
however, he cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
complaints and review procedures provided by the University itself.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire  SK9
5AF.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Guenever Moyes

Archivist & Records Manager

 

 

___________________________________

 

[9]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
cid:image001.jpg@01CDD85F.66A255E0

 

Bishop Grosseteste University

Lincoln

LN1 3DY

_____________________________________________________

 

Telephone   (01522) 583792   |   Email   [10][email address]

Twitter   [11]www.twitter.com/bishopglibrary   |   Facebook 
 [12]www.facebook.com/bishopglibrary   |   Website   [13]www.bishopg.ac.uk

 

 

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

show quoted sections