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Merged idea

This idea has been merged into another idea. To comment or vote on this idea, please visit ITSL-I-120 Video Player.

Flash Player is a major security problem that puts student and family data at risk - when will IL switch to HTML 5? Merged

Flash Player has been the #1 security problem across the internet for years, with a constant stream of 'critical' security patches. Amazon, YouTube, Google and Facebook have all banned Flash based ads. YouTube switched to HTML 5 for video.  In 2015, Adobe threw in the towel and announced that developers should use HTML 5 instead -- and avoid Flash.

School districts across America hold large quantities of confidential student and family data, including identity, medical, mental and behavioral data. All of this private information is vulnerable to hackers when Flash is installed on school computers.  Attacks are often 'drive by'; the user simply visits a Web page that contains a small Flash graphic or ad -- and the attack is automatically launched.  You do not need to click on anything or download a document.  This puts private information for millions of students and their families at significant risk.

After personal data is stolen, no amount of money can repair the damage.  This creates the potential for significant liabilities for school districts that choose to use Flash Player, and the potential for a costly class action suit against IL itself, if IL continues to require clients to use a technology that was known to be very vulnerable.

So, two questions for IL management:

(1) When will ItsLearning update your system to HTML 5 and eliminate dependence on Flash?

(2) Do you need any help converting Flash content to HTML 5? We may be able to donate time to assist, if needed.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mark Hays
Massachusetts Privacy Project

  • Guest
  • Mar 29 2017
  • Released
Country US
Category Content creation and management
  • Guest commented
    March 31, 2017 14:44

    Dear Henning:  Thank you for your quick reply.  With all due respect, however, "...we're working on it..." is not a sufficient answer given the significance of this security risk and the vast quantities of confidential data held by school districts worldwide.  HTML 5 has been a reliable solution for years, and a number of tools are available to easily convert Flash content to HTML 5.  So when will the conversion to HTML 5 be complete?

    Thanks,

    Mark Hays

    Massachusetts Privacy Project

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  • Admin
    Product Team commented
    March 31, 2017 08:16

    Hi, we’re working on a HTML 5 solution for this.

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