The following is from the Bookshare list. This will be of importance to
people who use Bookshare with blindness-specific notetakers, such as
BrailleNote and BrailleSense devices.
Hi Everyone,
There seems to be confusion and misinformation around the upcoming
Bookshare security updates. I want to try to report the facts of the
situation as fully as I can. I may not be able to resolve everything,
but I will try to separate fact and fiction.
1. Benetech, the nonprofit that runs the Bookshare site, has to
update its security through something called SSL. Whether we wish to
update is a bit irrelevant because our host company is going to update,
and when they update, it causes our sites to update as well. We have a
host company that we have to use to manage our large mass of site
content. Since we were concerned about the possible impact of this
update on our Bookshare users, especially the ones who use older
browsers on note-takers, we advocated for our host not to update.
Through our advocacy, we convinced the host to delay their security
update for over a year. Had we not advocated, the update would have
occurred sooner. In the end, this host company, and Bookshare by
extension, will be updating soon. The host’s and Benetech’s concern is
that if we do not update, all our users’ security will be compromised,
including personal and financial information.
2. 2. There are other host companies, aside from our current one,
that Bookshare could potentially use to avoid the security update. Our
research has shown us that these other companies are far more expensive,
and since Benetech is a small nonprofit, they are out of our price
range. Moreover, even if we could afford to make the switch, we could
not guarantee that these other host companies would not update their
security as well, resulting in us having the same access issue in time.
In short, we believe that the trend in the tech field will be to
implement these security changes across the board, and any company we
might work with will quite likely make the same changes to its security.
Our current host, and thereby Bookshare, may be early adopters of these
security updates, but we likely won’t be the only ones updating.
3. 3. We can’t fix or update each individual device ourselves. If
there was a patch Bookshare could make to allow all devices to run on
our website after the updates, then that would be fantastic. The tech
does not work that way however. If a Braille Note, Braille Sense, or
other device stops working on our site, we don’t have a way to push out
an update to those devices that will suddenly make them work. Although
it would be terrific if we could.
4. We did let our assistive technology partners like Humanware and
HIMS know about our pending security update. We gave them time to
research and test possible updates or workarounds.
5. 5. As of this moment, Monday June 12, the projected security
update date is June 30. Some devices may not be able to access the
Bookshare site after that time. If you are having trouble downloading
Bookshare books before that date, it is likely due to a different issue
and we ask you to write to support@xxxxxxxxxxxxx so we can help you.
6. 6. We don’t know for sure which specific devices will be
impacted by the June 30 update. We are confident the Braille Note APEX
will be impacted and possibly the browser on the Braille Sense.
7. 7. There is a tool called an Application Program Interface
(API). It will not be impacted by the June 30 security update. If your
device accesses Bookshare via the API, then you should be able to access
Bookshare normally. If you don’t know if your device uses the API, then
that’s okay. Some examples of API tools that should work fine after the
update are the Victor Stream, Kurzweil, Go Read, and the iOS apps.
8. The Braille Sense is unique because it offers two ways to
download Bookshare books – its quick browser or the Bookshare app. The
quick browser could be impacted by the security update, we’re not sure.
The Bookshare app is an API tool and should not be impacted by the
update. However, some users are reporting current issues with the
Braille Sense Bookshare app. These are not related to the security
update because it hasn’t happened yet. Therefore, while the Braille
Sense app should not be impacted by the security update, there may be
other issues with the Braille Sense Bookshare app that may make it
difficult for users to get books.
9. 9. If you’re still not sure whether your device will be impacted
by the June 30 seccurity update, we’ll send out an email with a test
link around that time. You’ll be able to use that link to test whether
or not your device will work on our updated site. Alternatively, if you
navigate to our site on a device after June 30, and the device cannot
access our site, you should reach an error message that will explain
that the update has taken place.
10. 10. The only work-around that we know of for devices that cannot
access our site after the update is to download books to a computer and
then transfer them to the device. I realize that is not an option for
everyone, and that is incredibly frustrating. If I had a better solution
for that situation, I would be implementing it. I don’t, and I’m
genuinely sorry about that.
Best,
Allison Hilliker
Bookshare Customer Support
Benetehc Global literacy
support@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist Feel free to visit my
Web site WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
for additional resources and information about assistive technology training
services.
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