Information Security
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month
This October is the 14th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), a joint effort between the United States Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to educate the public about safe computing and information practices. Throughout October, the government and more than 1,000 public and private organizations nationwide will champion cyber security.
The University will observe NCSAM with weekly UDaily articles highlighting important security topics for both daily and work life. NCSAM is also an opportunity to revisit resources available to help you protect yourself and our community, including Secure UD Training and the Secure UD Threat Alerts blog.
Secure UD Training
Phase II of 2017 Secure UD Training, a security awareness resource for University employees, has now been released. The training empowers employees by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and our community from cyber threats. Its modular, online, self-paced design makes it easy to complete during lunches or between emails. The skills it cultivates are applicable at home, in the office, or abroad.
Almost 1,600 employees have already started or completed their 2017 training. Unit heads may request reports of Secure UD Training completion within their units by emailing secadmin@udel.edu.
To start Phase II of your 2017 Secure UD Training, log in through the Secure UD website.
Secure UD “Take a BITE out of phish!”
Earlier this year, the University launched the Secure UD “Take a BITE out of phish!” campaign to help raise awareness about phishing, one of the world’s most prevalent cyber threats. Each month, a randomly-selected sample of employees will be presented with a harmless test phish that mimics real attacks launched against the University community. The tests are non-punitive, but employees are strongly encouraged to treat all suspicious emails as potentially dangerous. Test phish are annotated and posted to the Secure UD Threat Alerts blog.
As part of the University’s phishing awareness efforts, IT has also created reportaphish@udel.edu, an inbox to which any community member may forward suspicious emails.
Remember “BITE”:
- Be aware of the threat
- Identify the warning signs
- Tell us about suspicious messages
- Erase phish from your inbox.
Prizes
IT will host a prize drawing to thank those who demonstrate their commitment to the security of our community this month. Employees can earn up to two entries just by practicing routine, security habits:
- Complete Phase II of 2017 Secure UD Training in October.
- Forward October’s Secure UD “Take a BITE out of phish!” test email to reportaphish@udel.edu.
Winners will be drawn during the Tech Fair on Nov. 15.
Apple device management: JAMF training
In late spring, a group of approximately 30 IT staff members from over a dozen units across campus participated in a 30-day trial of JAMF Apple device management software. The product proved to be effective, and UD IT subsequently purchased 2,500 licenses for use across campus. A three day “jumpstart” (immersive training session) was held for the participants. Training sessions are now being planned for other departmental IT staff interested in using JAMF.
CrashPlan news
After implementing Code42 CrashPlan Enterprise on over 200 systems over the past year, IT Client Support & Services (IT-CS&S) is now making the cloud-based backup solution available to University units. In our implementation, all files are encrypted on the local device before being backed up to cloud-based Code42 servers. Encryption keys are stored on a highly secure server located at the University so that data leakage due to theft of the backed-up files is nearly impossible. The cost is $78 per person (for up to five devices per person), the Internet2 discounted price. Quarterly buy-in is available. (See more detailed information.) Departmental IT staff should contact the IT Support Center to subscribe their unit’s systems in the University’s CrashPlan program.
Code42 has announced that CrashPlan for Home is being discontinued. Code42 is dropping this product to focus on enterprise and small business solutions. Current customers will be supported through October 2018 but should make other arrangement for backing up personally owned systems.
