Information Security

New Secure UD website

IT recently relaunched its Secure UD website as part of an ongoing commitment to improving security awareness within the University community. The new website equips students, faculty, and staff with the knowledge and resources they need to keep themselves, the community, and the University safe from cyber threats.

As part of the update, the website has been visually redesigned to help members of the University community find relevant information. The home page and sidebar provide easy access to several new resources:

• a Getting Started guide that introduces visitors to the basics of computer and information security
• Secure UD Essentials aimed at helping units and individuals protect their computers, mobile devices, and data and remain aware of security threats
• Best Practices that provide guidance and resources for key topics in security.

The Secure UD website also provides information about, and a link to, Secure UD Training. Phase three of Secure UD Training will become available to faculty and staff Sept. 27.

Summer desktop security series for departmental IT staff

Over the summer, IT Client Support & Services (IT-CS&S) sponsored a series of bi-weekly seminars and discussion groups focusing on securing client desktops. Fourteen modules were presented from late May through mid-August covering a wide range of topics including password management, application blocking, and whole-disk encryption. About 60 departmental and college IT staff members took the opportunity to attend. A separate focus group comprised of IT-CS&S staff and members of nine units outside central IT met throughout the summer to develop standards and best practices for managing MacOS systems. That group will present its findings to all departmental and college IT staff during the fall semester.

Security infrastructure improvements continue for older applications

IT Web Development (IT-WD) has recently released updated versions of the University’s Course Description, Transcript Archive, Advising Notes, Parent/Guardian views, and Security Questions applications. These new versions have been rewritten to take advantage of improved security frameworks. They also now use responsive design, which supports improved usability for all types of devices. The business owners of all applications tested functionality and security before each application was released.