Two events in early April highlighted U-M’s commitment to the cybersecurity shared responsibility model as unit IT staff and Information Assurance came together to promote awareness of current security risks, stay informed of priorities, and highlight the capabilities IA provides.
STAC Summit
The STAC Summit on April 9 gathered unit IT Director with a focus on “cybersecurity information & action.” IA provided a high-level overview of the evolution of the cyber threat landscape, shared details about CrowdStrike Falcon adoption in units, and showcased a new tool, Plasma Pup, that will expand reporting on Active Directory unit-level permissions. In addition, representatives from CrowdStrike presented on current threats and trends in higher education and beyond.
Carrie Shumaker, vice chancellor for informational technology and chief strategy officer, Office of Information Technology, UM-Dearborn, described the gathering as a way “to reaffirm our commitment to security as a shared responsibility and refresh our knowledge of the cybersecurity landscape and the tools and policies that protect all of us. Cybersecurity is up to all of us individuals and leaders in our large and interconnected university!” She added, “The energy in the room was apparent as we learned from experts and discussed our next best steps to improve our units’ level of security.”
IA Open House
On April 11, more than 50 unit IT staff waded through April showers to meet the IA team on their home turf at ASB and chat about security, privacy, IAM capabilities, and more. Guests visited each IA group to talk shop, discuss what works, what is needed, and what the future holds. To encourage interaction IA provided a passport, and everyone who got their open house passport stamped at all stations received fantastic IA swag.
Sol Bermann, chief information security officer and executive director of information assurance shared his impression of the event, “We hosted this as a thank-you for the continued partnership, and to connect or reconnect the security community in a fun way. People took time to visit each IA group–raising questions and sharing ideas. Beyond conversations with the IA team, it was wonderful seeing people re-connect and network, with some guests hanging out after the event had ended. Always the sign of a good party.”
