Author Archives: Matt Martin, Information Assurance (IA)
Did you know that if you use an iPhone or iPad to log into U-M websites, you don’t have to type your password every time you log in? Your Apple biometrics (FaceID or TouchID) provides a secure option. You just have to take a few minutes to set it up first. Check out this new video to see… Read More »
On December 8, an MCommunity release improved deactivated and expired group functionality. Instead of deleting groups as they do today, owners now deactivate groups, thus affording all owners an option to restore groups. My Groups in MCommunity now includes a new Trash tab showing group owners all their deactivated and expired groups. Owners can recover groups for 30… Read More »
This year marked the 20th year that ITS Information Assurance (IA) has invited U-M students to take an online quiz to raise awareness about IT security issues and promote security and privacy best practices during October’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. All U-M students on the UM-Ann Arbor (including medical students), UM-Dearborn, and UM-Flint campuses who scored 90% or… Read More »
As part of this fall’s SUMIT series of weekly events, the Education and Engagement team of ITS Information Assurance (IA) presented on how they curate knowledge, develop training, and create awareness for U-M community members to protect themselves and the U. The team of Performance Support Analysts featured “Jen and the Matts” (Jen Wilkerson, Matt Ranville, and Matt… Read More »
This fall, ITS Information Assurance (IA) continues the tradition of celebrating Cybersecurity Awareness Month with the annual SUMIT series of weekly events hosted by IA’s cybersecurity experts. SUMIT’s online sessions include: Cosign Retirement Drop-in Sessions: Unit IT who manage services that use Cosign authentication can learn how to smoothly transition from Cosign to Shibboleth (SAML or OIDC). Safe… Read More »
U-M employees and community members all share in the responsibility to help protect U-M IT systems and data. However, some employees may not be aware of or sufficiently prepared for this responsibility. A new course in My LINC, Data Protection 101: Your Shared Responsibility, is now available to all faculty, staff, and students. It provides a brief overview… Read More »
Spring is here, the sun is shining, and many of us are going on a long-awaited trip for vacation. Whether you are heading on a long vacation or a quick professional trip, you will likely take along some combination of a smartphone, tablet, laptop, and other mobile devices. Follow these tips to safeguard both your own and the… Read More »
April 12 is Identity Management Day. Learn about the people who protect your data by “giv[ing] the right people access to the right things at the right time.”
The ITS Identity & Access Management team (IAM) has finalized plans to reach key milestones that will remove dependencies on the Cosign authentication service by summer 2022. Cosign has been the university’s secure, single sign-on, web authentication system for more than 20 years. Originally designed at U-M, the open source software was once widely used across higher education.… Read More »
U-M celebrated Privacy Day for the fifth year through a month’s worth of programming co-convened by ITS Information Assurance and the School of Information. At U-M’s 2022 Privacy Day keynote presentation, Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna, vice President for Global Privacy at the Future of Privacy Forum, walked her audience through the key concepts of privacy and data protection and… Read More »
The Security Privacy Interaction Lab (SPI Lab) at U-M, led by Florian Schaub, assistant professor in the School of Information and College of Engineering, is a team of researchers studying privacy and security issues in today’s digital world. As part of Privacy@Michigan — U-M’s Data Privacy Day celebration, Yixin Zou, a PhD student in the School of Information,… Read More »
For more than 16 years, ITS Information Assurance (IA) has invited UM-Ann Arbor students, including medical students, to take an online quiz to raise awareness about IT security issues and promote best practices during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Those who score 90% or higher on the 10-question quiz are entered into a drawing for prizes. This year, students… Read More »
What’s one of the most important goals of IT security experts? It’s keeping your email secure. During this year’s SUMIT Reimagined online event series, Dennis Neil and brian cors presented on two tools that help protect our email: Area 1 and Virtru. Dennis Neil, IT Security Design and Engineering Manager in ITS Information Assurance (IA), explained how Area… Read More »
Do people in your unit need training on meeting HIPAA requirements for working with Protected Health Information (PHI)? A new eLearning course in My LINC covers how to appropriately handle PHI in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA provides privacy and security rules that govern how PHI is collected, disclosed, and secured. For… Read More »
Have you ever seen a pop-up on your computer or received an unsolicited call urging you to contact “tech support?” Scammers sometimes impersonate IT support staff and claim something is wrong with your computer. They offer to help fix the problem—for a fee—but instead may steal your personal information or infect your computer with malicious software. This can… Read More »
IT security is a shared responsibility and we all need to do our part. Check out this new video to learn about your shared responsibility to protect U-M computing resources and data: IT Security—Our Shared Responsibility (2:07) As part of the U-M community, you’re provided with access to a wide variety of computing resources—and sometimes to very sensitive… Read More »
If you encounter an actual or suspected IT security incident, it is vital that you report it as soon as possible so that work can begin to investigate and resolve it. This applies whether you are working from home or on campus. Take a minute to watch the ITS Information Assurance (IA) video: How to Report an IT… Read More »
Do you have personal, non-work files on your university-owned computer or in an online storage space provided by U-M? Help the university protect your privacy by storing them in a folder labeled Personal and Private.
To improve security, ITS will upgrade Kerberos to version 1.18 in summer 2021 (likely in August). The upgrade will disable support for Data Encryption Standard (DES), which is an insecure and deprecated encryption type.
Beware! It’s that time of the year again! As you read this, criminals, fraudsters, and identity thieves could be working to file fraudulent tax returns in your name and steal your tax refund. ITS Information Assurance (IA) offers the following tips to help you protect yourself from identity theft and tax fraud: File your taxes as soon as… Read More »