Are you getting or giving new Internet of Things (IoT) devices—things like smart home assistants, smart appliances, gaming systems, and wearable watches and trackers—this holiday season? If so, follow and share these basic privacy and security precautions: Change the default password for the device. Set a unique password for each device. Disable features you don’t use. Change default… Read More »
Wallace House—along with co-sponsors ITS and the Dissonance Event Series—will present Recode’s Kara Swisher interviewing Alex Stamos live on stage at U-M’s Hill Auditorium on March 18, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Save the date on your calendar now. Kara Swisher is co-founder and executive editor of Recode and host of the weekly interview podcast “Recode Decode.” She is… Read More »
Celebrate Data Privacy Day on January 28 by attending the Privacy@Michigan symposium. Kathleen Kingsbury, editor of The New York Times Privacy Project, will give the keynote address. Additional privacy experts, to be announced in January, will participate in two panel discussions: It Takes a Village: Multi-Disciplinary Voices on Privacy and Ethics in a Hyper-Connected Age I Always Feel… Read More »
Svetla Sytch joined ITS Information Assurance (IA) as assistant director of privacy and IT policy on November 25. In this role, she will work with partners across the university to craft strategies and lead operational efforts that weave privacy, policy, and data governance into the way the university engages in its teaching, learning, research and administrative activities. “Svetla… Read More »
On January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect. As we near that date, be aware that you are likely to start seeing updates and changes to privacy notices and policies for both personal and university online services (such at U-M Google and Box). Any communications about updates to vendor privacy policies and notices… Read More »
The percentage of websites protected with HTTPS secure encryption—indicated by the lock icon in the address bar of most browsers—has jumped from just over 40% in 2016 to 80% today. That’s largely due to the efforts of Let’s Encrypt, a nonprofit certificate authority co-founded in 2013 by J. Alex Halderman, a U-M professor of computer science and engineering.… Read More »
Due to an increased threat of phishing attacks targeted at Michigan Medicine, remote access to Outlook email will change on November 21. Michigan Medicine email users will need to connect to the VPN or use Outlook on the Web anytime they are off the Michigan Medicine network. This change only impacts laptop or desktop computers — accessing email on… Read More »
Michigan Medicine employees and students are required to use passwords to access various applications and business systems in their daily work. Because it can be difficult to keep track of multiple passwords, some people choose a simple password they can remember (e.g., their date of birth, a pet’s name, or another easily discovered piece of personal information), keep… Read More »
SUMIT_2019 brought together more than 430 people from the university and across southeast Michigan on October 29 to explore diverse topics in privacy and IT security. The presenters shared their work and insights on the socio-technical aspects of AI and cameras, art that explores privacy and security challenged as a result of living in our modern networked world,… Read More »
U-M faculty, instructors, and academic administrators received an ITS Information Assurance email on October 31 informing them the first wave of emails had begun to students who were not using Duo and encouraging those students to turn it on early. Faculty and instructors were asked for their patience and understanding as students became familiar with the tool and… Read More »
Over the next few months, a more secure connection method for the U-M Virtual Private Network (VPN) will be introduced, and the current method will be retired. The new method will direct people to Weblogin, and two-factor authentication using Duo will be required. The addition of two-factor to the U-M VPN login will improve security for U-M networks.… Read More »
The holiday season is almost upon us, and you probably are already doing some online shopping. ITS Information Assurance offers the following tips to help you protect your personal information and devices when you shop online. Know who you are dealing with Limit your online shopping to merchants you know and trust. Beware rock-bottom prices. If a website… Read More »
While the famous football rivalry gets all the press, it’s easy to forget that U-M and Ohio State University are partners in a variety of ways off the field. The two schools are partnering in identity and access management (IAM) to identify short-term problems to solve together, and to develop shared future IAM approaches and solutions. “In today’s… Read More »
The public release of credentials (email addresses and associated passwords) related to the 2018 Chegg breach unfortunately affected the U-M community. Thank you to those of you who assisted students and others whose UMICH passwords were reset in late September as a result of reuse at U-M of passwords exposed in a data breach at Chegg, a commercial… Read More »
If you’ve been logging in with Duo the same way for awhile, now is a good time to review your options and consider whether there are other methods that might work better for you. Duo Mobile app Advantages: Offers multiple login-approval methods (passcode, push notification; phone call and text message when installed on a smartphone). Works with or… Read More »
Mark your calendars for SUMIT_2019, U-M’s 15th annual cyber security conference on Tuesday, October 29 at Rackham Auditorium. Learn more and register today! This free, one-day conference is an exciting opportunity to hear recognized experts discuss the latest issues, trends, and threats in cybersecurity and privacy. SUMIT_2019 focuses on explorations in privacy and security research. SUMIT_2019 speakers Denise… Read More »
Every October, ITS Information Assurance (IA) leads a U-M celebration of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) by hosting events, sharing tips, and reminding everyone of our shared responsibility to protect and secure university and personal systems and the sensitive information they contain. NCSAM is spearheaded by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.… Read More »
Don’t let Duo two-factor become a distraction when you travel. Review your options before you leave to make sure you’re prepared. While your regular Duo option may work, you could choose to use an alternative method that better suits your travel plans. Duo offers multiple options that are suited for different circumstances. The recommended travel option is the… Read More »
Microsoft will end support for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 on January 14, 2020 That means it will no longer provide security updates or support. Don’t let your infrastructure and applications go unprotected. Begin planning now to upgrade as needed. This applies to physical servers that you manage as well as virtual servers. MiServer users are asked… Read More »
You can reduce the number of times you have to use Duo two-factor authentication when logging in at U-M Weblogin by checking the Remember me for 7 days box. With this feature, you will not be prompted for a two-factor authentication method at Weblogin over the next seven days, as long as you use the same computer and… Read More »