Category Archives: Safe Computing

Visit the SafeComputing site for more information. Report a security incident. Subscribe to the Safe Computing RSS feed.

March 18: “What Does Big Tech Owe Us?”

Wallace House presents Recode’s Kara Swisher interviewing Alex Stamos live on stage at U-M’s Hill Auditorium, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. This event is co-sponsored by ITS, the Dissonance Event Series, and others. Huge tech companies have changed the way we live. Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple have built unprecedented reach into our pocketbooks, privacy, individual liberties, and… Read More »

Safe Computing is “Best of the Web!”

Safe Computing took the top spot as winner of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) Best of the Web Contest for 2019 in the “Education” category.  According to MS-ISAC, “The goal of this contest is to recognize commendable sites and highlight them as best practices for others to consider when developing or redesigning their own sites.”… Read More »

U-M receives grant to develop secure, high-capacity research network

Several University of Michigan units have received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for a project that will enhance the university’s network security and assist the needs of its research community. NetBASILISK — short for Network Border At Scale Integrating and Leveraging Individual Security Components — is a collaborative effort that… Read More »

Attend “What Does Big Tech Owe Us?” March 18

Wallace House presents Recode’s Kara Swisher interviewing Alex Stamos live on stage at U-M’s Hill Auditorium, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. This event is co-sponsored by ITS, the Dissonance Event Series, and others. Huge tech companies have changed the way we live. Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple have built unprecedented reach into our pocketbooks, privacy, individual liberties, and… Read More »

Not using Bluetooth or AirDrop? Turn them off!

Turn off Bluetooth and other connections when you aren’t using them, and limit access to your devices via Mac/iOS AirDrop. This helps you save your battery charge and protects you from unwanted material. Subway riders in New York City, for example, have reported receiving unsolicited nude images over open AirDrop connections. Members of the U-M community have reported… Read More »

New IoT devices for the holidays? Mind your privacy & security!

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 »

Plan to attend “What Does Big Tech Owe Us?” March 18

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 »

NYT editor Kathleen Kingsbury to speak at Privacy@Michigan

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 named assistant director of privacy and IT policy

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 »

Expect privacy notice updates as the CCPA takes effect

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 »

How Let’s Encrypt doubled the percentage of secure websites

By | November 19, 2019

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 »

Remote access to Michigan Medicine Outlook changing November 21

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 offers a free password manager for its employees

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 recap: AI & cameras, art, and Apple watches

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 »

Faculty support requested during Duo for students implementation

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 »

Duo to be required for U-M VPN

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 »

Shop online safely with these tips

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 »

U-M and OSU find common ground…off the football field

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 »