A security loophole that lets someone add extra steps to your Fitbit might seem harmless, but a group of computer security researchers at U-M and the University of South Carolina say it points to the broader risks that come with technology embedding itself into our lives. They found a vulnerability that allows them to compromise devices through the tiny accelerometers that… Read More »
Security is everyone’s responsibility. If you use your personal devices—smartphone, laptop, tablet, and so on—for work, you are responsible for appropriately securing and managing them, as well as for meeting the obligations described in Security of Personally Owned Devices that Access or Maintain Sensitive Institutional Data (SPG 601.33). Your unit may have additional restrictions beyond those found in… Read More »
Have you changed your password(s) recently? When you change your clocks for the start of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 12, consider changing your UMICH (Level-1) password as well. ITS suggests that you change your UMICH password every six months or so. An easy way to remember this is to change your password when you change your… Read More »
Wednesday, March 22; 5:30–6:30 pm; Michigan League, Henderson Room. Join Knight-Wallace Fellows Bastian Obermayer and Laurent Richard as they discuss their work in investigating and reporting on the Panama Papers and Luxembourg Leaks. This discussion will focus on the privacy and IT security challenges in engaging in this high-profile, international investigatory journalism. Admission is free. Light refreshments included. The… Read More »
J. Alex Halderman, professor of computer science and engineering, received a lot of media attention in the days after the 2016 presidential election for voicing concerns about the integrity of electronic voting systems in the U.S. In this extensive interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Halderman, director of U-M’s Center for Computer Security and Society, contends that the initial reports… Read More »
Monday, February 20 2017; 3- 5 pm; Rackham Graduate School (Horace H.) – Rackham Amphitheatre, fourth floor. Wallace House presents the investigative journalists behind The Panama Papers and Luxembourg Leaks. A panel of Knight-Wallace Fellows and the deputy director for The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) will share the stories behind the biggest data leaks in history, the… Read More »
On Tuesday, February 7, forged emails carrying messages of hate were sent to several College of Engineering email groups from an anonymous email server. The messages were “spoofed” so they appeared to come from an engineering faculty member and a doctoral student. They did not send the messages. The U-M Police Department and the FBI are conducting a joint… Read More »
Hacks and data breaches continue to make headlines—including during the presidential election—but that hasn’t seemed to worry consumers, or even many policymakers. M.S. Krishnan, the Accenture Professor of Computer Information at the Ross School of Business, says that while security breaches haven’t changed consumer behavior, it’s time for a cybersecurity summit. Krishnan, who is also professor of technology and… Read More »
ITS Teaching and Learning, working in conjunction with the U-M Office of the Vice President and General Counsel; the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer; and Procurement Services, has secured a new data protection agreement in December with the online collaboration Q&A platform Piazza Technologies. Piazza Q&A, which has been available for… Read More »
Criminals can file fraudulent tax returns in your name—and steal your tax refund. Last year, several U-M employees were among the many nationwide who were victimized by tax fraud. This year, we are already seeing phishing scams targeting W-2s. Information and Infrastructure Assurance (IIA) offers the following five tips to help you avoid online tax fraud: Practice safe computing by… Read More »
Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) and Information and Technology Services (ITS) recently asked their staff to use two-factor authentication (Duo) whenever they log in using the Weblogin page.
Have you noticed messages in your sent folder that you didn’t send? Did your co-workers receive strange emails from you? If so, your U-M account might be compromised, and you should take action immediately. Change your UMICH (Level-1) password For instructions and tips, see Choosing and Changing a Secure UMICH Password. You should also set new security questions… Read More »
A U-M alum is striving to take the turbulence out of getting passengers to their planes on time. Caryn Seidman-Becker is CEO of CLEAR, which helps airline passengers at participating airports confirm their identity through biometric scanning of either their fingertip or iris. Customers sign up with CLEAR in advance and have their identification digitally authenticated. Then they… Read More »
After recent attacks threw the rampant insecurities of internet-connected cameras, video recorders, and other gadgets into sharp relief, Washington lawmakers and officials are urging tech firms to do more to secure the Internet of Things. At a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing last month, lawmakers said the attacks raised national security concerns and questions about the need… Read More »
A recent article published in Communications of the ACM examines the chronology of medical device security. The paper is the result of an interdisciplinary project, known as Trustworthy Health and Wellness, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Peter Honeyman, U-M research professor of computer science and engineering, collaborated on the article. Learn more.
The networked electronics found in modern vehicles provide many useful and cool benefits, such as fuel savings, parking assist, and collision avoidance. Most of these features involve passing data among vehicle systems and human drivers. This connectivity also offers hackers new potential exploits. According to research presented last month by U-M researchers Kyong-Tak Cho and Kang Shin at… Read More »
An interview exploring the technology underlying home device security and the Internet of Things (IoT) was recently broadcasted by CBC Radio. Atul Prakash, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, spoke about why many IoT devices are vulnerable. “The technology is relatively new,” said Prakash. “Hardware is probably a little bit ahead of the software at this point,… Read More »
Before you set up your away message and head out the door for winter break, make sure you’ve gone through this list of last-minute tasks.
When Mark Zuckerberg posted a picture of himself on Facebook last June, a sharp-eyed observer spotted a piece of tape covering his laptop’s camera. The irony didn’t go unnoticed. Even those of us who don’t control large corporations have reason to be concerned about the next frontiers in surveillance. For example, today many security cameras are easy to… Read More »
More than 550 people attended U-M’s flagship event for National Cyber Security Awareness Month.