Tag Archives: security

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

With massive data breaches like the one at Equifax (what to do if you are affected) constantly in the news, it sometimes feels as if we are under siege and helpless to defend ourselves. Yet we now have more power than ever before to control digital identity and important financial and other sensitive accounts. Take some time this… Read More »

Protection from malicious websites on UM-Ann Arbor networks

Beginning October 17, safeguards will be put in place that help protect the U-M community from websites known to be malicious—those that attempt to steal your personal information or infect your device with malware—on most UM-Ann Arbor wired networks. This protection is already included on MWireless and MGuest. Domain Name Service (DNS) filtering checks websites against a list… Read More »

Remember Duo Remember Me?

When students, staff, and faculty come to you with concerns about the latest virus, hack, or phishing attempt, pass on the good news that turning on two-factor to protect their U-M Weblogin and personal data is even easier. In April, the university added the Remember Me option to two-factor for services accessed via the Weblogin page. It allows you… Read More »

SUMIT 2017

Mark your calendars for SUMIT_2017, the 13th annual cyber security conference on Thursday, October 19. Security at University of Michigan IT (SUMIT) is the university’s flagship event for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. SUMIT is an exciting opportunity to hear recognized experts discuss the latest technical, legal, policy, and operational trends, threats, and tools in cybersecurity and privacy. This… Read More »

Celebrating Duo’s first year at U-M: Exceeding expectations

The university recently marked the first anniversary of its switch to Duo Security for two-factor authentication. As of July 20, 2017, more than 11,000 faculty and 36,000 staff on all the university campuses — including Michigan Medicine —  use Duo two-factor to help secure sensitive university data, including research and personal data. With increasing numbers of students and… Read More »

Making improvements to accounts and access processes

“To best support the collaborative work of our faculty, staff, and students, we must make their identity, roles, and access seamless as they move within multiple areas of U-M,” said Andrew Rosenberg, M.D., chief information officer for Michigan Medicine. “Our current methods rely on dozens of poorly connected IT systems,” he added. “Centralizing these activities in terms of… Read More »

MiWorkspace partners with HITS to meet increased network security standards

The MiWorkspace team at Information and Technology Services (ITS) worked with Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) to configure MiWorkspace computers to connect to the Michigan Medicine wired network. Michigan Medicine is increasing security for their wired networks by requiring trusted university devices contain a specific security protocol. MiWorkspace computers in the following units are now configured to… Read More »

Teams respond swiftly to malware attack on vendor

By | July 31, 2017

When Michigan Medicine’s telephone dictation and transcription service provider was impacted by a global malware cyberattack, teams from Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) and Health Information Management (HIM) acted swiftly to ensure the service was disabled, no patient information was compromised, and alternative solutions were provided. “Many staff played a role in the response to the dictation… Read More »

Halderman testifies in Senate’s Russia probe

By | June 28, 2017

J. Alex Halderman (second from right), professor of electrical engineering and computer science, testified before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at a June 21 hearing titled “Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election.” It focused on the federal government’s role in safeguarding U.S. elections from outside interference. Halderman emphasized that “our highly computerized election infrastructure is vulnerable… Read More »

Wireless network update a success – what’s next?

In April, the Michigan Medicine community came together to achieve a significant goal – namely to ensure that enhanced security protocols were in place on all wireless devices connecting to the mission critical network. WiFi security for more than 20,000 devices joining the network daily was the first step in a 19-month initiative to make the IT environment… Read More »

U-M not affected by worldwide ransomware attacks

U-M has not been affected by the widespread global ransomware attacks on computer networks over the weekend. Even with the U-M campuses — including Michigan Medicine — unaffected at this time, the attack remains a serious, ongoing threat. The attack that started May 12 has spread to more than 150 countries and 200,000 computers. For those affected, the attack… Read More »

Private MCommunity groups now hide owners, moderators

By | May 15, 2017

Private groups in the MCommunity Directory now hide not only the members, but also the owners and moderators. Aside from enhancing overall MCommunity privacy, this feature, which was implemented May 13, will help make the kind of email spoofing that occurred earlier this year more difficult. It stops would-be email spoofers from discovering and impersonating the moderator of… Read More »

Emoji passwords

By | May 8, 2017

Would you rather unlock your smartphone with a plain four-digit PIN or with a series of emojis? For example, is it easier (and just more fun) to remember “🐱💦🎆🎌” than “2476”? Smartphone users commonly use emojis to express moods and emotions in emails and text messages. But there had been no formal study of how easy emoji passwords were to… Read More »