Page 23 - 2022 OIT Progress Report

Information Security Enlists New Tools to Fight Threats
PROTECTING OUR DATA IS A NEVER-ENDING TASK THAT IS BECOMING MORE COMPLEX AS THREATS CONTINUE TO MULTIPLY. FROM EMAIL PHISHING SCAMS TO SOFTWARE VULNERABILITIES, IDENTIFYING AND IMPLEMENTING THE APPROPRIATE SOLUTION REQUIRES SIGNIFICANT EFFORT AND PLANNING. IN THE PAST YEAR, WE SAW A 20% RISE IN HIGH AND CRITICAL VULNERABILITIES THAT COULD IMPACT THE UNIVERSITY AND A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ACCOUNT COMPROMISES.
To combat phishing attempts, we implemented several new protections, including an AI-based email security tool that helps detect employee impersonation attempts on campus. This year, the tool helped stop 234,000 threats that our existing email security tool missed.
To combat the number of account compromises, we extended the DUO authentication
requirement to
alumni accounts. To make the
Duo process a little less onerous
for employees and students we
increased the time duration of the
“remember me/ trust this browser”
function. We will
continue to expand our DUO implementation to other populations in the year ahead.
We also conducted a strategic planning effort to identify our most significant risks and the level of effort to address them. That roadmap identified multiple critical issues and changes which will be introduced during the next several years. Among these are a replacement of our antivirus solution, alternate solution for administrative credentials on computers, changes to security protocols and processes within our infrastructure, conversion of the Residence Hall door access from physical locks to card readers, and additional training and communication efforts.
As always, securing our data requires diligent efforts not only from OIT, but from the entire campus community. We will continue to partner with the campus community to improve the security of our processes, data, and access.
InfORmATIOn SEcuRITy EnlISTS nEw TOOlS TO fIGhT ThREATS
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