Information Security and IT Compliance News

Securing University Data and Systems

Feb 18, 2025

A person working on a laptop with a screen that shows a lock and secure encryption.

With the new year comes a time of renewal and a refreshed sense to start this year off on the right foot. This includes ensuring that appropriate IT security and compliance measures are taken for everything you and your department use to conduct business. Some important questions to ask are whether all your passwords are unique and 16-characters long, or have you taken the necessary training to be up to date on regulations and IT security best practices. The new year means new energy and the motivation to look at, or start, an audit log of all the software, hardware, and other third-party services you use to ensure that they are compliant and protecting your data.
A new year gives you an opportunity to do better with your IT security and compliance by following Standards that help keep your personal data, along with university data, safe. It gives you a chance to look inwards and ask questions like, “Did I set my screen to lock when I left my desk so that no one can access my files while I am away from my workstation?” or “Did I secure sensitive documents away in a folder with restricted user access ?” In a world where we receive “Your information has been leaked” letters from external companies on a regular basis, we must do better to ensure one of those letters doesn’t come from the university.

This new year we are working closely with all of you on several campuswide projects to ensure we secure our systems and meet industry IT security and compliance standards.

Together, we can secure our university.