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Securing the eCampus 2013: July 16-17 at Dartmouth College

April 29, 2013 | Adam Goldstein

The seventh annual Securing the eCampus conference will be held this July 16th and 17th at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. We invite you to join us in discussing the unique challenges of cyber security in higher ed and what it takes to build a culture of security at your institution.

Our format this year will include a full day of presentations and panel discussions from leaders in the information security field on the 16th. We have already confirmed the following speakers:

Dan Geer - Chief Information Security Officer of In-Q-Tel will deliver the keynote
Michael Corn and Jane Rosenthal - Respectively, the Chief Privacy and...

0 Comments

Quantitative IT Security Risk Analysis Tool

April 26, 2013 | Chirstopher Bohlk

Hello All,

I would like to know if anyone has a recommendation of an automated IT security quantitative risk analysis tool that was successfully used in your environment to create a reliable risk model?

Thanks,

Chris

Chris Bohlk

Pace University

Information Security Officer

0 Comments

Reminder: Security BSides Boston 2013 Event on Saturday, May 18th (Register today!)

April 25, 2013 | Roy Wattanasin

Please send to all interested colleagues and students. Thank you!

-----

Hi Everyone:

Don't forget to register for *Security B-Sides Boston 2013* for our event on *Saturday, May 18th, 2013* at the Microsoft NERD building in Cambridge, MA* (near the Kendall/MIT red line stop) if you have not already done so.

"Security BSides Boston 2013 is a community-driven event, created by information security professionals. The goal of BSides is to expand the security conversation and engage the community.

Over 200 students, technologists and information security professionals will participate at BSides Boston this spring. Don't miss out and register today! Our keynote speakers will be Dr. Dan Geer and Joshua Corman." The updated schedule has been posted with topics like drone technology, privacy, live memory forensics, healthcare medical device security,...

0 Comments

April 23, 2013 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from will.froning@gmail.com

Hello All,

I'm wondering if any of your institutions monitor logon/logoff time for attendance/holiday/sick leave violations. I'm not looking for a technical answer, just whether or not your schools do this.

I'm trying to bring some support documents to the table so we can make an educated decision on if it's something we want to pursue. My feeling is that this is VERY unusual for HigherED, but links to policies or an email (with a yes/no) would be much appreciated.

If you like I can compile my responses (anonymously) and repost to the list if there's any interest.

Thanks,

Will

P.S. It was great meeting some of you at the STL conference. Hopefully I can make the trip for the next one.

--
Will Froning
Unix SysAdmin
...

5 Comments

Another Java Thread

April 23, 2013 | Steve Bohrer

0 Comments

Pointless email spam

April 15, 2013 | Dennis Bohn

We have been seeing these sort-of literary ones, like your sample #2. No idea what purpose.

best,

Dennis Bohn
Manager of Network and Systems
Adelphi University
bohn@adelphi.edu
5168773327

3 Comments

Mandatory information security awareness training

April 12, 2013 | Dennis L. Self

Beth,

We have the requirement (not policy yet, but administration agreement) but not everyone has taken it. The training, Securing the Human from SANS Institute, has been available for approaching two years.

Dennis Self, CISSP

Director, IT Security & Compliance

Technology Services

Samford University

(205) 726-2692

From: "Chancellor, Beth C." <ChancellorB@MISSOURI.EDU>
Reply-To: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv <SECURITY@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU>
Date: Friday, April 12, 2013 2:59 PM
To: <SECURITY@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU>
Subject: [SECURITY] Mandatory...

1 Comment

Passthoughts?

April 11, 2013 | John Ladwig

Not sure about this particular technology, but you describe the general problem I have with most biometric authentication proposals that involve untrusted processing pathways. -jml

2 Comments

SPC photowalk interest check

April 8, 2013 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from win-hied@bradjudy.com

This is a quick reminder for those who are coming to SPC and enjoy photography. Join me for a morning photo-walk around the area and a breakfast table of photography chat. If you’re interested, let me know. If you want to take up my offer on trying a vintage camera that inspires modern retro-photography, be sure to let me know so I can bring the appropriate gear and film.

Thanks,

Brad Judy

0 Comments

Phishing awareness upon account reset

April 5, 2013 | Angelo D. Santabarbara

Currently we have them take the Email module. The STH modules are SCORM compliant and as such can be used to build content in Black Board. The person who works on this is on vacation, but I have found some on-line instructions posted by other universities like this one that may get you on the right track: http://www.niu.edu/blackboard/faq/qa/scorm.shtml

Our SANS representative was also very helpful in guiding us on how to do this. They provided this documentation: http://www.securingthehuman.org/media/support/SANS-STH-LMS-Documentation.pdf

Angelo D. Santabarbara
Director of Networks & Systems
Siena College
...

0 Comments

Call for Papers: World Congress on Internet Security (WorldCIS-2013)

April 5, 2013 | Paul Kelly

Apologies for cross-postings.

Please send it to interested colleagues and students. Thanks!

CALL FOR PAPERS

********************************************************
World Congress on Internet Security (WorldCIS-2013)
Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE Tokyo Section
August 5-7, 2013
Venue: Tokyo University of Information Sciences, Japan
www.worldcis.org
********************************************************

The World Congress on Internet Security (WorldCIS-2013)
is Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE Tokyo Section.
The WorldCIS-2013 is an international forum dedicated to the
advancement of the theory and practical...

0 Comments

Email blacklists blocking campus mail servers

April 4, 2013 | Rich Graves

Hotmail, Yahoo, and AOL are particularly good about returning 4xx errors very early in a spam run. Watch for those and respond accordingly. More generally, http://www.slideshare.net/rcgraves/sans-phishorlando SlideShare doesn't seem to show speaker notes. For references see: https://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/email/phishing-detecton-re...

1 Comment

88.blocklist.zap

April 3, 2013 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from advax@triumf.ca

Does anyone know anything about 88.blocklist.zap ? We have a mailserver being blocked on some sites based on an entry in that. As far as I cen tell with Google, it's an internal list used by a Microsoft mail service, with no public interface. There's a well-documented procedure to get off the list by mailing them an ip address, but I want to know how one gets on the list in the first place and how to prevent it in the future. If our mailing list is being targetted somehow, moving it to another SMTP server and getting that poisoned too seems like a bad idea. My emails to the removal address have so-far returned only "please provide the error message". -- Andrew Daviel, TRIUMF, Canada Tel. +1 (604) 222-7376 (Pacific Time) Network Security Manager

0 Comments

Vetting New Devices

April 3, 2013 | Brett Kish

Bill, We use Bradford to inspect all student computers who connect to our RESNET for the first time. Bradford checks for current AV software, permitted OS's, and that the OS is updated to the appropriate service pack. Bradford is also used to register tablets, mobile devices, smart TV's, and game consoles to the RESNET. There is no inspection of these devices beyond confirming the OUI of the device does fall into one of the previously mentioned categories. Brett Kish Northwood University

0 Comments

REN-ISAC and SANS partner for highly discounted technical and user awareness training

April 2, 2013 | Doug Pearson

Greetings, REN-ISAC has partnered with SANS to make highly respected security training available to the education community at steeply discounted prices. The partnership will make SANS OnDemand technical training, including GIAC, and Securing The Human user awareness training available during a special aggregate purchase period from June 1 through July 31, 2013. Securing the Human (STH) provides extensive employee security awareness training that targets today's weakest link in enterprise security – the human. Online training modules cover topics such as social engineering, using e-mail safely, smartphone security and FERPA. The special pricing is a limited-time opportunity. The regular price for 250 users is $20 per user, but during this window, the price will drop to $1.60 per user for a 1-year license (minimum order $2,000) or $2.80 per user for a 2-year license (minimum order $3,500). With OnDemand technical training, you have a choice from more than 40 SANS courses that can be...

0 Comments

Security Administrator Position Opening - Loyola University Chicago

April 1, 2013 | James Pardonek

Hi all, We have an open position for an Information Security Administrator in the University Information Security Office at Loyola University Chicago. For details, please go to https://www.careers.luc.edu The Position Number is 8101696. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions. Jim

James Pardonek, CISSP, CEH

Information Security Officer
Loyola University Chicago
1032 W. Sheridan Road | Chicago, IL 60660

(: (773) 508-6086

0 Comments

Session Conveners for Security Professionals Conference

April 1, 2013 | Sarah D. Morrow

Hi Cathy,

Pease let me know if I can help.

Thank you

Sarah Morrow, MBA/ISM, CIPP, GISP

Chief Privacy Officer

Penn State

Sent from my iPad

0 Comments

World Congress on Internet Security (WorldCIS-2013): Call for Papers!

March 28, 2013 | Paul Kelly

Apologies for cross-postings.
Please send it to interested colleagues and students. Thanks!

CALL FOR PAPERS

********************************************************
World Congress on Internet Security (WorldCIS-2013)
Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE Tokyo Section
August 5-7, 2013
Venue: Tokyo University of Information Sciences, Japan
www.worldcis.org
********************************************************

The World Congress on Internet Security (WorldCIS-2013)
is Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE Tokyo Section.
The WorldCIS-2013 is an international forum dedicated to the
advancement of the theory and practical implementation of security
on the Internet and Computer Networks. The inability to properly
secure the Internet, computer networks, protecting the Internet
against emerging threats and...

0 Comments

SANS Training - VA Tech, 5/20-25/2013- Securing Windows and Resisting Malware (SEC 505)

March 27, 2013 | Randy Marchany

VA Tech is hosting a SANS Institute training course, SEC 505 "Securing Windows and Resisting Malware" with Jason Fossen on 5/20-25/2013. The course has been updated to include Windows 8 and the latest Windows Server releases. There is a substantial discount for the class and it will be available in a vLive (live online) format. Here are the details:

1. WHAT: SEC 505, "Securing Windows & Resisting Malware" with instructor Jason Fossen.
2. WHEN: 5/20-25/2013
3. WHERE: VA Tech, Blacksburg, VA. (nearest airport: Roanoke, VA)
4. COST: EDU (Higher Ed, Community college, K-12 Faculty/staff), State/Local Govt employee or LEO: $1250/person (discounted from $4400/person) for class only; $1250+$579 for class + GIAC cert exam.
5. Course and registration info at http://www.cpe.vt.edu/isect. Registration deadline: 5/13/2013.

Let me know if you have any questions....

0 Comments

SANS SEC 464 vLive Hacker Guard April 29-30 - Columbia University

March 26, 2013 | Erik Decker

Dear EDUCAUSE Security community, On April 29th and 30th Columbia University will be sponsoring the SEC464 Hacker Guard training for desktop and system administrators. The program will run from 9am to 5pm on both days. Hacker Guard is a technical security awareness program for privileged users in sensitive roles. Some of the key components of the Hacker Guard program are as follows: 1. Knowing what's normal/abnormal for Windows, Linux and Unix Operating Systems. 2. Develop a savvier approach of knowing your networks quirks and capabilities. 3. Security awareness from a technical point of view for individuals with networking experience. 4. Develop better lines of communication amongst various IT Departments to avoid segregation. The tuition for Hacker Guard covers continuing education for a year, over 14+ hands on labs, and program materials. The original tuition cost is $2,295 per student, however through the University Consortium program,...

0 Comments

Google announces privacy changes, no opt out for users

January 25, 2012 | Nicole Kegler

Has anyone read this article about the privacy changes being implemented by Google starting March 1? What are your thoughts? http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/google-tracks-consumers-a... -- Nicole Kegler Communications Manager University Information Security Office Georgetown University 202-687-5784 Protecting data is a shared responsibility! INSTALL antivirus and antispyware software. USE strong passwords. KNOW who you are dealing with online. STORE confidential and sensitive data on encrypted devices only. SHUT DOWN computers or disconnect from the Internet when it's not in use.

42 Comments

Google Maps offering to "map our locations"....concerns??

April 15, 2012 | Michael A. Schalip

Hi Folks....

Has anyone else been approached by Google Maps to allow them to "map your campus" in detail - presumably, for student navigation purposes?? Here's the "agreement" that they want us to sign off on. I have some basic concerns, but - then again - my concerns may be completely unfounded. So - I thought I'd offer this up to this group to see what your collective wisdom would respond with....(note the italicized entry)....

Let me know what you all think....

Thanks,

Michael

Agreement
We (the “Property Owner”, “Property Manager”, or “Property Operator”) hereby permit Google Inc. (through its employees, affiliates or agents) to enter the publicly accessible areas of the properties described above, at a time and in the manner directed by our designated...

33 Comments

FW: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice

December 8, 2011 | Michael A. Schalip

Hey Educause…..any thoughts here?

We come on this discussion group for the free exchange of ideas – and THIS is allowed!?

Wow…..

From: Dennis Meharchand [mailto:dennis@valtx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2011 1:25 PM
To: SCHALIP, MICHAEL
Subject: RE: Michael - Patent Infringement Notice

Michael,

I think your response was bad form.

I am instructing my lawyers to file the first patent infringement lawsuit against CNM.

Let’s see how much of a bad publicity stunt this is.

...

28 Comments

VPN service -- Quick Poll

March 9, 2012 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from zm23@columbia.edu

Hi All, Quick Poll Please: 1. Is your campus using, or does it plan to use, VPN access for remote users? 2 . What vendor(s) and protocols (SSL, IPSec, other) are you using? 3. How many concurrent remote users can your system support? 4. Do you offer any specialized/custom VPN services for departments, researchers, etc.? 5. Is your VPN offering part of your DR plan/requirement? Thanks! Zahid Mehmood Network Software and IT Enablement Systems Columbia University Information Technology

24 Comments

Whole Disk Encryption

January 5, 2012 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from pardonjr@purduecal.edu

Hello,

We are in the process of implementing whole disk encryption on our university owned laptops. Initially, we will be using bitlocker on our Windows computers and I was looking to get some feedback from others on their experiences with roll out and management issues with this technology.

Thanks,

Jim

Please let me know if there is anything additional I can assist you with to ensure the service you received today has been excellent.

James R. Pardonek

Assistant Director...

24 Comments

Two-Factor Authentication: Quick Poll

February 27, 2012 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from dsarazen@umassp.edu

Hi All,

Quick Poll Please:

1 Is your campus using, or does it plan to use, Two-Factor authentication for its most privileged users (e.g., system administrators logging in remotely)?

2 Do you think you should?

Thanks!

:: Daniel Sarazen, CISSP, CISA

:: Senior Information Technology Auditor
:: University Internal Audit
:: University of...

23 Comments

Self-service password reset approaches

February 6, 2012 | David A. Curry

It's been a few years since this has come up on the list, so here goes.

For various administrative reasons having nothing to do with security we need to make some big changes to our self-service password reset approach, and I'm trying to capitalize on the opportunity to improve its security at the same time. At the moment, we do what (we think) many other schools do -- provide student id number, netid (username), and date of birth, and you can reset your password. The problem with this is, of course, it was never that hard to come up with that information in the first place, and the combination of students doing more and more stuff online and the growing use of social media makes it just that much easier.

So... what other approaches are you taking?

There is of course the "pick a few security questions" approach. But it's hard to come up with a set of questions whose answers aren't trivial to guess (...

23 Comments

DMCA

November 28, 2011 | Ed Hudson

Hi All,

Polling to see how other campuses are handling DMCA take down notices. Ours has risen to a level current process is not working efficiently. We are hearing some universities are:

1) Ignoring notices from copyright holders

2) Outright blocking of file sharing as "95% are used for nefarious purposes"

Interested to see how other institutions are addressing.

Thanks

Ed Hudson, CISM
Information Security Office
California State University, Chico
http://www.csuchico.edu/isec/index.shtml
Office: (530) 898-6307
ewhudson@csuchico.edu

...

22 Comments

Deepfreeze - Why not?

November 17, 2011 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from dsarazen@umassp.edu

Hi All,

We have some folks who’d like to see Deepfreeze installed on all lab PCs, but the IT department is balking. What do people think is the best reason to not install deepfreeze? Is there one?

Thanks,

Dan

21 Comments

Guest Wireless Restrictions

May 8, 2012 | Mark T. Nardone

Many of us have some form of "Guest Wireless Access", I am interested in what others are doing in terms of restricting that access. Do you: Require any kind of registration or authentication? Restrict the bandwidth, or access to ports and functionality in any way? Do you allow P2P from the guest range? Here at NEU we do not allow access to our preferred resources or core systems (data centers ect) from the guest range, but otherwise people have most functionality. What we have been seeing over the past year is an up-trend of people using the guest range to download copyright material. Our automated system will respond to complaints from outside entities and notify students they are in violation of our policies, but we do not have that ability with the guest network. Mark T. Nardone, CISSP, MIS Director of Information Technology Security Northeastern University 177:22 Huntington Boston , MA 02115 617.373.7901 (desk) 617.335.5082 (mobile) 617.373.6423 (fax)...

19 Comments

Rethinking the DMZ

August 30, 2012 | Jason Youngquist

We are thinking about changing our network architecture.

As our network has grown and the complexity of our public facing systems and connectivity needs of those systems has increased, we are wondering what value our DMZ delivers.

As an example, public facing systems in the DMZ that require access to LDAP/AD for AAA, SQL for database lookups, Exchange for mail delivery and relay, etc.

For those of you with non-trivial public facing systems, where do you draw the balance line between security and access? If our most visible public facing systems (most likely to be attacked) require internal AAA & SQL access, what are we protecting?

Given current system requirements and...

18 Comments

Welcome! You're now on the official DHS watchlist

May 28, 2012 | Randy Marchany

Thanks to my buddy, Bryce Galbraith for this link. If you take a look at the Cybersecurity section, all of us have used these words in emails since it's our job. The link pretty much says what the topic is.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150281/REVEALED-Hundreds-words-avoid-using-online-dont-want-government-spying-you.html

To my fellow conspirators who want a pork sandwich in Mexico, I salute you! This'll make sense when you read the article. :-)

-r.

18 Comments

Windows O/S Patching Question

March 23, 2012 | Listserv Anonymous User

Message from dsarazen@umassp.edu

Hi All,

Quick Question: If Windows were to release a critical patch for a server today, how long should it take to install the patch before you’d consider it TOO long?

Thanks,

:: Daniel Sarazen, CISSP, CISA

:: Senior Information Technology Auditor
:: University Internal Audit
:: University of Massachusetts President's Office

:: 774-455-7558

:: 781-724-3377 Cell
:: 774-455-7550 Fax
::...

18 Comments

Laptop whole disk encryption

March 19, 2012 | Paul Crittenden

We currently use McAfee’s Safeboot/Endpoint Encryption software to encrypt our users laptops. Our PC Hardware folks do not like McAfee, we did when it was not owned by McAfee but you know how that goes.

Anyway, I have been tasked when helping to find a possible replacement. What software package are you using to encrypt your users laptops. Or for that matter, if you are not, what is your rational.

Thanks,

Paul Crittenden

Computer System Manager

Simpson College

Indianola, IA

direct: 515-961-1680

www.simpson.edu

17 Comments

Student Passwords

December 6, 2011 | Daniel Bennett

This has gone around a few times in the past but I am looking for fresh results. What is your stance on student passwords? Do you make them change their password every X number of days? Complexity rules? Etc. Thanks.

17 Comments

CISSP Endorsement request

July 16, 2012 | Tarun Trivedi

Hello,

I recently passed the CISSP exam, I would appreciate a reply from current CISSP certificate holder who is in good standing with (ISC)2 and willing to be my endorser. Once/If I hear from you I will send required documentation directly to you.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration,

Tarun Trivedi

IT Security Engineer

Waubonsee Community College
Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive
Sugar Grove, IL 60554
Ph#630-466-5744

e-mail: ttrivedi@waubonsee.edu
web site: www.waubonsee.edu

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: This message, including any attachment(s), is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which...

16 Comments

Malware (antivirus) software for Macintosh

May 17, 2012 | Dean J. Williams

A rash of Flashback infections has us thinking about malware protection for our Macintoshes. Is anyone using a product that you’d recommend (or recommend against!)? If you are supporting malware protection for your Macintoshes, is the impact on system performance acceptable? Is it effective in preventing or at least detecting infections? Are updates timely? Is it affordable?

Thanks for any experience or insight you can share.

Dean Williams, GSLC

Information Security Officer

Enterprise Technology Services

University of Vermont

Dean.Williams@uvm.edu | 802-656-1174

...

16 Comments

Physical HDD destruction

March 20, 2012 | Matt Marmet

Good day Everyone,

Here at Armstrong, we have a couple hundred hard drives that we have to physically disable/destroy. We also have about 200 hard drives per year that our desktop support staff recover from old machines that need to be destroyed as well. We have seen some of the hydraulic electric presses that are enclosed as well as manual presses that are made for this type of work. What are other institutions using to destroy HDDs securely and safely?

Regards,

Matt

---
Matt Marmet
Director of IT Security, CISO
Armstrong Atlantic State University
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, GA 31419
Desk: (912) 344-3528
Cell:...

16 Comments

DMCA and NAT

November 29, 2011 | Kevin Halgren

Looking at the current discussion on DMCA notices, I was wondering how those of you using NAT handle associating a DMCA notice with a particular client system. This continues to be a challenge for us. Kevin

16 Comments

Non-administrator advantages / disadvantages

November 27, 2012 | Kevin Shalla

I’m trying to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of prohibiting administrator access for users of Windows computers. Can you provide feedback on what I have below? By the way, what’s an example of software that is generally prohibited? Is BitTorrent an example? Is it common?

Advantages

Most malware stays on one user profile, so other users on same machine are unaffected. Deleting the profile can remove the malware. Prohibited (by policy) software doesn’t get installed. Combinations of software known to be problematic are not installed (like multiple active versions of antivirus).

Disadvantages

User cannot install or update some software immediately – have to wait for desktop support.

...

15 Comments

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Online Events

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Events for all Levels and Interests

Career Center

Leadership and Management Programs

Fellowships and Awards

Getting Involved

Jump Start Your Career Growth

Latest Topics

EDUCAUSE organizes its efforts around three IT Focus Areas

Join These Programs If Your Focus Is

From the Blogs

Find Others

Share Ideas

Get on the Higher Ed IT Map

2013 Strategic Priorities

Membership

Who We Are

Stay Informed

Uncommon Thinking for the Common Good™