Notice for faculty and staff about security and working from home
Hello all,
As many of us are working from home, we are trying to adjust our work to many changes. I wanted to write about working from home (especially on personal devices, and with sensitive data), and how it relates to cybersecurity risks, and also to offer some guidance for what we all should and should not be doing to work securely.
- If you have to access college systems from your personal devices, please make sure your computer is up-to-date. By that we mean that you should get the latest operating system updates (from Microsoft or Apple) and make sure your web browser is updated. You can check to see if your browser is up-to-date by going to: https://updatemybrowser.org/
- If you deal with sensitive data in your work, please ensure that you are not storing it on your personal computers. If you have already done so, please delete it. If you have to do this for your work, please consult with ITS (via informationsecurity@newpaltz.edu) and discuss what you need to do, and we’ll find the best and safest way of doing this.
- If at all possible, please use a computer that others in your household are not using for College-related work. If you have to use a shared computer at home, make sure every person has their own username and password for the computer (and everyone logging into the computer isn’t using the same profile). If you have been issued a college laptop, do not share it with others in your household – it is for your use only.
- Please do not print sensitive information at home.
- Avoid emailing around sensitive data. If you have to send this, please use the “Encrypt” button at the top of Office 365 (next to the send button) before sending your message.
We in ITS understand that there are a lot of challenges everyone is facing now. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are not stopping their work during this time. We thank all campus employees for doing what you can to help us all keep safe from both a health and cybersecurity standpoint.
Sincerely,
Paul Chauvet, Information Security Officer