Enhancing online security to protect UB’s most vulnerable digital assets

UB researchers work in a lab on campus.

Published June 10, 2021

UBIT is collaborating with your departmental IT support staff to add additional security features to online digital assets. Most core services, like content on UB Learns or web pages hosted using the UBCMS, will not be affected.

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This enhancement specifically affects digital assets directly accessible from the Internet, but not already protected by a departmental firewall managed by your departmental support staff.

The assets being affected by these new rules are difficult to categorize, as they are typically “homegrown” resources built for specific purposes by an individual or department. This project is a collaboration between UBIT and your departmental support staff and you to identify specific assets that fall into this category, and better secure them.

Am I affected? If so, what do I need to do?

Most people at UB won’t be affected. UBIT is working closely with distributed IT staff in UB’s schools and departments to identify assets that may be impacted, and those who “own” them. If you are the owner of such assets, your departmental support staff will contact you with information about what is changing, and when.

If you have doubts about whether this change applies to you, contact your departmental support staff.

Why the change?

UB’s standards for digital security are designed to deliver a more secure computing environment for UB’s students, faculty and staff by default. But even a small number of unsecured services and systems can create critical vulnerabilities that put us all at risk.

According to Kevin Cleary, UB Interim Information Security Officer, "This change better protects us against the kinds of malicious attacks that are becoming increasingly common, costly and dangerous. Making our information systems more secure using these measures is a vital security practice and a common industry standard, used at many other AAU institutions.” 

UBIT Director of Network and Classroom Services, Steven Heist, says that this change could also benefit network performance on campus. “These enhancements will help to further optimize the network traffic coming into campus, enabling our network to operate more efficiently.”