February 2017 OET Newsletter

PII Scans and Personal Files

As part of efforts to protect CEHD data, we will soon conduct a scan of our servers for files with personally identifiable information or PII.  Personally identifiable information, for example, contains social security numbers, grades, or credit card numbers associated with a name.  We perform this routine scan approximately every six months.  At the completion of the scan for each unit, we will send a list of file names that may potentially contain PII to unit heads for review.

In preparation for the scan, we ask that you review your files saved on the H: drive to remove any personal files.  If you have personal files (e.g., family photos or documents)—files not related to UD business—please remove them from the servers and save them to your personal media. If you’d like to discuss alternative ways to save personal files, please contact OET.

Cloud Services

Cloud services offer convenient ways to save data; however, they may not be appropriate for storage of University data because of possible security risks.  Before using any cloud service to store work-related data, IT will need to vet the service.  This involves completing a cloud service requisition questionnaire, a vendor security assessment, and signing a contract with the vendor. You will need to consider the sensitivity of the information you wish to store, whether the service is mission critical to your unit, privacy policies, and any legal or other restrictions.  Research data should only be stored on UD-owned servers.

The Office of Educational Technology offers file storage on network drives for you and your colleagues, whether they are internal or external to the University. Your data is backed up at regular daily, weekly, and monthly intervals, and you can easily specify sharing options. If you sponsor them, external clients are eligible to obtain UD and OET credentials that would allow them to access the UD VPN and your project folder(s) stored on the OET network.  More information on cloud services at UD is available on IT’s security website.  The CEHD file storage, back up, and retention policy is available on CEHD’s website.

Looking for SPSS, NVivo or MPlus?

If you or your students need to use SPSS, NVivo and MPlus, you can find this software on select computers in the Education Resource Center, 012 Willard Hall Education Building.

Secure UD 2017 Training Begins in March

Phase I of Secure UD training for 2017 is set to begin in March and will run through the summer.  The training seeks to increase security awareness among faculty and staff. Topics include cyber security threats, data security, and best practices.  Phase II of the 2017 training will begin in the fall and continue through Winter Session 2018.

Secure UD Training is self-paced program that offers short, online modules.  A few employees have commented that they completed previous phases of the training in approximately 40 minutes or less.  However, your progress is saved and you may return to the training modules at any time.

Look for an email message from noreply@securingthehuman.org when the 2017 training becomes available.  You can find Secure UD Training at the Secure UD website. Further information on Secure UD is available from UDaily.

2017 UDETC Conference

The 2017 University of Delaware Conference is on Saturday, March 4th which is just a week away!  Registration is still available at http://www.udetc.udel.edu/register/.  Join educators, students, and professionals to share experiences and successes with technology in the classroom.

Save the Date to Keep Calm and Teach On

Keep Calm and Teach On is a series of workshops designed to help instructors prepare for their courses.  Organized by Faculty Commons staff, the workshops cover a variety of technology-related topics and will be held August 15-17 and August 22-24.  Registration begins in March and you can sign up now to receive a registration reminder.