Ever present on
TV news reports, in the newspapers and everywhere else it seems is advice
on how to protect yourself in the wake of terrorism. At first, the primary
concern was to protect the physical infrastructures of our airports,
government offices, and universities and measures were instituted to
assist us in remaining alert possible signs of dangerous activity. Additionally,
instructions were given to you on "handling risks in the university
community."
Lately, the talk
has turned to our global network infrastructures, hinging on the fact
that we're all interconnected worldwide through the Internet. Particularly,
at universities, our networks are "open-ended" in order to
promote research and the pursuit of innovative ways to utilize technology
to facilitate teaching and learning.
In turn, many believe
that this very openness perpetuates repeated and prolonged attacks on
university network infrastructures by individuals determined to carry
out systematic attacks on government and corporate entities. As it happens,
they have a decided preference to "acquire" and compromise
vulnerable university systems that they can use to carry these attacks
out and essentially remain anonymous.
Vigilance is the
"buzz" word that is used in speaking of the need to be aware
of the signs of attacks on network infrastructures. Attacks directed
at our university networked systems can be anything from the propagation
of a worm virus and/or the installation of Trojan horses to denial of
service attacks.
IS&T has instituted
security measures that are designed to prevent, detect, monitor and
respond to attacks directed at our network. Additionally, everyone who
uses our campus network plays a part in either promoting the safety
of our network or in rendering it more vulnerable.
Your "role"
in promoting the safety of our network is to:
· Become security "aware" - learn more about information
security
· Safeguard your passwords - they are the key to accessing systems
and sensitive data at the university
· Remain alert to anyone trying to obtain information from you
that could lead to their gaining unauthorized access to your systems
and to the information stored on them
· Scan email attachments and downloaded files for possible viruses
and other problems before you open or install them
· Lessen the risk that your system will be compromised or attacked
by shutting it down when you are away from your computer for prolonged
periods