OIT News – October 2011

OIT News

Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 48, October 2011

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01: NC State to host Homeland Security Cyber Citizen Forum today
02: National Cyber Security Awareness Month workshops: “Computer Security for Real People” and “Securing Your Mobile Device”

03: OIT receives SIGUCCS awards for Student Services Calendar
04: OIT Lunch & Learn: “Making Music with iPhones & iPads” on Oct. 25
05: Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training
06: Computer loan program available for eligible employees
 
07: Certification of security access to Student Information System (SIS) due Nov. 4
08: SAR training scheduled for Nov. 1

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01: NC State to host Homeland Security Cyber Citizen Forum today
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Department of Computer Science will host the U.S. Homeland Security’s Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign Cyber Citizen Forum today (Wednesday, Oct. 12) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Nelson Hall Auditorium (Room 3400). The forum is free and open to the general public. A reception will follow the event.

The Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign is a national awareness effort to challenge the American public to be more vigilant about practicing safe online habits. A signature program of the campaign, the Cyber Citizen Forum initiates dialogue about daily online habits and protection from the four main issues affecting people online: cyber bullying, cyber predators, identity theft, and fraud and phishing.   

Carlos Kizzeedirector of Strategic Initiatives for the Department of Homeland Security’s Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection and Awareness Branch within the National Cyber Security Division, will deliver the forum’s keynote address, “Understanding Cyber Threats for Increased Safety and Security Online.” Emphasizing cyber security, NC State computer science professor Dr. Annie Antón, an internationally recognized expert on compliance, privacy and policy in software systems, director of ThePrivacyPlace.Org and director of the CSC Policy and Compliance Initiative, will present “Protecting Your Privacy When Online.Dan Eckert, an NC State computer science student and chief technical officer of the e-publishing startup company DiscoverLit, also will speak about “Ten Dangerous Things To Avoid Online.”  

For more information about this event, visit the Computer Security Awareness Month 2011 website. For helpful tips to be more safe and secure online, visit the Stop.Think.Connect.Campaign website.

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02: National Cyber Security Awareness Month workshops: Computer Security for Real People” and “Securing Your Mobile Device”
To help heighten the awareness and prevention of online security problems, OIT is sponsoring security workshops throughout National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which is organized annually in October by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Upcoming workshops include:   

  • “Computer Security for Real People” will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 18 from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 4106 of Talley Student Center. Come learn about some free security tools you can use to keep your PC from being the easiest one to steal. Topics for this presentation include laptop tracking software, privacy and social networks, modern malware, trojans and phishing.
  • “Securing Your Mobile Device” will be held on Friday, Oct. 28 from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 4111 of Talley Student Center. Mobile devices provide you with on-the-go access to your email, various documents and numerous applications. However, these activities have their own set of security risks including online data theft and malware! This presentation will show you how to make your mobile device, and thus your activities, more secure by using device passwords, tracking software, encrypting devices, anti-malware software, and more!

For more information about these workshops, visit the Computer Security Awareness Month 2011 website.

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03: OIT receives SIGUCCS awards for Student Services Calendar
OIT Media and Student Services recently won two Special Interest Group on University and College Computing Services (SIGUCCS) communications awards for its 2011-2012 Student Services Calendar.

The unit received an Award of Excellence in the “Best Printed Quick Reference Guide” awards category and in the “General Service Promotional Materials” awards category.

SIGUCCS is an association of professionals who support and manage information technology services at higher education institutions. It is one of 36 special interest groups of the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society.

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04: OIT Lunch & Learn: Making Music with iPhones & iPads” on Oct. 25
OIT’s Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series will present “Making Music with iPhones & iPads” on Tuesday, Oct. 25 from noon to 1 p.m. in 216 Scott Hall.

Nowadays, both amateurs and seasoned musicians alike consider their iPhone or iPad an essential tool for both composition and performance. Join Tom Karches of OIT Infrastructure, Systems and Operations and Hal Meeks of OIT Outreach, Communications and Consulting for a whirlwind tour of possible uses for these tools. You don’t need to bring an iPhone or iPad to this workshop, but it might be more fun if you do! To register, visit Classmate. 

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05: Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training
OIT is conducting Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training sessions on Tuesday, Nov. 8 and Thursday, Dec. 1. Both sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center.

Don Schmidt and Twanda Baker of OIT Design, Education and Outreach will cover everything you need to know to get started with Gmail and Google Calendar, including an overview of the apps and helpful resources. You must have an active Google Apps @ NC State account or a personal Google account to participate in this training. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.

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06: Computer loan program available for eligible employees
The NC State University Staff Senate is offering a new computer loan program to provide eligible staff members with an opportunity to develop their computer skills.

The program issues computers for a one-year period to permanent staff members who have an annual salary of $35,000 or less and who work 35 or more hours per week. For more information about this program, visit the NCSU Staff Senate Computer Loan Program website, email computerloan@ncsu.edu, or call 513-3832.

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07: Certification of security access to Student Information System (SIS) due Nov. 4
The OIT Security and Compliance unit is requesting campus deans and vice chancellors to review and certify their staff’s access to the Student Information System (SIS) by Friday, Nov. 4. The University Data Management Procedures require each dean and vice chancellor semi-annually (usually in April and October) to review his or her staff’s security access to university computer systems and to annually check that staff security profiles have been certified.

The review and certification of user access to the systems is critical to ensure the safeguarding of university data against unauthorized use, disclosure or modification, and damage or loss. Deans and vice chancellors can review their staff’s security access to SIS via the Web Security Report, which shows both active and inactive employees who are currently assigned to their department/Organizational Unit Code (OUC), and have access to the system. The Web Security Exception Report displays both active and inactive individuals who are not employed in a dean or vice chancellor’s department/OUC, but who have security access to department records. The exception report, however, is only available to Security Access Request (SAR) Division-Level Approvers. If you have any questions, please contact the NC State Help Desk at 515-4357 or via email at help@ncsu.edu.

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08: SAR training scheduled for Nov. 1
Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers of access to secured university data will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. Please visit Classmate to view available classes and to sign up for training. 

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