October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month
Cyber Security should, ideally, occupy your thoughts all year round, but it gets special attention during the month of October. Thanks to a collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and the nonprofit National Cyber Security Alliance, October is used to highlight the importance of adopting safe practices in our always-connected world. To further promote these efforts, we encourage you to visit the Technology Services blog, as we often post about security issues that may affect our community. You can also find many other great resources online. The Ouch! newsletter from the SANS Institute is just one example that might help you stay vigilant year round. But for now, here’s to a safe and happy Cyber Security Month!
ATC Equipment Allocation Report
The Technology allocation process is nearing completion. We anticipate that approximately 90% of approved hardware requests will be delivered by October 1 (with close to full completion for academic requests). More information, along with an updated listing of technology requests and their current statuses, can be found on the Technology Request Process page: https://gustavus.edu/gts/Technology_Request_Process
Welcome New User Services Member
Lindsay Vogel ‘11 will be joining the User Services team at Gustavus in October. Lindsay is a former student employee and intern of Technology Services, and she has served in a number of technical support roles since her graduation from Gustavus. Most recently, she was an Information Technology Support Technician with Mankato Area Public Schools. We look forward to Lindsay’s return, as she offers a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion to our team and the greater Gustavus community.
Email Aliases to Google Groups
Technology Services plans to transition Gustavus email lists (also known as email aliases) to use Google Groups. This move will streamline the number of systems and processes that require support, and allow for improved integration and expanded functionality. Users have the option to migrate their aliases today or they can wait until November 12, 2019, when all email lists owned by current students and employees will be automatically migrated to Google Groups. From that date forward, Google Groups will be the only method for creating and updating email lists. To learn more about Google Groups or to migrate your email list over to Google Groups today, please visit the link below.
https://gustavus.edu/gts/Google_groups
Change to the Gustavus Account Password Policy
Technology Services is planning to simplify the password requirements for Gustavus accounts by requiring a 15-character (or longer) passphrase. Passphrases that have been previously exposed in known data breaches will be prohibited, as will a handful of special characters. Passphrases have been shown to be more secure than shorter, more complicated passwords. This new terminology–passphrase–will be used to reinforce the nature of this change.
Proxy/Parent Access
Proxy (parent) access to student accounts is now available through the MyGustavus portal. To reestablish proxy access for parents or guardians, students should follow these instructions:
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