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Author: Division of Information

AnyConnect VPN client to be retired June 30

Posted on by Division of Information

Time is winding down for those of you still using the AnyConnect VPN client. As of June 30, AnyConnect will be turned off and no longer available.

Please install GlobalProtect. Once you have tested the GlobalProtect VPN and can use it, then you should uninstall AnyConnect.

For step-by-step instructions on how to install GlobalProtect, go to K-State’s VPN webpage.

Need help? For self-help, view the IT Knowledge Base articles. Need more help, contact the IT Help Desk 785-532-7722 or your local IT support staff.

Nick Austin accepts position as Senior Director of Data Operations

Posted on by Division of Information

Information Technology Services is pleased to announce that Nick Austin has accepted the position as Senior Director of Data Operations. Austin will provide strategic and operational direction for data operations and content services applications,  reporting to Jan Elsasser, Deputy CIO for Business Intelligence, Analytics, and Enterprise Applications.

Austin has been with K-State for 20 years, serving in positions of increasing responsibilities. His most recent role has been leading the support team for the Constituent Relationship Management systems (CRM), including the procurement and implementation of Salesforce. Specifically, he will provide oversight for the teams who support WebMethods, Decisions, ImageNow, Sharefile/RightSignature, and he will continue to support the Salesforce integrations currently using Informatica. He is pursuing a Master’s degree in Data Analytics at K-State and completed his undergraduate degree in business administration here as well. Austin begins this position on May 4.

According to Jan Elsasser, Deputy CIO, “Nick brings more than 20 years of technical and leadership experience into his new role. He will be instrumental in moving data operations forward”. Please join Information Technology Services in congratulating Nick Austin in his new role.

Project Governance Group formed to review technology projects

Posted on by Division of Information

I am pleased to announce that K-State has adopted a new process for reviewing and approving technology projects through the Project Governance Group (PGG).  The PGG consists of representatives from across the University and provide an institution-wide vision on technology projects. The seven voting members of the PGG have a vested interest in the success of K-State and the group reports directly to the President’s Cabinet. The PGG has been meeting monthly since September 2019.

The committee is tasked with ensuring that new technology projects are aligned with University goals and strategy, are adequately funded and staffed (business and IT expertise), have fully assessed project plans, are vetted for security-related issues, and do not conflict with or overlap existing systems or initiatives.

In Phase 1, the PGG will review each project submission and determine if it should move forward for more detailed planning (phase 2).

With Phase 2, the PGG reviews approves, and prioritizes the detailed plans of these projects. This planning consists of a risk and financial assessment and a detailed timeline for the project.

The first step in this new process is to submit a project pre-proposal in ServiceNow, which will be the official repository of record for project submissions, decisions made by the PGG, and the place to track progress of an approved project. The PGG liaison is responsible for reviewing all project submissions and for documenting the PGG decision-making process. Submit a project proposal.

How do I know if I should submit a proposal? A project is defined as any effort over 80 hours of IT work or out-of-pocket expenses exceeding $10,000. Projects that meet this threshold should be submitted for PGG review and approval.

For more information, please see the Project Governance Group website.

I appreciate your support for this new process. If you have any questions please contact the PGG liaison at itspmo@ksu.edu

Sincerely,
Gary Pratt, CIO

Zoom update available

Posted on by Division of Information

On April 27, an update to Zoom was released with enhanced video communications security. Beginning May 30, Zoom will be enabling GCM encryption across the Zoom platform to provide increased protection for meeting data.

The update can be installed from your desktop client or from the Zoom Downlaod Center. Follow the instructions below to install the update from your desktop client:

  1. Open Zoom and sign in.
  2. In the upper-right corner, click your profile.
  3. Click Check for Updates.
  4. On the Update Available window, click Update and then click Install. 
  5. Follow the installation instructions and click Close when finished.

Continue reading “Zoom update available” →

Access for software such as SPSS, SAS, MatLab, Mathematica and Minitab available

Posted on by Division of Information

LabStats Remote Access is available to current students, faculty, and staff providing remote access to some computer labs on campus. The tool gives access to specialty software such as SPSS, SAS, Matlab, Mathematica, and Minitab and was created by LabStats to accommodate online learning for the COVID-19 quarantine period.

Users establish a Remote Desktop connection to the computers in the labs, which natively works on Windows based operating systems, and will also work on Mac, Android, iOS, and ChromeOS devices with the installation of the Microsoft Remote Desktop application. Once connected the user is presented with a window that contains the remote computer’s desktop. This experience mirrors what would occur on the lab computer.

Lab computers are locked down, which resets the computers back to their configured defaults on log-out or reboot. K-Staters who use this software via remote access need to save their data to OneDrive or a preferred cloud storage solution. Data saved on the remote computer will be lost once the remote session is terminated.

To access the tool visit https://www.k-state.edu/its/software/software-licenses/labstats/index.html. For technical assistance or questions please contact the IT Help Desk, (785) 532-7722.

Updating a security feature in Zoom

Posted on by Division of Information

Information Technology Services is continually updating the security of the tools we zoomprovide and use. A feature that we are implementing is masking the phone numbers of those who call into Zoom.

What change will you notice? When students, faculty, or staff join the audio portion of a Zoom call (meeting) using a phone, only the first 3 digits (area code) and last 3 digits of their phone number will be displayed. For example, 1785****123 will be displayed as the phone number.

This change is being made to avoid unnecessary disclosure of information that a K-Stater may want to be kept private.

NOTE: If individuals want to identify who is in the meeting, the host has the option of renaming the phone caller once they enter the meeting.

IT Update

Posted on by Division of Information

April 2020 brings reinvention and the ever-increasing use of tools such as Canvas, Mediasite, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams among our academic community as we teach, learn, and work remotely.

The number of new users on Zoom grew from 482 in February to 5,262 in March. The number of session minutes on Zoom was about 897,000 in January compared to over 4.8 million minutes in March. In the first seven days of April, K-Staters have used over 2.1 million minutes. The use of Microsoft Teams is exploding, and IT staff have ramped up to provide a support site and training.

Zoom Usage Statistics January – April 7, 2020

New Users Meetings Participants Meeting Minutes
January 602 3,524 18,538 897,058
February 482 4,271 21,976 1,107,809
March 5,262 16,283 112,531 4,844,047
April 629 6,401 48,914 2,163,031

Continue reading “IT Update” →

AnyConnect VPN client to be retired June 30

Posted on by Division of Information

Last week notices were emailed to almost 200 individuals who were continuing to use the AnyConnect VPN client. As of June 30, AnyConnect will be turned off and no longer available. If you received the notice, please install GlobalProtect. Once you have tested the GlobalProtect VPN and can use it, then you should uninstall AnyConnect.

For step-by-step instructions on how to install GlobalProtect, go to K-State’s VPN webpage.

Need help? For self-help, view the IT Knowledge Base articles. Need more help, contact the IT Help Desk 785-532-7722 or your local IT support staff.

K-State’s new eID password standards begin April 8

Posted on by Division of Information

On Wednesday, April 8, K-State’s eID password standards are changing. With these updated standards, most K-Staters will need to change their passwords only one more time and no longer be required to change their eID password every 180 days.

What do I need to do?

When you get the password change reminder email, change your password using the new password standards. Keep the following in mind:

  • If you changed your password before April 8, you will receive a 180-day reminder email and will be required to change your password again. After that password change, you will not need to change your password again unless your password becomes compromised.
  • If you are required to change your password more often because of the job you perform, you will still need to follow those job-specific password guidelines.

Continue reading “K-State’s new eID password standards begin April 8” →

Update on Zoom security features

Posted on by Division of Information

zoomIn the past week, there has been a lot of news coverage regarding Zoom and security. Zoom is considered a best-in-class web conferencing platform because of its ease of use, cross-platform availability, and full features, including chat, screen sharing, recording, audio transcription, and being device-agnostic.

Eric Yuan, Zoom Founder, and CEO, in a message to users, identified security features that Zoom staffers fixed and those Zoom is actively addressing. What Zoom has done includes:

  • Developed a guide to address privacy issues
  • Clarified information on Zoom and encryption
  • Updated and clarified their privacy policy – emphasized that they do not nor have they ever sold user’s data, do not monitor meetings or the contents of meetings, and comply with applicable federal laws including GDPR and CCPA

There is a  pop-up notification from Zoom when new mandatory or optional updates are available.  When you receive a notification, run the update.

Continue reading “Update on Zoom security features” →