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Category: Policy and procedures

More options for required IT security training available soon

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

Soon a new text-only version of K-State’s online IT security training will be available to allow people to move through the material at their own pace. Relevant information from the audio version that is not already displayed is being added to the slides to make sure all the content is covered. Watch InfoTech Tuesday for the announcement of this availability in early March.

Thus far, more than 850 K-State employees have completed the online version of the training, and 767 have attended the live version.

Continue reading “More options for required IT security training available soon” →

State-required IT security training now online for K-Staters

Posted on by neilsin

State of Kansas policy now requires that all state employees receive annual training in IT security. K-State has released an online training course for all faculty, staff, and student employees that will fulfill this requirement. It covers basic IT security topics everyone needs to know to properly protect K-State information as well as themselves and their colleagues.

The course is broken into three sections and should take about 45 minutes to complete.  Go to secureit.k-state.edu/secureit now and sign in with your K-State eID to get started.

Continue reading “State-required IT security training now online for K-Staters” →

State-required IT security training offered Dec. 3

Posted on by neilsin

State of Kansas policy now requires that all state employees receive annual training in IT security. K-State is in the final stages of testing and refining an online training course that will meet this requirement and be made available to all faculty, staff, and students by the end of this semester. It covers basic IT security topics everyone needs to know to properly protect K-State information as well as yourself and your colleagues.

If you prefer face-to-face instruction, the same material will be covered in a live training session 9-10 a.m. and again 10:30-11:30 a.m. this Friday, Dec. 3, in the Big 12 Room on the second floor of the K-State Student Union. Neil Sindicich, cybersecurity analyst for K-State’s central IT security team, will give the presentation. Continue reading “State-required IT security training offered Dec. 3” →

Departments: Use university procedures when disposing of IT equipment

Posted on by IT editors

With the announcement of the “Free Recycling for Education” program offered by Apple in last week’s InfoTech Tuesday newsletter, Harvard Townsend, chief information security officer, and Fran Willbrant, university controller, would like to remind campus departments that university procedures must be followed before utilizing this service.

The procedures can be found at:

Continue reading “Departments: Use university procedures when disposing of IT equipment” →

K-State computer recommendations for 2010-2011

Posted on by Sarah Silva

K-State’s computer recommendations for students buying a computer to bring to college have recently been updated with the 2010-2011 purchasing guidelines. Intended for freshman/sophomore levels, the recommendations cover operating systems, networking, software, environmental considerations, and more.

The updated website also:

See the K-State 2010-2011 computer recommendations website for more information.

Reminder about textbook information and reporting

Posted on by Rebecca Gould

March 22 marked the beginning of fall enrollment, warranting a reminder about the availability of textbook information in K-State’s course schedule and the need for faculty to report textbook information when they know the textbook they will use. In addition:

InfoCommons, labs printing to require Wildcat card Oct. 5

Posted on by Ernie Perez

Starting Oct. 5, students, staff, and faculty wanting to print in the K-State InfoCommons and the university computing labs will be required to swipe their Wildcat ID card for both limited free printing and pay-for-print.

Print station in the K-State InfoCommons (photo by Betsy Edwards)

Pay-for-print will be moving away from using the smart chip on the Wildcat ID card and will use the magnetic strip on the back, which is attached to student, staff, and faculty Cat Cash accounts. Continue reading “InfoCommons, labs printing to require Wildcat card Oct. 5” →

New IT security policy requires removal of data before disposing of media

Posted on by Harvard Townsend (harv@ksu.edu)

To protect sensitive university data from unauthorized disclosure when the media that stores the data is disposed of or reused, K-State’s new Media Sanitization and Disposal Policy is now in effect and has been published in the university’s PPM.

“Media sanitization” is a process by which all data are permanently removed from storage media in a manner that prevents their recovery. This applies to anything that can store data — computer hard drives, CDs and DVDs, backup tapes, USB flash drives, and even paper. We can employ the most strict security controls to protect data while in our possession, but it is all for not if the data remain on a computer hard drive when that system is disposed of, recycled, or reused.

Continue reading “New IT security policy requires removal of data before disposing of media” →

Longer eID passwords, Sept. 9 deadline, and tips

Posted on by Betsy Edwards

verifyWednesday, Sept. 9, is the fall-semester deadline for changing passwords on K-State eIDs. This mandatory password change each fall and spring provides more security by preventing long-term use of the same password. That’s also why K-State eID passwords cannot be reused within a two-year period. Passwords must be changed on individual eIDs as well as group eIDs.

New this fall: Passwords can now be 7-30 characters long (minimum is still seven characters). All other criteria remain the same. See the Password FAQs for details (plus tips for choosing a good password).

Other password points you need to know: Continue reading “Longer eID passwords, Sept. 9 deadline, and tips” →