Initiatives
The current CIO initiatives provide improved security and connectivity to the university community by keeping personal information and devices better protected and by expanding network coverage on campus.
Safeguarding UND
Phishing Campaign
Phishing is a cyber attack that uses disguised emails to prompt people to reveal personal information, such as user id, passwords, and credit card information. Throughout the year, phishing campaigns are created to train the UND community on what to look for in an email and determine whether it is a phishing attempt or not.
Cyber Awareness
UIT and GreyCastle Security recently teamed up to educate UND faculty, staff, and students on cyber threats. Topics included: mobile device security, WiFi security, web browsing security, and email security. We want to change behaviors and give individuals the knowledge to better protect themselves from the many threats in the cyber world.
Anti-Virus
With the rapid increase in cyber threats, the office of the CIO is taking steps to ensure protection of all UND systems. Working collaboratively with the IT Directors across the university, the CIO has initiated implementation of an endpoint security solution for all UND owned computers and servers. The software is designed to help detect and prevent computer viruses and other malicious software.
Duo Two-Factor Authentication
The North Dakota University System recently incorporated Duo two-factor authentication into PeopleSoft services (HRMS and Finance). Duo adds an extra layer of protection and is convenient because it allows phone and mobile devices as the second form of authentication. This significantly reduces the threat of unauthorized access to user accounts and protects sensitive personal information from illegitimate disclosure or alteration.
Duo Two-Factor Authentication Tech Support
Secured Wireless
UND will soon offer a more secure wireless experience by implementing the UND Secure wireless network. This secure wireless connection will include complete encryption between endpoints. The current UND wireless network relies on application encryption.
Select UND Secure from the available wireless networks to connect. You may also wish to Remove or Forget for the UND network to avoid switching back to the non-secure UND wireless.
Secured Wireless Access Tech Support
Send Files
Send Files is a secure way to send files that requires the sender to login with their NDUS.identifier credentials and also complete DUO authentication. Senders must be signed up with DUO first. After logging in, the sender can drag and drop files to send. Once sent, the recipient will receive an email that comes from the Sender’s Name [liquidfiles.admin@ndus.edu]. The email will contain a link to the file/s. Once the recipient clicks on the link, they will be prompted to enter NDUS.identifier credentials.
Connecting UND
Each year as faculty, staff, and students bring more devices to campus, the need for internet bandwidth increases. The University of North Dakota, in coordination with North Dakota University System’s Core Technology Services, is implementing a large-scale network upgrade on campus to meet the changing demands.
This effort will make several improvements to the university’s network, including the relocation, replacement and addition of wireless access points and other network equipment. Areas on campus with limited coverage will be brought up to new standards and wireless services will be provided where coverage previously was not available.
Upgrading and expanding the network across the University of North Dakota will ensure students, faculty and staff have the connectivity they need to continue learning, teaching, and researching at UND well into the future.
Benefits include:
- Better network performance and reliability
- Increased Wi-Fi coverage across campus
- Faster download and upload speeds
- Stronger network security