Campus Information Security Tips

The University requires that everyone who has contact with protected student information attend FERPA training. The training specifically addresses the handling requirements of FERPA-protected information. http://www.murraystate.edu/registrar/pdf/FERPA.pdf

This is a reminder that these protections and handling requirements extend to electronic data. Thus we must all be aware that information that is

• Posted on Web sites
• Copied on a flash drive
• Placed on a CD
• Put on a university network drive
• Put on a laptop,
• Or placed on any digital storage medium

must be treated with particular care, since information in that form may more easily be duplicated and distributed than hard copy, and might accidentally be subject to outside access (if your laptop was stolen, if you lost your flash drive).

The following are some of the important steps that you must take to help ensure that your computer and your information are protected against hackers.

• Don't install free utilities on your computer
• Run the current version of supported antivirus software and set it for regular, automatic updates
• Assign a complex, hard-to-guess password for your computer and any account you use (email, PIN, Blackboard, etc.)
• Be alert for "phishing" scams that can result in identity theft
• Do not have your computer "remember you" for any site that might contain privileged information
• Set your computer to require a password when you are away from your desk
• Use a secure VPN connection when connecting to your computer from off campus