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Changes to funding requirements prompt move to raise awareness of research data management
Nov 12th, 2019
Student Research Collaboratory in Leddy Library

Campus researchers are invited to take part in Research Data Management Day on Tuesday, Nov. 26, in the Student Research Collaboratory at Leddy Library.

With changes to the Canadian federal granting agencies on the horizon, Leddy Library has teamed up with the Office of Research and Innovation Services, the Office of the Research Ethics Board, and Information Technology Services to offer a half-day information and consultation session on research data management.

“Research data management is becoming a critical component to many scholarly communication initiatives, including requirements to meet funding,” said Heather Pratt, executive director of Research and Innovation Services.

Federal granting agencies such as CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC have been advocating to make publicly-funded research more accessible by developing a policy on research data management. The policy aims to increase the benefits of research investments by creating a co-ordinated national approach to managing publicly-funded data in Canada.

“While the exact date of the policy implementation has yet to be announced, it is important for us a research institution to prepare our campus stakeholders and determine how our services can best support our research community,” said Selinda Berg, associate university librarian.

The UWindsor Research Data Management team is working to build a strategy and infrastructure for research data management practices on campus.

Data librarian Berenica Vejvoda said a commitment to sound data management planning will ensure compliance with the implementation of upcoming Tri-Agency funding policies.

“Good data stewardship demonstrates responsible research and promotes open sharing and re-use of valuable research outputs, which encourage new and innovative discoveries,” she said.

The event will include a series of invited talks on Canadian research data management policy, working with sensitive and restrictive data, data infrastructure and storage, and a panel to discuss the effects of the upcoming Tri-Agency research data management policy on researchers.

Space is limited, lunch provided. Register online: https://ctl2.uwindsor.ca/oris/workshops/12/#wkshp-113.

—Marcie Demmans

Survey to measure impact of cybersecurity awareness campaign
Oct 31st, 2019
Man smiling at laptop

With the end of national cybersecurity month, staff in Information Technology Services look back on a successful awareness campaign focused on themes of general security, phishing, passwords, and safe browsing.

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from the campus community on the materials shared,” says Kevin Macnaughton, team leader security in IT Services. “It’s encouraging to see community members reach out to the department and recognize more early signs of potential security attacks.”

In October, the cybersecurity website received 500 unique viewers, and the department experienced increased reports of phishing and inquiries to have antivirus software installed on personal devices.

To measure the impact of the campaign and further inform future cybersecurity communication to the campus, IT Services staff asks the campus community to fill out this short survey.

All of the cybersecurity information will continue to be located on the website at uwindsor.ca/cybersecurity, which will be updated regularly with best practices and current threats.

IT issues cautionary warning: avoid sharks while surfing on the web
Oct 23rd, 2019
man looking scared at computer

As much as 56 percent of email is spam, 40 percent of websites are fake, and 21 percent of phone apps are malicious, says Kevin Macnaughton, team leader security in Information Technology Services.

The internet can be a risky place — but users can take steps to minimize that risk.

“Antivirus is tried and true,” Macnaughton says.  It’s like putting on your seatbelt when you get in the car. It should be mandatory and automatic.”

But he suggests other activities that should be automatic, listing three fundamental practices for securing computers from hackers:

  1. Look for the lock in the address bar for every website that you use.
  2. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when using the Internet in public spaces to secure your data
  3. Patch and Reboot your system regularly to ensure your computer is up to date and protected

Led by IT Services, Cybersecurity Awareness Month efforts highlight cybersecurity issues relevant to the UWindsor community. More information, along with how you can protect yourself, can be found at uwindsor.ca/cybersecurity. This website will be updated regularly with best practices and current threats.

GlobalProtect Update - Thursday October 24, 2019
Oct 22nd, 2019

The current version of GlobalProtect client 4.0.6, will be replaced Thursday, October 24th, 2019 by version 5.0.5, which offers support for the latest versions of macOS Catalina 10.15 and Windows 10.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact ServiceDesk by opening a ticket at the IT Services Client Support Portal or by calling ext. 4440.

Passwords are key to cybersecurity, advises IT Services
Oct 16th, 2019
man looking at laptop computer in terror

Love them or hate them, passwords have become part of daily life, says Kevin Macnaughton, team leader security in Information Technology Services.

“They are our primary defence against account compromise by thieves and hackers,” he says. “Having a weak password is almost worse than having no password at all — like a faulty lock or a faulty seatbelt.”

He lists two fundamental password practices for securing personal and work lives from hackers:

  1. Use unique passwords for every website or system that you use.
  1. Change your passwords regularly not only at work, but in your personal life as well. 

To make easy work of managing your passwords, IT Services recommends using a password manager, such as KeePass. Multifactor Authentication, which increases account security when away from campus, is also available.

Users can sign up with IT Services in advance of a campus-wide roll out. More information on these tools and password management in general is available on the Password Management page of the cybersecurity website.

Led by IT Services, Cybersecurity Awareness Month initiatives highlight cybersecurity issues relevant to the UWindsor community. More information, along with how you can protect yourself, can be found at uwindsor.ca/cybersecurity. This website will be updated regularly with best practices and current threats.