December edition:

Lock Down Your Login

(https://securingthehuman.sans.org/newsletters/ouch/issues/OUCH-201712_en.pdf)

OUCH! is the world’s leading, free security awareness newsletter designed for the common computer user. Published every month and in multiple languages, each edition is carefully researched and developed by the SANS Securing The Human team, SANS instructor subject matter experts and team members of the community. Each issue focuses on and explains a specific topic and actionable steps people can take to protect themselves, their family and their organization.

Check out this blog post to learn how Google Sheets can suggest and create pivot tables for you, and answer questions about your spreadsheet data using everyday language (e.g. “how much revenue does each product category generate?”).

On the afternoon of November 28, 2017, information came to light concerning a newly-discovered security vulnerability affecting Apple’s newest computer operating system, macOS 10.13 (A.K.A “High Sierra”). This bug allowed anyone with physical access to a Mac computer — if running the latest operating system — to enjoy total control of that device, with access to all files, folders, user data, settings, and etc.

On the morning of November 29, Denison ITS staff identified which university-owned computers had the potential to be affected by this issue, and proactively deployed a fix. We have no reason to believe any Denison-owned equipment was compromised as a result of the vulnerability.

Apple has also now released an official software “patch” to address this problem, which we will be incorporating into future versions of our official software image.

To note:

• This vulnerability is specific to macOS 10.13 (“High Sierra”) ONLY. It does not affect earlier versions of the Mac operating system.
• As previously stated, ITS has patched all on-campus, university-owned devices to protect against this vulnerability. If you use a university-owned Apple computer at home (which you manually updated to macOS 10.13) — or own a personal computer running this operating system — we recommend that you download and install Apple’s official software patch which you will find in the App Store. Complete installation directions can be read here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201541

Denison community members now have access to Gartner Core Research. The link to “Gartner Research” can be found on the MyApps tab within MyDenison.

Gartner is the world’s leading research and advisory company, helping business leaders across all major functions in every industry and enterprise size with the objective insights they need to make the right decisions.

Campus Access Benefits to Faculty and Students

Researchers and academic staff
• Plan courses that are relevant and innovative for business and IT
• Access data and information to substantiate the evidence in research
• Use a common business language
• Offer materials that can complement lectures and seminars
• Leverage expert opinion when drafting dissertations and research papers
• Benchmark and appraise commercial opportunities related to research initiatives

Students
• Gain exposure to real-life business case studies, trends and expert opinions
• Enhance practical understanding of how organizations have re-engineered their
processes to increase revenues, reduce costs, and increase market share
• Understand and keep up to date on technologies and tools available
• Obtain validation and research for papers
• Discover how organizations improve operational effectiveness
• Easily find and download documents that enhance insight and understanding
of subjects and courses

As a result of an upgrade to the ITS ticketing and inventory management system today, an email was automatically sent by the system titled “ITS Help Desk Online Account Information”. Apologies for any confusion resulting from that message. There is no special password for the ITS Help Desk Online system, it is the same password you use when logging into any service that uses the BigRedID login page (eg. MyDenison or Denison Apps).

REMINDER: you can visit ITS Help Desk Online at helpdesk.denison.edu to submit tickets, view the status of tickets, or search FAQs.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the ITS Help Desk at 740-587-6395 or helpdesk.denison.edu.