Keeping our online profile secure is a responsibility we accept when we use the University’s IT resources.
As more University information – including additional personal information – becomes available to you online, the need to protect your profile and password becomes even more critical. And as the Offices of Human Resources and the Treasurer enable more online personal record management, you likely have a personal interest in keeping your identity and financial information private.
We are all at risk.
Everyone who uses the University’s computing resources creates at least one password. Any individual who can determine or obtain your password has the ability to log into your computer account and --
- read, copy, and potentially alter any piece of computer-based information to which you have access;
- easily assume your identity while communicating via e-mail, chat, etc.;
- potentially launch attacks from your account upon other systems both on and off campus;
- commit other illegal acts or make illegal offers in your name;
- have access to sensitive or private information about you.
How can you protect your online profile?
- Don’t share your password with friends or relatives.
- Don’t share your password with any University associate, except in cases that are in accordance with the University’s Information Technology Core
Policy Document and the University’s Information Security Policy. - Don’t write it on a note that you stick to your computer or put in your desk drawer.
- Don’t store your password in an unencrypted file.
- Don’t let others watch you type your password.
- Don’t record your password in e-mail, reveal it via telephone, or enter it on insecure web pages.
- Be alert to OIT’s announcements of security issues. OIT will never ask you for your password. OIT may point out a need to change or otherwise safeguard your password, but OIT staff will not ask what it is, nor will any other reputable service, firm, or financial institution.
- In the future, you will be asked to change your password regularly. Setting strong passwords and periodically changing them are essential elements of any password security effort.
What should you do?
Use PUaccess to secure your online profile with a strong password and an image/phrase combination. Do you need help coming up with a password that you won't have trouble remembering? Here are tips and advice for creating a secure password.