Good morning, Veterans and Military-Affiliated Students!
We're excited to welcome you to a brand-new space designed just for you! Introducing the Veterans and Military Affiliated Student Success MYUMBC page—your go-to hub for all things veteran-related at UMBC.
Here, you’ll find event dates, important info, and exclusive updates on what’s happening in the Veterans Lounge! Whether it's a social meet-up, important campus news, or resources just for you, this page has it all. Plus, it's a great way to stay connected with fellow vets and service members in our community.
This week we are hosting Veterans Week which consists of a week full of events which includes a Staff & Student Mix & mingle starting today from 1:30PM Until 4:00PM (Flyer attached)
Keep an eye out for fun events, opportunities to unwind in the lounge, and everything you need to make the most of your UMBC experience.
Welcome aboard, and we can’t wait to see you around!
Thank you to our full-time and student staff for getting AV systems ready for the fall semester!
Much of our campus community slows down a bit over the summer session while students are working, interning, or at home with family and friends. For the Audio-Visual (AV) teams, the summer is the busiest time of the year because classrooms are available for upgrades!
In preparation for the fall semester, the Operations and Design & Engineering teams completed several major projects, including comprehensive classroom evaluations, new system installations and programming, and upgrades to existing technology.
The AV Operations team meticulously checked 203 technology-enabled classrooms throughout the summer session. Once rooms were checked, the team repaired or replaced any aging or broken equipment, completed firmware updates, and did a final operational check before the fall semester began. This involved assessing various components of each AV system across:
· 91 Registrar Scheduled Classrooms and Lecture Halls
· 36 Departmental Classrooms
· 76 Webex Conference Rooms
This proactive initiative aims to enhance the experience for students, faculty, and staff as they return to campus. Key systems that underwent scrutiny included the review of Fall 23 - Spring 24 Request Tracker (RT) tickets for potential issues, full operational tests of AV systems, testing of lecture capture and HyFlex systems, firmware updates, and the repair or replacement of non-functional items.
Additionally, remote AV system monitoring has been implemented in 142 locations, encompassing a total of 967 devices. This capability enables staff to identify offline systems swiftly and investigate proactively ahead of reported issues.
This summer also saw the introduction of Wifi-based Assistive Listening in all lecture halls, allowing users to receive room audio directly on their personal devices via the Listen Everywhere application. Radio-frequency (RF) receivers have been available for some time in large classrooms and lecture halls, but the new advantages do not require users to retrieve and return earbuds and receivers for every lecture hall they visit.
The AV Design & Engineering team works through the fall and spring semesters completing new system designs for Registrar classrooms, departmental classrooms and lab spaces, and conference rooms. The majority of these new systems are installed, configured, and programmed by full-time staff and the student installation team through the summer semester.
Full Classroom Technology Upgrades in 4 Registrar locations, including:
Lecture Hall 1, PUP206, PAHB132, PAHB234
Army ROTC House
Smokeless Range, video conferencing systems, and wireless collaboration systems
4 Visual Arts Classrooms
3 Biology laboratory spaces
Physics Astronomy laboratory space
CAHSS classroom space in Fine Arts
UMBC Training Center for CNMS
Admissions classroom/conference room
Parking Services Conference Room & Digital Signage for new location in 900 Walker
Webex Room Kit Systems for Geography & Environmental Systems and CAHSS
Digital Signage for the AOK Library and Computer Science & Electrical Engineering (CSEE)
PAHB 132
LH 101
UC 114
PHYS 107
PAHB 132
PUP 206
Install operating system updates on all of your devices as soon as possible. Attackers won’t wait so neither should you!
Keep your anti-virus up-to-date so it can help keep you safe.
Make sure all applications and software are updated and patched against known vulnerabilities. **Patches are pushed automatically to DoIT-Managed devices.**
Our devices will usually notify us that we need to run updates. This includes our devices’ operating systems, programs, and apps. It’s important to install ALL updates, especially for our web browsers and antivirus software.
When notified about software updates, especially critical updates, we should be sure to install them as soon as possible. Malicious online criminals won’t wait, so we shouldn’t either!
With automatic updates, our devices will install updates without any input from us as soon as the update is available—Easy!
To turn on the automatic updates feature, look in the device’s settings, possibly under Software or Security. Search settings for “automatic updates” if needed.
Source: https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/update-software
For more information about UMBC’s cybersecurity initiatives, go to doit.umbc.edu/security.
Congratulations to our Graduating students in the Division of Information Technology Class of Spring 2024
This past summer, the UMBC Security Student Team made a significant discovery regarding compromised accounts, predominantly affecting alumni. In a series of alarming events, fraudulent Google forms were sent to users, threatening account deactivation unless they provided their usernames and passwords.
Initial investigations began when the student security team looked into a compromised account that had been disseminating phishing emails. They unearthed a troubling pattern during their probe: numerous password reset emails were shared across multiple accounts. This revelation led to the identification of many login failures from specific IP addresses, raising concerns that unauthorized individuals had access to these accounts.
Left to right: Ben Guest, William Brooks, Ouwen Dai, and Anna Plass
Investigative Steps
To contain the security event, the team collaborated with the Division of Information Technology’s full-time Security staff. Their first course of action was to lock and scramble the compromised accounts. Additionally, they proactively contacted affected users, urging them to create new passwords.
The security team also implemented a more structured approach to tracking the issue. They developed a shared spreadsheet to monitor affected users and created two Splunk dashboards to analyze abnormal user behavior and investigate suspicious IP traffic.
Through this challenging experience, the student team realized the immense value of utilizing advanced tools and dashboards for efficient data retrieval and quicker identification of hacking attempts. Notably, the team credited DUO, a multifactor authentication (MFA) tool, with preventing many accounts from being compromised, highlighting the significance of robust security measures.
This ordeal also underscored the importance of up-to-date documentation and reporting, ultimately enhancing their understanding of UMBC’s authentication process.
With these steps, the UMBC Security Student Team is committed to safeguarding users from future hacking attempts, demonstrating the vital role of vigilance and innovation in cybersecurity.
If you have any questions about whether or not the mail you've gotten is legitimate, please contact the DoIT Security Department at security@umbc.edu.
For more information about UMBC’s cybersecurity initiatives, go to doit.umbc.edu/security.
]]>Ouwen Dai shares his experiences as a computer science student with a focus on cybersecurity and his work as a Security Analyst at DoIT. He highlights the importance of practical experience and the opportunity to connect coursework with work opportunities in college. Ouwen emphasizes the detective nature of cybersecurity work and encourages new students to seek help and engage fully in their learning process.
He discusses his passion for cybersecurity, likening it to detective work. Ouwen enjoys solving puzzles and believes his interest in technology made cybersecurity an ideal field for him.
Ouwen describes his time at DoIT as enriching, due to direct exposure to various tools that are relevant to the cybersecurity industry. He believes that this hands-on experience is crucial for his future career.
Ouwen advises new students not to hesitate to reach out for help. He emphasizes that college is a unique time for learning, and combining coursework with work experience can provide a competitive edge upon graduation.
Looking ahead, Ouwen aims to continue working in the cybersecurity field, with interests in defense contracting, startups, and penetration testing.
Click here to watch the full video!
For more information about UMBC’s cybersecurity initiatives, go to doit.umbc.edu/security.
Thank you Dustin Roddy, Manager of UMBC’s New Media Studio, for this great video!
