TIAA will be on campus in July, August and September to meet with employees in-person. TIAA will still continue to offer virtual consultations.

No matter where you are in life - just getting started or planning for retirement - a session with Jahleel Gordon can help you create a plan for your goals. And, it’s at no additional cost as a part of your retirement plan. You’ll get answers to these questions and more:

• Am I invested in the right mix of investments to help meet my goals?
• Am I saving enough to create the retirement income I need?
• How do I take income from my retirement account once I stop working?

Written by Richard Forno, principal lecturer in computer science and electrical engineering, UMBC

The global information technology outage on July 19, 2024, that paralyzed organizations ranging from airlines to hospitals and even the delivery of uniforms for the Olympic Games represents a growing concern for cybersecurity professionals, businesses and governments.

The outage is emblematic of the way organizational networks, cloud computing services and the internet are interdependent, and the vulnerabilities this creates. In this case, a faulty automatic update to the widely used Falcon cybersecurity software from CrowdStrike caused PCs running Microsoft’s Windows operating system to crash. Unfortunately, many servers and PCs need to be fixed manually, and many of the affected organizations have thousands of them spread around the world.

For Microsoft, the problem was made worse because the company released an update to its Azure cloud computing platform at roughly the same time as the CrowdStrike update. Microsoft, CrowdStrike and other companies like Amazon have issued technical work-arounds for customers willing to take matters into their own hands. But for the vast majority of global users, especially companies, this isn’t going to be a quick fix.

Modern technology incidents, whether cyberattacks or technical problems, continue to paralyze the world in new and interesting ways. Massive incidents like the CrowdStrike update fault not only create chaos in the business world but disrupt global society itself. The economic losses resulting from such incidents – lost productivity, recovery, disruption to business and individual activities – are likely to be extremely high.

As a former cybersecurity professional and current security researcher, I believe that the world may finally be realizing that modern information-based society is based on a very fragile foundation.

The bigger picture

Interestingly, on June 11, 2024, a post on CrowdStrike’s own blog seemed to predict this very situation – the global computing ecosystem compromised by one vendor’s faulty technology – though they probably didn’t expect that their product would be the cause.

Software supply chains have long been a serious cybersecurity concern and potential single point of failure. Companies like CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Apple and others have direct, trusted access into organizations’ and individuals’ computers. As a result, people have to trust that the companies are not only secure themselves, but that the products and updates they push out are well-tested and robust before they’re applied to customers’ systems. The SolarWinds incident of 2019, which involved hacking the software supply chain, may well be considered a preview of today’s CrowdStrike incident.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said “this is not a security incident or cyberattack” and that “the issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.” While perhaps true from CrowdStrike’s perspective – they were not hacked – it doesn’t mean the effects of this incident won’t create security problems for customers. It’s quite possible that in the short term, organizations may disable some of their internet security devices to try and get ahead of the problem, but in doing so they may have opened themselves up to criminals penetrating their networks.

It’s also likely that people will be targeted by various scams preying on user panic or ignorance regarding the issue. Overwhelmed users might either take offers of faux assistance that lead to identity theft, or throw away money on bogus solutions to this problem.

What to do

Organizations and users will need to wait until a fix is available or try to recover on their own if they have the technical ability. After that, I believe there are several things to do and consider as the world recovers from this incident.

Companies will need to ensure that the products and services they use are trustworthy. This means doing due diligence on the vendors of such products for security and resilience. Large organizations typically test any product upgrades and updates before allowing them to be released to their internal users, but for some routine products like security tools, that may not happen.

Governments and companies alike will need to emphasize resilience in designing networks and systems. This means taking steps to avoid creating single points of failure in infrastructure, software and workflows that an adversary could target or a disaster could make worse. It also means knowing whether any of the products organizations depend on are themselves dependent on certain other products or infrastructures to function.

Organizations will need to renew their commitment to best practices in cybersecurity and general IT management. For example, having a robust backup system in place can make recovery from such incidents easier and minimize data loss. Ensuring appropriate policies, procedures, staffing and technical resources is essential.

Problems in the software supply chain like this make it difficult to follow the standard IT recommendation to always keep your systems patched and current. Unfortunately, the costs of not keeping systems regularly updated now have to be weighed against the risks of a situation like this happening again.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article and see more than 250 UMBC articles available in The Conversation.

Meet Fritzie Charne-Merriwether, associate vice president for administration and chief of staff in the Division of Student Affairs. Fritzie started her career at UMBC as a community director in Residential Life, left to pursue other passions, and came back to serve our Retriever community for the last 14 years. What excites Fritzie so much about her work with students? We’ll let her tell you herself!

Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?

A: I am a native New Yorker. I have a B.A. in psychology from Roger Williams University and a M.Ed. in student affairs higher education from the University of Vermont. I have over 20 years of professional experience in a variety of leadership positions in student affairs and with the federal government. This includes serving as the contractor installation manager for the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

In this role I was responsible for overseeing the ACAP Resource Center that provided social work services to Warriors in Transition Soldiers, and disabled veterans/retirees, as well as transitioning service personnel and family members in support of rehabilitation and transition to civilian life. I began my career at UMBC as a community director in Residential Life, and returned to the university in 2010. Currently I serve as the associate vice president for administration and chief of staff for the Division of Student Affairs.

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: UMBC is such a caring place. We really go above and beyond to support each other. I feel that at all levels and see examples of this daily. If you are looking to join a strong and supportive community, this is the place for you.

Q: What do you love most about your job and why?

A: Working with students and their families. It so rewarding to be able to help a student or family member. I know that I am making a difference and helping prepare our next generation of leaders.

Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.

A: It is really hard to narrow to just one person specifically. I feel like I have been inspired and supported by countless people in the Division of Student Affairs. So I would have to say our whole division. I get to work with amazing people and they give me life. I am consistently inspired by how amazing each person is and how they go above and beyond to support our students. They push me to a higher standard because they are so amazing. So from the VP’s office to our leadership team to each department, they all inspire and support me in some capacity.

Q: Tell us what you love about your department.

A: I laugh a lot with our team. Even when things are really hard we find ways to lift each other and find a sliver of joy. This work can be really difficult at times. I appreciate our team’s humanity and ability to find the light.

Q: Tell us about your primary WHY, and how it led you to UMBC.

A: I originally came to UMBC because I felt I had great opportunities to grow professionally. It seemed like an exciting place that was growing and brimming with potential. I came back to UMBC because of the people. It truly is a special place. Even after being away for a few years, I still felt very much connected to this place and coming back felt like home.

Q: Since you’ve been a part of the UMBC community, how have you found support of your WHY?

A: A great example of support occurred a few years back when my mother passed away. As an only child, my mom and I were really close and losing her rocked my entire foundation. The outpouring of support from our VP and leadership team allowed me to take all the time I needed to grieve and find my new normal. The love and support I received from fellow colleagues got me through some of my most difficult moments. That continues to this day. Our division has gone through significant change recently. During that time, countless individuals have stepped up to support me from all over campus. Our new VP and members of our leadership team have been incredibly supportive as I have stepped into my new role. I feel very fortunate to be part of such a caring community.

Q: What would you tell someone who is considering a career at UMBC?

A: It is a great community to belong to and depending on your interest you can find ample opportunities to grow and develop.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

Since 1984, Ruscombe Community has been a pioneer in providing individual and family holistic healing options.  We have a rich history as the oldest and largest center of its kind on the East Coast to provide direct wellness services, educational programming and celebratory events. To further and sustain its longstanding mission, The Ruscombe Community, Inc. non-profit was established in 2023 with an expansion of community wellness and educational programming, as well as preservation of the historic Ruscombe Mansion in the Coldspring Newtown area of Baltimore, Maryland.