Global investment management firm T. Rowe Price is supporting cybersecurity research and students at UMBC through a new sponsorship of the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity. The funding reinforces UMBC’s strength in cybersecurity research and talent development, and T. Rowe Price’s leadership in advancing cybersecurity for financial services.

“We are delighted to be working with T. Rowe Price,” says Anupam Joshi, director of the Center for Cybersecurity and chair of computer science and electrical engineering. “This new collaboration with T. Rowe Price’s security team will provide great opportunities for our students to be exposed to cybersecurity in financial services and prepare them for promising careers protecting critical infrastructure.”

The sponsorship from T. Rowe Price will support a graduate student conducting cybersecurity research relevant to financial services and will also support undergraduate cybersecurity students through UMBC’s Cyber Scholars Program. This collaboration will enhance UMBC’s efforts to cultivate new cyber talent and increase diversity in the field. The students will have opportunities to meet, interact with and learn from members of T. Rowe Price’s security team.

“We have built a strong partnership with UMBC over the past few decades that has provided us a robust talent pipeline for the firm. We currently have over 200 associates who are UMBC alumni,” says Tom Quinn, head of information security at T. Rowe Price.

UMBC and T. Rowe Price have built a strategic partnership spanning several decades that provides support to students across disciplines and a highly skilled workforce for the company. T. Rowe Price is a top employer of UMBC graduates and student interns in areas from investment research to technology development.

“For many years, UMBC has consistently provided our firm with hundreds of exceptionally talented students that we have hired across all areas of our business. UMBC students are well-rounded and diverse in their experiences and skills, which make them strong assets to our firm year over year,” said Mindy Silverman, talent acquisition leader for university relations at T. Rowe Price.

Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

The Howard County Arts Council is seeking part-time Building Attendants to work 2 – 3 shifts per week (including weekend hours) at the Howard County Center for the Arts (HCAC), a 27,000 square foot multi-disciplinary arts center operated by the Arts Council and located in Ellicott City. Special event hours may be available depending on the building schedule.

The Howard County Arts Council is seeking part-time Building Attendants to work 2 – 3 shifts per week (including weekend hours) at the Howard County Center for the Arts (HCAC), a 27,000 square foot multi-disciplinary arts center operated by the Arts Council and located in Ellicott City. Special event hours may be available depending on the building schedule.

As more consumers rely on cloud-based data storage for everything from family photos to financial information, both experts and general users have voiced concerns about cloud security. In a new Conversation article recently published by Scientific American, Haibin Zhang, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering, explains precautions consumers can take to protect their files in the cloud.

Zhang explains that data stored and secured using commercial cloud storage systems is encrypted, which means that without the key, the information looks like a series of meaningless characters. Encryption keys have the potential to be misused, if they end up in the wrong hands, which can compromise the security of files stored in a cloud.

“Just like regular keys, if someone else has them, they might be stolen or misused without the data owner knowing,” says Zhang. “And some services might have flaws in their security practices that leave users’ data vulnerable.”

Zhang notes that some cloud services allow customers to maintain their encryption key themselves, which give the consumer the control in ensuring that their data remains safe. Other services keep the encryption keys internally and manage the security for their customers. He says that while each option has benefits, it is important to recognize that “some services might have flaws in their security practices that leave users’ data vulnerable.”

To keep data secure in the cloud, Zhang suggests using enhanced security features offered by cloud storage companies and taking additional precautions that are available to individual customers. He recommends that people use a cloud storage service that allows customers to encrypt their data before uploading it for storage, and to rely on services that have been “validated by independent security researchers.”

Read “How secure is your data when it’s stored in the cloud?” in The Conversation for Zhang’s additional recommendations on securing data on the cloud. The piece also appeared in Scientific American, and has so far been read nearly 20,000 times.

Photo by Yuri Samoilov, CC by 2.0.

Dear UMBC Student,  

As another semester gets into full swing, we'd like for you to take a moment to think back to your first couple of weeks at UMBC. Are you amazed at how far you've come since then? Would you like for new freshmen and transfer students to find their place at UMBC? If so, the O-Team is looking for you!

The Orientation Peer Advisors (OPAs), Peer Facilitators (IHU, TRS, and COMP course co-instructors), and Welcome Week Leaders (Woolies) that make up the O-Team are a diverse group of undergraduate students who play a critical role in the success of UMBC's first-year programs. O-Team members serve as University representatives to new students and parents through the summer and into the new academic year. As part of the O-Team, you will enhance your leadership skills while making a difference in the lives of new UMBC students.

If this sounds exciting to you, the Offices of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation, Campus Life, Residential Life, and Undergraduate Education would like to encourage you to apply to be a member of our team! We encourage applicants of all backgrounds, majors, involvements, and interests. 

If you are interested in helping us welcome new students to UMBC by becoming an OPA, Woolie, or Peer Facilitator, please visit the O-Team website to find the application and position descriptions. Please complete the online application no later than Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at 12 p.m.

If you have any questions, please e-mail orientationteam@umbc.edu.

Sincerely,

O-Team Selection Committee

Laila Shishineh and Kristen Coffey, Office of Undergraduate Education

Claire Eckenrode and Kristen Luther, Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation

Janae Cruz, Campus Life

Paisley Martin, Residential Life