The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab presents

Results from the January 2018 SFS Research Study at UMBC

Enis Golaszewski, CSEE, UMBC

12:00-1:00pm Friday, 12 October 2018, ITE 227

January 22-26, 2018, UMBC SFS scholars worked collaboratively to analyze the security of a targeted aspect of the UMBC computer system. The focus of this year’s study was the WebAdmin module that enables users to perform various functions on their accounts, including changing the password. Students identified vulnerabilities involving failure to sanitize user input properly and suggested mitigations. Participants comprised BS, MS, MPS, and PhD students studying computer science, computer engineering, information systems, and cybersecurity, including SFS scholars who transferred from Montgomery College (MC) and Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) to complete their four-year degrees at UMBC. We hope that other universities can benefit from our motivational and educational strategy of cooperating with the university’s IT staff to engage students in active project-based learning centering on focused questions about the university computer system.

Enis Golaszewski is a PhD student and SFS scholar in computer science working with Dr. Sherman on blockchain, protocol analysis, and the security of software-defined networks.

This project was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under SFS grant 1241576.

Host: Alan T. Sherman, *protected email*

The UMBC Cyber Defense Lab meets biweekly Fridays. All meetings are open to the public.

The post talk: Results of a student study of UMBC computer systems security appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

The Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) is a cooperative  Agreement between UMBC and the Earth Science Division of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to integrate scientists with the academic community. It's no surprise then that JCET employs fully functional digital forms in their internal business processes. Utilizing the electronic signature platform DocuSign, JCET is maximizing efficiency by drastically increasing workflow speed. Internal forms that sometimes took weeks to cycle through all the required signers now can be finished in mere hours.

JCET Assistant Director Margo Young began using DocuSign in September 2016. Before, she says, many internal documents would be emailed from UMBC to Goddard, where they were printed, signed, and put in official envelopes to be transported by truck back to UMBC. Since the forms contained sensitive information, they couldn’t simply be sent back by email. This meant that forms could take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks to complete. Excited by the prospect of speeding things up a bit, Young started converting forms to DocuSign and trickling them into the office workflow.

Although many JCET faculty and staff had never used this new system of signing documents, they were quick to discover how secure and easily accessible this process is. As more and more people started utilizing digital signatures (often with Margo’s helping hand), the payoffs became more and more clear. All around, there was a noticeable decrease in worry over the status of a particular form and last-minute panic when an important document is nowhere to be found. The workflow as a whole became much smoother.    

Since then Young has created 115 digital envelopes and taught three others in her office to create them as well. Recently, Young was able to get a new hire approved by the JCET director right away, even though the director was on vacation in Africa at the time. He simply opened an email on his phone and in moments, the form was approved and already waiting in Young’s inbox for review.

Digital signature technology incorporates advanced security and authentication methods to validate signer identity, resulting in an e-signature that is more legally enforceable than a standard signature. The versatility that comes with being able to create and sign forms on any device, the intuitive user interface, and the secure and efficient transaction process all make e-signature technology an all-purpose tool for any modern business or university.

More Info:

·      Visit the DocuSign myUMBC Group

·      Visit UMBC’s FAQ knowledge base

Dear Members of the UMBC Community,

UMBC is fortunate to have so many talented and dedicated Exempt and Non-Exempt staff working in support of our mission. We encourage administrators, faculty, and staff who are familiar with the outstanding contributions of our outstanding staff to nominate them for one of these prestigious awards:

UMBC Presidential Distinguished Staff Awards

Board of Regents USM Staff Awards

Jakubik Family Endowment Staff Award

Karen L. Wensch Endowment Award for Outstanding Non-Exempt Staff

Descriptions of the four different kinds of awards and the eligibility requirements for each (including a new Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Advancing Inclusion, Multiculturalism, and Social Justice), along with a nomination form, can be found at provost.umbc.edu/staffawards/.

The Staff Awards Committee requires submission of only one nomination letter and completion of a brief nomination form, along with the nominee's resume or job history form.

Nominations should be forwarded to the attention of the Staff Awards Committee, in the Office of the Provost, by November 1, 2018.

We look forward to the engagement of the entire UMBC community in recognizing, through award nominations, essential contributions toward UMBC's mission of our outstanding exempt and non-exempt staff.

If you have questions about the staff awards, please address them to Beth Wells, Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, at bwells@umbc.edu or 410-455-8907.

President Freeman Hrabowski and Provost Philip Rous

“We’ve become a nation of drug and alcohol addicts, and it is destroying millions of lives and families, and harming countless communities and cities.” – Jeff Nesbit, U.S. News

The negative impact of drug and alcohol abuse is staggering, and it only seems to be getting worse. A 2016 report from the Surgeon General claims the country spends $442 billion a year in dealing with drug and alcohol abuse.

“Alcohol and drug misuse and related disorders are major public health challenges that are taking an enormous toll on individuals, families, and society,” according to the Surgeon General’s report. “Neighborhoods and communities as a whole are also suffering as a result of alcohol- and drug-related crime and violence, abuse and neglect of children, and the increased costs of health care associated with substance misuse.”

SOCY 374: Drugs and Alcohol in Society provides an overview of the causes and consequences of alcohol and drug abuse from the sociological perspective.  

Examine how society, family, peers, ethnicity and the media influences drug use, and discover the historical framework of certain individual drugs.

Explore theories of addiction, theories of use, use within subcultures, drug policy, and the relationship between substance abuse and crime, as well as discuss/debate a variety of controversial topics such as the effectiveness of the War on Drugs, harm reduction, and legalization.

SOCY 374 is a completely online course.

Register October 22 – January 2.

Hello everyone! Hopefully you can help us in completing this short survey regarding the myUMBC app: 

https://goo.gl/forms/EJwLZI20HCBywpBa2

We need as much feedback as we can get from UMBC students for our group project.

Thanks for your time....