Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2020 – Remote Work Practices

By Lisa Stage, University Information Security Office
Oct. 8, 2020
To: Campus Community
From: University Information Technology Services
Subject: Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2020 – Remote Work Practices
Date: Oct 08, 2020

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and another reminder to ensure you are practicing safe computing. 

With more of us continuing to work online, remember to remain diligent in your computing practices. Remote work for many of us means working in a home environment, or other locations not on campus. While being safe in our own homes has been a means to stay healthy, we still need to stay conscious of security issues. 

Here are a few tips that everyone should be following while working remotely: 

  • Remember to protect University information, as outlined in the University Data Classification and Handling Standard. When you are not on campus surrounded by coworkers who have taken security training, it is more important than ever to protect Internal, Confidential, and Regulated data.  

  • Follow Zoom best practices for security, like not posting links publicly, setting a passcode or waiting room, and limiting meetings to authenticated users. 

  • Practice good physical security around your device by locking it each time you leave your workspace. Developing the habit will serve you well, whether you are at home, traveling, or working in your office. 

  • Use up-to-date antivirus protection. Sophos Home is available at no charge if you need antivirus/anti-malware for Mac or Windows personal computers. 

  • Update your operating system, web browser, and other software when upgrades become available. New versions block vulnerabilities that a hacker could exploit.

  • When you are not on the campus network, use the campus VPN (or your department's VPN) to create a secure connection.  

  • Guard your NetID password. Don't write it on a sticky note, or share it with anyone. Don't approve NetID+ requests if you weren't the person logging in. Change your password if you need to. Make it unique; don't use the same password for different services. Consider using a password manager to handle all your logins. Check out the Password Security page for more tips. 

  • Store your work online instead of on your hard drive. Whether you use the University's Office 365, or Google, or Box services, you'll be able to access your work from anywhere. And if your computer should go missing, sensitive information will be secure. If a work or personal computer with University data is lost or stolen, report it to both the police and the University.  

  • Whether working at home or on campus, phishing continues to be a major source of compromised accounts across the University community. Take the Information Security Office's phishing quiz! Test your knowledge and learn good tips and how to tell if an email is legitimate. If you receive an email that looks phishy, forward it to phish@email.arizona.edu. To check on phishing emails that have already been reported by the University community, go to Phishing Alerts. For more information or to report a phish, visit our phishing page.

Keep your computer safe from viruses while you're keeping yourself safe from viruses!

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