During October, you can meet with the coordinators for information security on campus. This year they will visit Blåsenhus, Ekonomikum, Engelska parken and BMC respectively. Photo: Gettyimage.

2022-09-27

Information security on tour

In October 2022, the information security coordinators will visit several campus areas at the University. Do take the opportunity to talk to them about issues you’ve been wondering about – or issues you didn't even know you needed to talk about.

Every October, the European Union campaigns to raise awareness of the need for information security. This year, the EU campaign has the motto "ThinkB4UClick" or "Think before you click". This year, due to the improvement in the situation regarding the pandemic, the information security coordinators will be visiting different campuses in October in order for them to be easily available to many employees.

What can you help with?

“We support and educate your operations on security issues. During the tour, we can, among other things, provide information about secure storage solutions and data sharing services and how to protect yourself against the most common types of cyber attacks such as phishing, ransomware and malware,” says Samantha Tinet, information security coordinator at the university administration.

As an individual employee, can I really do that much to increase information security?

“Yes, you can. Surveys and statistics in the field show that it is usually the human factor and the individual that is the cause of the most serious cyber attacks. Through increased awareness of the most common threats and by reviewing and changing our behaviour in everyday information management, we can reduce the risk of being exposed to various types of computer attacks.”

What are the most common questions you get asked?

“They include, among others, secure storage of research data, secure sharing of sensitive information and how to send encrypted e-mails. In addition, we often receive requests for support in conducting information classifications and risk analyses.

Meet the security department

The following locations and times allow you to meet with staff from the security department to discuss information and cyber security:

Thursday 6 October 2022 10.00-11.30: Blåsenhus, entrance hall
Thursday 13 October 2022 10.00-11.30: Ekonomikum, entrance 10B (near the reception)
Thursday 20 October 2022 10.00-11.30: Engelska parken, glass entrance 3H
Thursday 27 October 2022 10.00-11.30: BMC, building A7.

Anders Berndt

Examples of common risk behaviours and their consequences

Clicking on unknown links or opening unknown attachments in e-mails can lead to scammers coming across your password and account details. They can then infect your computer with malware and access sensitive information or additional permissions as the first step in a more extensive attack.

Having sensitive information on your laptop, mobile or other smart devices outside the university's fixed network and connecting the device to insecure wifi networks without using a VPN (virtual private network, see link below). This behaviour significantly increases the risk of malware and data breaches. Since anyone can connect to public wifi networks, there is a great risk that all data sent and received on the entire network will be intercepted.

Handling personal data in a way that is not sufficiently secure and does not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For example, sending sensitive personal data via e-mail or storing it in insecure cloud services can lead to fines from the privacy protection authority and thus result in financial loss and not least loss of reputation for Uppsala University.

Connect to university resources with the VPN service
Information security month (external link to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, Swedish only)
European Cyber Security Month (external link to EU)

Filtration