I will post additional updates on this problem during the day.

Steve Landry, CIO

Update 11:00 AM EDT: Verizon has repaired the Law School T1. Full service has been restored SGL

Steve Landry, CIO

An important part of our ITIL adoption is the implementation of ServiceNow, a software package that service requests, incident tracking, and problem reporting. ServiceNow also integrates with RightAnswers, a technical knowledge base to which the University subscribes. Additional modules allow IT to track all systems and to plan and monitor system changes. The service request and incident tracking parts of ServiceNow will replace the current InterTrack software on August 23rd. The change and inventory management components are expected to be in place by the end of 2010.

All users of the current InterTrack system are encouraged to participate in ServiceNow training as early as possible to help make the adoption of ServiceNow as seamless as possible.

Steve Landry, CIO

Reminder: This year's summer IT maintenance window will take place beginning 12:01 a.m. on August 10 through 11:59 p.m. on August 18. Scheduled maintenance on IT systems will take place during this time. While most systems will be up most of the time during this period and University IT Services will make every effort to give advance notification whenever specific systems are scheduled to be off line, unanticipated interruptions to services may occur while this work is being performed. Please plan your work accordingly.

Planned Outages

Thursday, August 12, 9 p.m. - Friday, August 13, 6 a.m.
Wireless upgrade: The wireless network on the South Orange campus will be down for an upgrade. Wired access will work as normal.

Saturday, August 14, 7 a.m. - Sunday, August 15, 7 a.m.
Storage Area Network (SAN) maintenance will require downtime for ALL systems hosted in the Corrigan Hall data center EXCEPT Blackboard and the main campus Web server (www.shu.edu). Affected systems include the PirateNet portal, employee e-mail, campus file and print services, Banner and Banner Self-Service (SSB), Kronos time cards, Lenel, library database proxy services (EZproxy) and Lotus Notes applications (e.g., campus tour). Single sign-on to student e-mail will not be available, but students who are aware of their Microsoft passwords will be able to connect directly without single sign-on. Most central web servers will be affected as well, including academic.shu.edu, pirate.shu.edu, courses.shu.edu, shulife.shu.edu, and tltc.shu.edu.

Sunday, August 15, 12:01 a.m. - 7 a.m.
Blackboard upgrade: The Blackboard system will be upgraded from version 9.0 to version 9.1. During this time Blackboard will not be available. This release includes many new features and time-saving enhancements as well as resolving several known issues to increase overall usability.

Tuesday, August 17, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Blackberry Server upgrade: During this time University issued Blackberry units may not be able to send or receive e-mail. Cell phone service will not be affected.

Seton Hall University is required by law to maintain a reasonably secure network. Data breaches can result in significant costs to repair as well as damage to institutional reputation. University IT Services takes its responsibility to maintain a secure network very seriously, while striving to ensure campus services are as easy to use as possible.

A few years ago it required extensive knowledge, specialized hardware and software, and a great deal of perseverance to successfully crack a network account. Today there is a plethora of cracking tools available on the Internet that enable novice users to sniff out and crack passwords. Unethical hackers constantly scan the Internet for weak passwords, unsecured servers, and vulnerable software.

While the University's networks remain reasonably secure, University IT Services has observed a growing number of attempts to crack our network services. This results in several compromised computers and accounts each month. To date these compromised computers have primarily been used to distribute spam, which can cause other Internet Service Provides to temporarily block email from Seton Hall so that their email systems are not overwhelmed.

University IT Services now requires all users of the campus network to regularly change their passwords and to use reasonably strong passwords. This will help secure the campus network. University IT Services is planning further steps to improve network security that will be implemented over the course of the summer. These include the following:

• New faculty and employees will be prompted to change their passwords from the assigned default password on their first login to IT systems. The default passwords assigned to users are not particularly strong, so we are going to ask new employees to immediately change their passwords from the default.
• Users' accounts will be locked after fewer failed login attempts. Cracking software often uses dictionaries of frequently used passwords and keeps trying different passwords on each account. Locking accounts after fewer failed login attempts will help reduce these kinds of attacks. This may occasionally cause legitimate unsuccessful login attempts to lock an account; for example, some smartphones store the user's email password and unless this is changed when the account login is changed the smartphone may keep retrying to login with the old password, causing the account to become locked.
• The Symantec antivirus and personal firewall software on all University laptop and desktop computers will be upgraded. This will be done automatically when you log on at some point during the summer. You may see a slightly longer login when this happens. These upgrades have been thoroughly tested by Symantec and the University, and we do not expect this upgrade to adversely affect anyone's computer or software.
• Outgoing email from the University will be filtered for probable spam. Currently the University only filters inbound email for spam. Outbound spam affects our institutional reputation and can cause delivery failure of legitimate outbound email. University IT Services will closely monitor the outbound spam filters to ensure legitimate email is not inadvertently being filtered. Anyone who manages large email distribution lists should work with University IT Services to ensure their mailings are not inadvertently flagged as spam.

So far hacked accounts have resulted in only inconvenience for members of the University community. Hacked accounts can, however, be footholds for more invasive and systemic attacks intended to gain access to confidential data. Data breaches could have severe consequences, resulting in significant costs to remedy as well as having a negative affect on our institutional reputation. The steps outlined above are prudent "next steps" to ensure the integrity and reliability of our campus network in today's challenging cybersecurity environment.

University IT Services will send out further updates on this over the summer as we implement these security improvements.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions or concerns regarding IT security at Seton Hall University, if you suspect your SHU account has been hijacked, if you receive suspicious email, or if you have any problems accessing your SHU account or computer, please call the Technology Help Desk at 973-275-2222. They can help you with any technology questions. Or you may contact me at 973-761-7386 or via email if you have concerns about any of these security enhancements.

Additional information about SHU's IT systems, support, security, and policies can be found on the Technology Web site at: http://www.shu.edu/offices/technology/

Stephen Landry, CIO

AT&T 3G service on campus had been inconsistent following the lightning strike on the radio tower last summer which damaged some of AT&T's equipment.

After today's work, the upgrade for the AT&T cellular service on the radio tower should be completed, providing high quality AT&T 3G service for the campus.

AT&T plans further improvements in AT&T 3G service for the campus over the summer by upgrading the electronics in the microcells around campus. This upgrade is expected to provide improved AT&T 3G service inside most campus buildings, including the residence halls.

Steve Landry, CIO

The University's Mobile Computing Program is a unique academic program that has three mutually supporting components: (1) We provide an appropriate standard computer for each undergraduate student. (2) We provide the support services (such as networking, software, and repair services) to make this a useful learning tool. (3) We provide support to faculty who wish to make appropriate and effective use of the technology to improve learning in their courses.

One question often asked is why require a standard laptop? The short answer is that standardizing the laptop actually increases the options available to faculty using laptops in their classes. Faculty have the assurance that when they work to develop a technology-enabled class assignment that all students have the technology they need to complete the assignment. An interesting article in today's Inside Higher Education discusses the seeming paradox that standardization of student technology increases faculty choice; the article can be found at:
www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology_and_learning/laptop_requirements_and_the_downside_of_choice

The presentation on Mobile Computing for parent orientation can be found at:
ParentOrientation2010.pdf

There are a few things we ask parents to do to help us support the Mobile Computing Program. First and foremost, please read the license agreement; it contains valuable information about the program and students' responsibilities to care for the laptop. Please contact IT if there is a change in your student's status, such as taking time off from school or participating in study abroad. Let us know right away if the laptop is lost or stolen. If your student is less than eighteen years old, you'll need to sign an agreement that you assume responsibility for the laptop. And don't accept "the laptop ate my homework" as an excuse; students have network space on which they can save their work and we have a repair facility and loaner laptops to make sure your student has a working laptop when they need one for class.

Stephen G. Landry, Ph.D.
Chief Information Officer
Seton Hall University
email: cio@shu.edu
phone: 973-761-7386