IT Security

Users of Northumbria IT Facilities are expected to comply with the IT Systems Security Policy

 

Your responsibilities:

• To keep your password secure. You are accountable for anything done in your name and password.
• To protect your equipment and data from unauthorised access and theft.
• To take precautions against computer viruses.
• To use licensed software.

Protect your user name and password

• Do not share your user name and password with anyone else.
• Change your password regularly.
• If you suspect that someone else knows it then change your password.
• Choose a good password that cannot be guessed or detected.

 

Sharing Data

• You are accountable for anything done in your name and password.  The University needs to be able to provide an audit trail of all actions undertaken on the system.
• With access to your username and password a malicious person could send email to other people in your name. This email could be offensive or illegal and could potentially cause you to be disciplined by the University.
• Many if not most, security attacks come from within an organisation and it is important that users should be accountable.  It is alleged that 9 out of 10 instances of password cracking is done by getting password owners to reveal their password not by using cracking software.

 

Security for Laptops and Home PCs

Portable computers can enable users to work on IT equipment away from the physical confines of the University their use does imply some care and caution. This care refers not only to the physical condition of the portable device itself but also to any data stored on it.

Similarly Home Computers enable users to work away from the physical confines of the University their use does imply some care and caution.

 

Ways to protect laptops & home computers

Treat a laptop as if it were your wallet or purse.

For details of anti virus software available for your laptop and home computer go to our software download site at www.northumbria.ac.uk/downloads

Some operating systems allow encryption through logon procedures, data protection on other operating systems will require password protection

 

Data Backup

There is nothing more disheartening then losing a substantial amount of work because of an accidental click of a mouse, a careless keystroke or even an unexpected power surge. Data should be regularly backed-up to keep you sane.

Storing your files on the hard drive of your computer leaves them vulnerable to loss due to hard disk failure. This can happen even on new machines.

If you have deleted a saved file by mistake you will, in most cases, be able to recover it from the Snapshot facility.  For information on how to do this search in IT KnowHow at www.northumbria.ac.uk/knowhow