Protecting your identity – BCBSM breach

Security

By now, many of you have heard of the data breach at Anthem, which may have also leaked data of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) members.  While BCBSM is still investigating what member data has been breached, we do know that Anthem stored data on BCBSM members who received health care in a number of states outside of Michigan.  The data accessed includes names, date of birth, member ID/social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, emails addresses, and employment information.

Though the investigation as to the extent of the exposure of BCBSM data is still underway, there are a number of steps that all users should take:

  • Monitor you current accounts for any unusual activity.  Data from the breach may be used to try to answer security questions and access your accounts.
  • Sign up for fraud alerts with each of the three major credit bureaus.  This will notify potential credit grantors to verify your identity before extending credit.  This will stay on your account for 90 days and will allow time for BCBSM to complete their investigation.
  • Obtain a current copy of your credit report. You can receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months at: https://www.annualcreditreport.com.
  • Be aware of unexpected changes to your credit report or credit score.  Many sites will monitor your credit but may charge a fee.  CreditKarma is a well-respected free site for monitoring your credit score and can be found at: https://www.creditkarma.com.
  • Be suspicious of any email related to the breach that asks you to give personal information.  Anthem will be directly notifying all impacted members via postal mail and will advise you on the next steps to take.  Many cyber criminals are using the incident to target potential members with phishing attempts. If you receive an email that appears to be from Anthem and contains a “click here” link for credit monitoring, it is a scam!
    DO NOT click on any links in an email appearing to be from Anthem.

    • DO NOT reply to the email or reach out to the senders in any way
    • DO NOT supply any information on the website that may open if you do click on a link.
    • DO NOT open any attachments that arrive with email.
  • If you have received heath care services in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia or Wisconsin, you should contact Anthem at 1-877-263-7995 or visit their website: http://www.anthemfacts.com/.

Online security while traveling – read the latest issue of OUCH!

Security

The SANS Institute has released its February issue of OUCH!, a monthly security newsletter. This month’s issue covers how to securely stay online and get work done while traveling.  With more and more people connecting while on the road, this is the perfect time to cover how to do it securely.  We encourage you to download and share OUCH! with others.

English Version (PDF)
http://www.securingthehuman.org/newsletters/ouch/issues/OUCH-201502_en.pdf

Translations & Archives
http://www.securingthehuman.org/ouch

Adobe Creative Cloud now only way to purchase Creative Suite

Software

Adobe has announced that effective February 27, Adobe Creative Cloud will be the only option for educational licensing for Creative Suite products.

While current licenses of CS6 (or CS6 products) on campus are perpetual and will not expire, we will not be able to purchase CS6 or any of the CS6 individual products through any educational pricing programs after that date. (Note: At this time this does not affect our campus license for Adobe Acrobat Pro.)

So, what are your Creative Cloud options?

Option 1: Creative Cloud for Education Device License

This license allows for the Creative Suite applications to be installed on a single desktop computer. There is no restriction on the number of distinct users that use that computer (think office computer, lab computer, shared department laptop).

  • The device license can be for the entire Creative Suite, or a single application (see list below).
  • The device license does not include any “cloud features,” i.e., there is no cloud storage or collaborative toolset. The computer must be able to “check-in” to Adobe at least once every 30 days for a license check.

Option 2: Creative Cloud for Education Named User License

This license allows for a single named individual (one single person – not a shared account) to install the software on up to two (2) devices. The installation is done via a Creative Cloud Account which will be assigned to the user’s mtu.edu address. This must be installed on computers that are only used by that single person; this cannot be a shared machine.

  • The named user license can be for the entire Creative Suite, or a single application (see list below).
  • The named user license includes “cloud features.” This includes 100GB of cloud storage when purchasing the entire suite or 20GB for a single app purchase. It also includes the cloud collaboration tools for sharing documents.

Both of these options are a yearly subscription license. Michigan Tech’s “anniversary date” is December 3. Purchases made throughout the year fall under a prorated pricing schedule and expire at the next anniversary. Licenses must be renewed annually on the anniversary date or be removed from the machine.

Unlike previous Adobe installers that used a single license key, orders must now be processed through both our reseller and Adobe before the software can be installed.

Creative Suite Applications

Adobe Photoshop CC*
Adobe Illustrator CC*
Adobe InDesign CC*
Adobe Bridge CC
Adobe InCopy CC*
Adobe Acrobat XI Pro
Adobe Dreamweaver CC*
Adobe Flash Professional CC*
Adobe Flash Builder Premium Edition
Adobe Fireworks
Adobe Premiere Pro CC*
Adobe After Effects CC*
Adobe Audition CC*
Adobe SpeedGrade CC
Adobe Prelude CC
Adobe Encore
Adobe Media Encoder CC
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Adobe Muse CC*
Adobe Edge Tools (Edge Animate CC, Edge Code CC, and Edge Reflow CC)

*Available for purchase as individual applications

Creative Suite Pricing

The annual prices listed below are subject to market fluctuations and change often (and will be prorated at the purchase time).

Device Licenses
Complete Suite $175.79/year
Individual application $95.88/year
Named User Licenses
Complete Suite $251.88/year
Individual application $107.88/year

For more information on Adobe licenses, please contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 487-1111. One of our procurement agents will be happy to assist you with any questions you have about pricing and purchasing.

GoToMeeting to Replace Adobe Connect

Business Services, Media Technology Services, Services

As the result of a review of conferencing tools last year by various campus departments, along with Information Technology, GoToMeeting has been acquired for campus web conferencing needs. The new platform will replace Adobe Connect, which is set to expire on December 15th at 8pm.

Information Technology has been transitioning users from one service to another over the past few months. If you would like to learn more about GoToMeeting or transfer your web conferencing needs over to the new service, please contact it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

For those departments that require the continued use of Adobe Connect, we will have a limited number of licenses to use on a case by case basis. Should you have recordings in Adobe Connect that need to be archived, IT will work with current Adobe Connect users on archiving the recordings they wish to preserve.

For more information, please contact it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

Current Known Mac OS 10.10 Issues

Computing on Campus, Software

We are currently seeing some issues with Mac machines that have been upgraded to the brand new Mac OS 10.10 (Yosemite).

  • Most notably, the new OS seems to completely disable the functionality of the F5 VPN product on most, if not all, systems.  This means that users who need to use the Multidrive or access MTU-only resources from wireless or from off-campus will not be able to do so.
  • Some users have experienced their wireless connection randomly disconnecting since upgrading to OS 10.10.
  • Users  who were previously having no problems mounting network drives from the Multidrive are now seeing the drives not mount or hang while mounting. Some of this may be related to the F5 VPN problem mentioned above, and we are actively working with users who have reported problems.

We are recommending that users wait to upgrade to Mac OS 10.10 for now.  As with most brand new OS releases, it sometimes takes a bit of time to work out the bugs; Michigan Tech IT then needs time to test our systems with the new OS so that we can support campus users. At this point, none of the campus’ major applications have been tested for compatibility with Mac OS 10.10.

If you have already installed Mac OS 10.10 and are having problems, please contact IT User Services at it-help@mtu.edu or 487-1111, and we will do our best to provide support. We appreciate your patience while we work through these technical issues.

September I.T. Update

Computing on Campus

Michigan Tech I.T. would like to update you on the latest news:

  • Have you been to the new Active Learning Center (ALC)? “The Fish Bowl” in the MEEM was completely remodeled and is now a 72-seat, collaboration-friendly, reservable classroom. When class is not in session, it is available as an open computing lab. More information, including the room schedule, is at http://it.mtu.edu/computer-labs.
    MEEM2
  • The wireless connectivity in the residence halls was completely upgraded this summer with approximately 700 new access points installed throughout Wadsworth, McNair, and Douglass Houghton Halls and Hillside Place. More information on the project is at: http://www.it.mtu.edu/wireless-project-status.
  • Our wireless lounges were updated this summer with new furniture and more collaboration-friendly spaces. Find the lounge list at: http://it.mtu.edu/computer-labs.wireless
  • The next Open Student I.T. Forum will be on October 21, 2014 from 6:00pm-8:00pm in the Memorial Union Ballroom A1. Pizza will be served; please RSVP to the Facebook event page.
    it forum oct 2014

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