 Accounts, Access and Information Security

This article defines Pitt and UPMC's multifactor authentication services and explains how to navigate more seamlessly between them.

Information about software available on the SecureU Sharepoint site.

The University of Pittsburgh relies on a layered approach to security. No single process or technology is sufficient to secure the University’s environment. Instead, we have a robust series of security controls that operate at different layers and perform different tasks. A threat that manages to circumvent one control is likely to be thwarted by a control in another layer.

This article explains a situation where a student's Alumni Account converted back to a Primary Account unexpectedly.

Identity theft has become one of the fastest-growing crimes in America today. Identity theft is the deliberate assumption of another individual's identity, usually to gain access to a person's finances or to frame that person for a crime.

The number of social networking sites is ever growing. Where once our only choice seemed to be Usenet or Friendster (remember those?), we now have a dizzying array from which to choose: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr, Digg, Reddit, Instagram... the list goes on, and changes almost daily!

It is the policy of the University of Pittsburgh to respect the copyright protections given to authors, owners, and publishers under federal law, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). It is against University policy for any student, faculty, or staff member to copy, reproduce, or distribute any software, music, games, or movies, or any other copyrighted work, on University computing equipment except as expressly permitted by a license agreement or with the written consent.

This article shows you how to disable your browser's built-in password management feature to avoid confusion and enhance security after you have installed Pitt Password Manager.

Units that are planning to recycle and throw away computer equipment and media are required to do so in a manner that securely removes sensitive information.

This article details how to enable support for TLS 1.2 or 1.3 on web browsers.

This article provides University buyers guidance on how to identify personally identifiable information (PII) when negotiating service agreements or issuing purchase orders for work to be performed by outside vendors.

With more University business being done on mobile devices and smartphones, faculty and staff need to make sure that they are doing their best to secure their devices and protect the University’s interests. Please read over the following guidelines to make sure that your smartphones and tablets are properly secured, regardless of whether they are University-owned or personal.

Password best practices and standards. Includes FAQ and how-to instructions at the end.

Reporting suspected incidents promptly helps the University quickly evaluate the situation to contain the problem, ensure that other computers have not been affected, and determine if sensitive information may be at risk.

International travel has many benefits, but it also entails some degree of risk, especially with regard to the security of technology resources like laptops, smartphones, and mobile devices.

This page provides a number of important technology guidelines and tips for international travel. These guidelines are designed to help you protect your devices and data while traveling, and they will also help to protect University of Pittsburgh systems and data.

The steps on this page provide antivirus guidance for personal devices.

University policy establishes restrictions regarding the access and use of University technology resources such as computers, computer systems, networks, services, storage, and email. Students, faculty, and staff are obligated to protect University computing systems from illegal or damaging actions, either knowingly or unknowingly.

When remotely connecting to another computer or transferring files between computers,you must use encryption. Encryption will protect usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information. This requires the use of secure protocols.

All workstations used for remote work must adhere to the University’s security standards below. Only University-managed devices may be used to transmit, process, or store Restricted Data.

This article explains how to use Spirion to remove personal information from your Macintosh computer.

If you have a piece of equipment that has been lost or stolen, you should contact the University Police at 412-624-2121.

What do to if you spot a computer security issue