Project Type: Protect and Manage University Data

The project goal is to establish a new Secure Research Workspace (SRW) that 1) meets or surpasses the evolving NIST 800-53 Moderate* compliance specifications, and 2) is flexible enough to meet the unique needs of research project teams. The SRW is a secure virtual desktop for collaboration and storing sensitive information related to research studies, for example, patient or clinical trial data. * NIST 800-53 Moderate is a document describing United States federal government computer security… Read More about Secure Research Space (SRW).

Supporting and improving wireless capabilities across campus is a continuing priority for ITS. This project seeks to improve the wireless capabilities in the large classrooms on campus and better support the increased numbers of students, faculty and staff in these concentrated areas. Wireless infrastructure includes the size/bandwidth of the internet pipe, the firewall, the switches and the wireless access points themselves. Infrastructure is by far the most critical and important piece relating to how successful… Read More about Classroom Wireless Redesign.

Duo is one of the multi-factor authentication tools that the University uses to keep UNC’s systems safe and stay ahead of security threats. In February 2022, Duo released a new version of its web-based prompt that improves accessibility and can automatically send to the last authentication method you used to authenticate — speeding up the process. The new version has a different look with some changes in functionality so the change will be noticeable to… Read More about DUO Universal Prompt.

The project is to enable the use of screencasting / discovery protocols across the main campus and possibly into ResNET. These protocols will allow people to discover devices that are in close proximity when they enter a room. The success of project will address one of the most frequent requests from customers.

Implement the GRC module in ServiceNow and evaluate functionality with focus on: Vendor risk management Policy compliance BAA/contract repository Risk assessment workflow This is a combination of implementation (of a ServiceNow module) and “discovery” of suitability of functionality. The destination and end product depends on the results of that discovery. Staff impacted would include those who request risk assessments and those who work on those requests. If the vendor management work bears fruit, this could… Read More about Governance, Risk and Compliance for ServiceNow.

After a three-year process involving hundreds of faculty, students, staff and other key stakeholders, the new General Education curriculum is being implemented for undergraduates beginning in fall 2022. This project implemented the system changes needed to support the new IDEAs in Action curriculum (IDEA stands for Identify, Discover, Evaluate and Act), which replaces the current curriculum adopted in 2006. For more information, visit the IDEAs in Action website.

As the Enterprise Data Warehouse grows, so does the time required to run the ETLs that keep it updated. (An ETL extracts, transforms and loads data from multiple sources to a data warehouse.) This project will redesign the nightly ETL for the Enterprise Data Warehouse to make better use of the after-hours time we have to run the jobs and to make it easier to diagnose problems.

Currently, when you set up your Onyen, you answer some questions about yourself. Later, if you ever forget your password, you can answer these questions to prove that “you’re you” and safely reset your password. This security model is no longer considered safe enough by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), the NIH (National Institutes of Health), REFEDS (the Research and Education FEDerations group), and the University’s own Information Security Office. Current guidance… Read More about Password Reset Using Duo 2-Step Verification.

This project will migrate approximately 250 unprotected VLANs (“virtual local area networks”) to campus enterprise firewalls. Migrating these VLANs will prevent attacks and also limit the scope of attacks across the University. Onboarding the rest of campus will significantly expand the range and depth of the University’s defenses. It will also give ITS unprecedented awareness of which mission-critical systems we need to protect.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is requiring stronger proof that a person logging into their system is who they say they are. Starting in September 2021 multifactor authentication will be required when logging in to their system, and by December 2022, appropriate levels of identity assurance will also be required. The National Institute of Health (NIH) is increasing security for their systems. The University met the first of their requirements last September, when the… Read More about New NIH Requirements for Identity Assurance.

UNC-Chapel Hill is moving towards passwordless logins with a new option called Carolina Key. Carolina Key represents several different methods of authenticating logins for faculty, staff and students. When used along with individuals’ Onyen, Carolina Key improves security by eliminating the need to use a password. Update – September 2022 Carolina Key Phase 2 Rollout to Students ITS is planning to roll out Carolina Key to all students in November. Students can log into SSO… Read More about Carolina Key Passwordless Login.