Worm activity

Update on recent malicious code attacks on the University network.

The last fortnight has again seen an increase in computer worm activity throughout the world. The University appears to have come out of the latest attacks relatively unscathed, but there were isolated incidents of infection to computers within the network where security practices were lax (not in this Division this time, I hasten to add).

Client Services Division has pointed to several practices that leave the network open to attack by malicious code. These include:

• Failure to keep University server and desktop machines up to date with the latest security patches and virus definitions.
• Use of private unpatched and unprotected computers on the University network, particularly when users have accessed non-University email accounts from servers that don't screen for malicious code.
• Connecting to the university network via modem, bypassing the protection the University has in place.

Our practice in the Division is to ensure malicious code in emails and attachments is trapped by the email server, and each desktop machine is set up to maintain its anti-virus software with the latest definition files to ensure files from sources other than email are virus-free. TSU is investigating configuring desktop machines in the future so that the machines automatically receive the latest software patches to improve their immunity from attack, but this approach will require some consideration to make sure users are not unduly inconvenienced by the changes.

The Division's servers are patched regularly to retain a high level of protection. Users are not permitted to connect servers to the University network.
Users who attach private computers to the university network must ensure that their computers are virus-free and protected against attack. Users who are found to introduce malicious code to the university network will not be permitted to attach their computers to the network.

Users are not permitted to dial in to the University network via modems attached to the University telephone system.

Collaborative Environments

Progress report on the move to a campus-wide email and collaborative services environment.

The University has decided that there should be one campus-wide email system in place. With our recent move to Exchange, it is unlikely that the Division will have the resources to again change its email environment in the near future.

The Division will be pleased to move to a University-wide system if it went beyond email and included a set of tools that included email, calendars, discussion lists, forums, instant messaging document sharing, management and archiving, and collaborative authoring: a Collaborative Environment. Such environments can also include integrated voice mail, electronic despatch and receipt of faxes, and video (and audio) conferencing over the Web.

A Working Party to select a University-wide Collaborative Environment has now been established and will report to the University Information Management Systems Committee (UIMSC). The Working Party is currently developing a proposal for UIMSC endorsement that is firmly based in the University's Strategic Plan, and includes opportunities for broad consultation throughout the University community. There is a particular emphasis on the needs for consultation throughout the process, including opportunities for training for staff as the new systems are introduced.

Outlook Training

Update on Outlook trainer.

Tom Townsend has joined the Technical Services Unit team part time for a few months to help out staff experiencing difficulties with the Outlook email client, as requested by Executive earlier.

There is a booking form on the Web for staff to request half an hour of Tom’s time to help them out. Staff in the Division will be notified of the existence of the service later this week, by the time Executive meets.

SLIE-DOMAIN Demise

The transition from SLIE-DOMAIN to UCSTAFF is now complete.

The Division has now moved authentication away from the old SLIE-DOMAIN to UCSTAFF. The new domain is managed by Client Services Division in Active Directory, and should in theory reduce the administrative load on the Division's IT staff. Information in the Active Directory is drawn each night from the Staff Directory, which means that the Division no longer has to duplicate data entries on new and leaving staff, or details changes. So long as the Switchboard is notified of arrivals, departures and changes in staff details, these should be reflected the following day in the new authentication system.

It also means another step towards single user names and passwords for staff throughout the Division.

The demise of SLIE-DOMAIN also reduces by two the number of servers required in the Division, down to about 20 (depending on what you count as a server).

Now that the move to the server hardware bought in 2001 is complete, attention is turning to further rationalisation of the servers we have. Each server has to be managed to ensure that it is fully up-to-date: with all known security and operational "patches" and updates installed to keep our place as good corporate citizens and maintain a high level of availability to our Divisional clients.

Student Email Outage

Information on a recent outage to student email services on campus.

Due to a power outage in the Building 10 Computer Room, a number of services were lost on Friday night 25 August 2003.

When the power was restored, the server providing student email services failed, and had to be restored from backup tapes. The restoration was completed on Tuesday morning 19 August 2003 at around 9.00am.

This provides another example of the impact of the lack of redundancy in the University's IT systems.