It’s that time of year again, Panthers. The fall semester is coming to a close, and winter break is on the horizon! Students will be off from Dec. 19–Jan. 9, and the Winter break for faculty and staff has been expanded to encompass Dec. 20 – Jan. 3. While you’re off relaxing and celebrating, make sure you’re your tech, and your data stays secure. Here are some tips to help you have a cyber-safe winter break.

While most of us appreciate the added protection offered by multifactor authentication, having to verify multiple times a day is not exactly something most of us look forward to. The good news is that with a little know-how, it doesn’t have to be annoying. Here are Pitt IT’s top 5 tips for making two-factor authentication a breeze.

To create a truly vibrant learning, research, and teaching environment, the University needs the full participation, contribution, and engagement of every person in our community. That means everyone must be able to access all our resources and programs, including those that are online.

People often think of physical services when they hear the term accessibility—e.g., wheelchair ramps, automatic doors, ASL interpreters, or braille textbooks. But when it comes to the Internet, accessibility looks a little different.

From the moment a person submits an employment or admissions application until the day they leave the University, Pitt collects a wide array of data about the people in our community. This information is necessary to track academic progress, run payroll and benefits, apply financial aid, enable smart IDs, grant system access, and nearly every other facet of daily operations.

Gen Z really are the Zoomer generation, given how much time they’ve spent in online classes and events in the last year and a half! This generation is tech savvy, self-motivated, and always connected. While you might not share the habits and preferences of today’s students, it’s important to understand how their digital habits shape the way they interact with you.

Passwords – you can’t escape them. Logging into your computer? Enter your password. Checking your email? Enter your password. Online banking? Enter your password. Passwords are such an integral part of online life, it’s easy to forget how important they actually are for protecting your digital footprint. Here are some tips for becoming a password pro.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Pitt Information Technology is observing it by hosting three series of activities—providing students, faculty and staff an opportunity to earn $5 in Panther Funds, not to mention hands-on learning to become a seasoned cybercrime detector. Take some time to participate each day through Halloween.

It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month—Pitt IT’s favorite time of year. Techies often focus on the high-tech methods hackers use to crack passwords, bypass firewalls, infect a device, and steal people’s data or money. But the truth is that most cybercriminals don’t hack your system. Instead, they hack you. In other words, they trick you into giving them the keys to the castle using social engineering.

It’s finally October! While many people are hyped for Halloween and pumpkin spice lattes, the folks in Pitt IT are jazzed for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Despite all the advanced tools, security reviews, secure network design, and constant vigilance of Pitt IT to protect University systems, accounts, and computers, the most crucial security safeguard is … YOU! By understanding how hackers work and what to look for when it comes to cybersecurity risks, you can stop hackers before they arrive. Here are 26 terms* you should understand to #BeCyberSmart!

Pitt researchers use their extensive knowledge, boundless curiosity, and innovative techniques to bring new ideas to life. It takes robust technology tools to help investigators collect, store, and analyze the data; document their processes and results; and share and work with collaborators and lab personnel. Pitt IT supports the work of researchers, so they can focus on doing what they do best: making the University of Pittsburgh one of the top research institutions in the world!