LinkedIn also published a set of recommendations for protecting your account: Updating Your Password on LinkedIn and Other Account Security Best Practices.

This seems like a good time to remind the community about Middlebury College’s Password Policy, which also contains a set of password standards. One of these standards states: i) Users must NEVER use the same password for Middlebury College accounts as for non-Middlebury College access.

Please remember that you can get up-to-date security tips and news from the LIS Information Security page.

Dropbox, one of the most popular cloud storage providers, has had several security flaws and breaches over the past year:
- In June, for four hours, anyone could access anyone else’s Dropbox files.
- Three other separate security flaws (or holes) were found this summer.
- Furthermore, FTC found that Dropbox was misrepresenting their security measures and protocols.
- In addition, Dropbox had changed then clarified its Terms of Service within a matter of days.

That’s why we promote Middfiles for “cloud” storage needs. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions around Dropbox, cloud storage or security. If you have questions specific to Middfiles, please visit our documentation page.

What’s MACDefender?
Recently, a new malicious software has been targeting Macs (SANS, Symantec, Cornell). The software is (deceptively) named MACDefender. Strictly speaking, MACDefender is not a virus, it is a trojan but for most people there is purely a semantic difference. It should be noted, however, that a computer trojan, much like its historical counterpart, relies on deception and requires our “help” to infiltrate a computer. Computer viruses and worms on the other side don’t depend, as much, on us humans.

How do you know if your computer has been infected with MACDefender?
Well, at this time, if your computer is infected with MACDefender you may see the symptoms outlined on the Intego antivirus page. However, a better approach would be to update your real Mac antivirus (you have one, right?) Here are the instructions for updating Symantec Antivirus for Mac and running a virus scan. Don’t have Symantec for your Mac? Get it now: http://go.middlebury.edu/sav.

macdefender - fake antivirus

While PCI DSS is not an actual law, it is a standard enforced by the credit card industry, and the banks have stated and upheld the policy that they will no longer accept business from non-PCI compliant merchants. The government has used the PCI DSS as a yardstick by which they have measured such regulations as Gram-Leach-Bliley, Sarbanes-Oxley, and most recently the drafting of the Data Accountability and Trust Act.

We employ a device called a Barracuda here at Middlebury which helps us prevent SPAM from flooding our email system. Just shy of a year ago this system was updated to enable it to filter on cardholder information. By default this feature was turned on. We have left this enabled and have begun reporting on these blocked messages and alerting the senders of outbound messages.  The Barracuda is intended to serve both as a SPAM filter and a compliance tool.

• Ian Burke started November 29th as our new Network Security Administrator; he is also on the LIS Security Team.  Ian comes most recently from Amherst, NH and was a Security Engineer for TJX in Framingham MA.
• Jim Stuart started December 8th as System Programmer/Administrator.  Jim was Chief Technology Officer for Qvault, Inc. here in Vermont.   He previously worked here at Middlebury from 1993-1999 in various positions in ITS, prior to the merger which created LIS.

Exchange Security Summary

Several sections of the HEOA deal with unauthorized file sharing on campus networks, imposing three general requirements on all U.S. colleges and universities:

• An annual disclosure to students describing copyright law and campus policies related to violating copyright law.
• A plan to “effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials” by users of its network, including “the use of one or more technology-based deterrents”.
• A plan to “offer alternatives http://www.educause.edu/legalcontent to illegal downloading.”

To comply with the act, Middlebury College has undertaken the following steps:

1. Legal alternatives to illegal downloading are described in the Computing Policies section of the handbook: go.middlebury.edu/p2p
2. Copyright laws and policies are published through Middlebury College’s copyright page (go.middlebury.edu/copyright), as well as the Computing Policies section of the Handbook, in particular go.middlebury.edu/p2p
3. A plan is in place to combat unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials. The plan relies on a combination of packet shaping and NAC technology, as well as education:
   • Every year, students register their computing devices through our network registration process. Part of the registration involves reading and agreeing to our Responsible Use policy. Network registration is enforced through a NAC appliance from Bradford networks.
   • We respond promptly and regularly to DMCA notices. The College has a DMCA agent that promptly contacts the user that is in violation according to the DMCA notice. Repeated offenses result in loss of network access.
   • The use of posters that regularly appear in commonly used public spaces, such as the Davis Family Library.
   • This plan is reviewed periodically through the work of the security team.

Note that Educause offers a selection of Role Model Institutions that have implemented a variety of similar compliance strategies.