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Security

Services and tools that safeguard the University’s computing resources and data. University IT provides services such as desktop configuration, mobile device management, authentication systems, anti-malware software, firewalls, and network monitoring.

The Stanford anti-malware service for MacOS devices (Mac OS X 10.14 or later) is CrowdStrike Falcon. This program protects your computer from viruses, adware/spyware, and other malicious software.

Stanford's anti-malware service for Windows 10, Windows Server 2012/2016/2019 is CrowdStrike Falcon. CrowdStrike provides advanced defensive capabilities against modern computer and network threats. It replaces traditional signature-based anti-malware with a sophisticated set of behavioral models, enabling it to detect advanced and novel threats.

Eliminates the prompts for username and password for web logins and eliminates the prompts for username, password, and two-step authentication when connecting to the VPN.

Splunk software is used for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated big data via a web-style interface.

To ensure devices that can access Stanford data are only used by identified people, you need to complete a simple enrollment process. Enrollment associates your identity (that is, your SUNet ID) with each of your devices, and will eventually allow you to manage them.

The Secure Email service is designed for members of the Stanford community who plan to use email to transmit Protected Health Information (PHI) in accordance with the HIPAA guidelines. The most frequent use of this service will be from the Stanford School of Medicine.

Endpoint Compliance Reports provide information to system and department administrators, local desktop support, and management to monitor compliance of the devices that connect to the Stanford network.

BigFix protects your computers with automatic security updates for operating systems and other popular software.

OSSEC is a file integrity monitoring application that records changes to a server's file system to help detect and investigate an intrusion or change.

University IT uses an automated tool to scan files stored in file sharing systems, searching for files that are publicly accessible and contain data classified as High Risk. The automated tool removes public access from identified files, while retaining all other access. File owners are notified by email of the change and can then update the file sharing permissions as needed.

Mobile Device Management (MDM) enables you to manage your mobile device through Stanford's web-based tool, and configures a profile that gives you secure access to internal systems while protecting the data on your device.

MyDevices lets Stanford affiliates look up the devices associated with them and see whether the devices are verifiably encrypted. 

University IT provides faculty, staff, and students a Dashlane Premium password manager account account free of charge.

The Phishing Awareness Service uses simulated phishing emails to train participants to recognize, report, and avoid phishing attacks. The service is available to eligible groups upon request.

A Privileged Access Workstation (PAW), also called a Personal Bastion Host (PBH), provides a dedicated computing environment for sensitive tasks that is protected from Internet attacks and other threat vectors.

See Vulnerability Management (Qualys)

SAML 2.0 is one in a set of authentication and authorization technologies underlying Stanford WebLogin, which provides access by individuals across organizations to protected web pages and applications, with just one login action.

An SSL certificate is a signed electronic guarantee that verifies the authenticity of a particular server. It's used for providing web pages through an encrypted connection. Any service accessible by SSL must have a certificate, including any web server with encrypted or “secure” content.

BigFix for Servers is a tool for IT server administrators to view overall inventory, deploy software, and manage configurations.

Stanford Information Security Academy (SISA) supports the ongoing professional growth of system administrators and web developers.

The Stanford Whole Disk Encryption service is for both Windows and Macintosh desktop and laptop computers. This service protects all data stored on a hard drive from unauthorized access . Once installed, all files are automatically encrypted. The data is protected at rest as long as the hard disk is password protected.

Borrow an iPad, MacBook, or Surface Pro when traveling to a high-risk country to reduce your exposure to data and identity theft.

Two-step authentication uses two types of authentication to verify your identity. First, you need to log in with your SUNet ID and password. Then you need  a physical device that you control—such as your mobile phone, tablet, or landline phone—to verify your identity. This type of authentication is required to access Stanford systems that have higher than normal levels of security, such as critical business or infrastructure systems. In addition, two-step authentication can help protect your Stanford account should someone else learn your password.

Stanford University has standardized on Duo for two-step authentication to Stanford-managed servers. Static login credentials are susceptible to phishing and offline cracking. Two-step authentication adds a dynamic component to logins, which significantly mitigates this risk. Two-step authentication is required for all interactive user and administrator logins to Moderate and High Risk systems.

VLRE provides encryption verification without requiring BigFix. VLRE is a read-only application that periodically reports on the computer's encryption status and screensaver password status, leaving maintenance of the computer entirely to the user.

Stanford’s VPN service allows any Stanford affiliate to connect to SUNet remotely from any available network connection almost anywhere in the world: including from home, from many hotels, and even from within some company networks.

Qualys vulnerability scanner finds security vulnerabilities in web applications and other network services and helps you remediate them.

Wiz

Wiz is a security platform provided through Cardinal Cloud that evaluates cloud accounts and displays results in an easy-to-understand view, helping account managers take needed steps for improvement.