Topics & Resources
For basic security-related questions or to find out more about information security services at HGSE and Harvard, please contact HGSE's Director of Security Operations (DSO) through the IT Service Center. For more in-depth 1x1 or group (team, department, etc.) security consultations and awareness training needs, you're encouraged to schedule some time with the DSO: calendly.com/sarah_pruski
Additional Security Topics and Resources
AntiVirus Software
The HGSE IT department cannot overstate the value of using an up-to-date antivirus and anti-spyware program. Antivirus software will help keep your computer free of malicious software such as viruses, worms, and trojan horses. You also need to protect...
Encryption
Encryption is a tool that is required by the Harvard Enterprise Information Security Policy (HEISP) and Research Data Security Policy (HRDSP) for certain mobile devices (laptops, cellphones, tablets, USB storage devices, external hard drives, etc.). What...
Passwords & 2SV
Create Strong Passwords HarvardKey Your HarvardKey password is valuable. It's used to control access to University services and your personal information, so it should be very difficult for anyone to guess your password and pretend to be you. Harvard...
Patching & Updates
Set your software to auto-update. Install updates, and restart if needed. Millions of lines of code are written every day. With so much code, there are bound to be bugs - but some bugs put your data at risk. We call those vulnerabilities. Software updates...
Personal Device Security
This guide is for Harvard students, faculty, staff, contractors, and consultants with an active Harvard affiliation, who want to configure a personal device to comply with the Minimum Standards.
Remote Work & Travel
Harvard University aims for excellence in its administrative operations and the employment experience it provides. Flexwork (also know as flexible work arrangements, or flex) can contribute to this excellence, providing the potential for employees to...
Secure Collaboration
The below use-case examples, service descriptions, and comparison charts aim to highlight the features and functionality across the University’s various file storage and collaboration tools to help guide users’ tool selections appropriate to their...
Secure Destruction
Technology equipment often contains parts and information that cannot simply be thrown away. Proper disposal of equipment is both environmentally responsible and often required by law. In addition, hard drives, USB drives, CD-ROMs and other storage media...
Spam & Phishing
Click only links and files that are expected, and only from people you trust. There is a reason so many cyber attacks start with a bogus email message. It works. This type of scam is called phishing, and the goal is to get you to click a fraudulent link...
Vendor Compliance
HGSE’s confidential information is only as secure as our third-party service providers, or vendors, that we entrust with it. The rising cost of technology and an institution’s desire to improve the bottom line is fostering many decisions to outsource more...
VPN
What is VPN? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a private, encrypted tunnel for your online activity, making it significantly harder for others to monitor what you do online. VPNs extend private networks (e.g., HGSE's local/on-campus network) across...
