May 2017

New Samba Vulnerability

A new vulnerability has been announced that affects Samba, a network protocol that is primarily used for Windows file and print sharing. The vulnerability affects all versions of Samba from 3.5.0 onwards.

The vulnerability allows remote code execution by allowing a malicious client to upload a shared library to a writable share, and then cause the Samba software to load and execute the uploaded library.

While no exploits are yet known, we strongly recommend you patch any systems running Samba as soon as possible. Patches are available for versions 4.4 onwards, and

Using Jupyter Notebooks

Those who are interested in using Python or R but have not yet explored Jupyter notebooks (formerly know as IPython notebooks) should check them out without delay.

If you use Mathematica, you will find Jupyter notebooks familiar in look, feel, and function to Mathematica notebooks. Like Mathematica notebooks, a Jupyter notebook allows its users to bundle code, text, multimedia, and web content into a single portable object.

Jupyter notebooks open up in your web browser, and you can run code blocks and see the output directly in your browser. While there is a remote web

ServiceNow Help Desk Software Upgrade

ServiceNow is the University-wide cloud-based help desk ticketing solution, which was first released on July 19th, 2016. Over the weekend, the University upgraded it to the latest general release version. As a result of the upgrade over the weekend, there was some delay in processing tickets submitted or modified over the weekend. While there will be some visible changes to the ServiceNow web interface, most of the core functionality has not changed significantly and should operate much like the previous version.

You should continue to use the same e-mail address

Wanna Cry? Active Ransomware Outbreak (Updated)

According to reports, there is an ongoing, fast and widespread ransomware attack against Microsoft Windows machines, with reports of as many as 200,000 infections in as many as 150 countries (according to Europol on Sunday, 14 May 2017). The software can run in as many as 27 different languages, matching the operating system language settings.

This malware is variously known as WannaCry, WCry, Wanna Decryptor, or Wanna Derypt0r and was discovered the morning of May 12th, 2017. It works by encrypting your data and requesting a ransom

Wanna Cry? Active Ransomware Outbreak

According to numerous reports, there is an ongoing, fast and widespread ransomware attack against Microsoft Windows machines, with reports of tens of thousands of infections in as many as 74 countries. The software can run in as many as 27 different languages, matching the operating system language settings.

The malware is variously known as WannaCry, WCry, or Wanna Decryptor, or Wanna Derypt0r and was discovered the morning of May 12, 2017. It works by encrypting your data and requesting a ransom of .1781 bitcoins, the equivalent of roughly $300.

Initial reports indicate

Physical Security – Lock it up!

All should take an interest in protecting their own property and personal information. As a member of the University community, you also have a responsibility to protect the privacy and security of the University's property and information placed in your care.

Whether we are talking about an office computer, portable electronic devices, or print outs of sensitive data, care must be taken to properly secure and protect them.

For workstations and laptops, make sure that you have a secure password or passphrase set, and enable a screen saver that requires a password.

Secure your Web Site Now!

The University's Information Security Office (ISO) has been scanning web sites on campus with greater-than-normal frequency lately looking for security issues, and this has generated a lot of security tickets!

If the issues uncovered by a scan are not addressed quickly, the ISO will quarantine the affected web site --- remove it from the network --- until the security issues are addressed. The best strategy is to secure your web site now, before the ISO finds something wrong with it that warrants putting it in quarantine.

There are many types of security issues found with web

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