Table of Contents
Spring 2023 Information Technology Newletter:
Infographic: Phishing click-through rates
IT conducts a simulated phishing exercise on a quarterly basis to help improve awareness and overall cybersecurity.
Comparison between the January 2023 and the April 2023 phishing exercises show little change between the number of faculty and staff that opened and clicked on the links in our test. Three percent of staff clicked on links in both January and April. Faculty had a slight increase in link clicks four percent clicked on links in the April test where in January three percent of our CSUMB faculty clicked on links. All CSUMB staff and faculty are assigned Data Security and Ferpa training in October as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Our shining stars for the April phishing simulation were our students, who do not receive any formal cybersecurity training. In January nine percent of students clicked on the link and in April only two percent clicked on the link. Way to to CSUMB Otters!
Current project: Change in multifactor authentication (MFA)
Because of an increasing number of cyberattacks on institutions of higher learning, we’ve been working for over a year to make campus login more secure. To date, we have worked to remove the least secure multifactor authentication (MFA) method, the security question, as an option for our campus community.
In April 2022, we removed this option for our student population. At that time, we heard from the staff and faculty that they needed more time to prepare to move away from the security question.
On May 31, 2023, we will finally close out this project and begin to remove the security question as a multifactor authentication option for the rest of our campus population.
We highly encourage our staff and faculty who currently use the security question as their only multifactor option to configure a new authentication method before the May 31 deadline. If you do not choose a new MFA option, the next time you log in after the deadline you will be prompted to set up a new MFA option before you complete your log in.
For more information please watch Tech Tip Tuesday episode 40 on the other multifactor authentication method options or read our knowledge base article Okta Multifactor Authentication (MFA).
Learn about: File storage and quotas
Because of changes coming from Google Workspace in December 2023, the campus is working to better understand file storage and quotas.
What is file storage at CSUMB?
Simply put, file storage is where you store your electronic files or data. These data can be anything from documents, papers, photos and more.
At CSUMB we have two types of file storage:
- Local file storage is storage available on a server that is housed in our campus data center.
- MyDocs (J:Drive) (Individual storage)
- CSUMBinfo (M:drive) (Department storage)
- Cloud file storage is storage off-site and available via a vendor, in our case Google Workspace.
- Google My Drive (Individual storage)
- Google Share Drive (Department storage)
Note we do not encourage local storage on desktop or laptop computers; those do not get backed up by IT.
What are quotas?
Quotas are limits to the amount of storage you have on a particular system. Previously we’ve enjoyed unlimited storage from Google. But those days are numbered; Google will start enforcing our quotas by the end of the year.
Your quota will include all files in Gmail, My Drive, and Photos. Once you hit that quota you will be unable to send mail or create/edit documents, but otherwise you’ll have access to all your files.
Similarly, there is a quota for Google Shared Drives that departments use. Items stored in these drives do not count towards individual quotas, but they do count against our university quota as a whole.
In addition, after May 31, 2023 students will no longer be able to create Google Shared Drives. Likewise new department shared drives will have to be requested through an IT Ticket. These drives will have a 25 GB quota.
What’s my quota?
Your individual quota will depend on your role at CSUMB:
- Student quota: 25 GB
- Staff & Faculty quota: 75 GB
Check my quota
You can check your CSUMB Google account storage anytime by visiting drive.google.com/settings/storage
How can I learn more?
Read: File Storage KB
Read: Critical updates for Google services in 2023
Watch: Tech Tip Tuesday Ep 43: File storage at CSUMB including how to find how much storage you’re using.
Watch: Tech Tip Tuesday Ep 49: File storage and quotas (coming May 9)
Get to know: Brian Beckman
Brian Beckman is leading the effort to move CSUMB to Zoom Phones this summer.
Brian, tell us about your position here at CSUMB and what you were doing before working here?
I am the Lead Telecommunications Engineering Analyst for CSUMB, which is a very fancy way to say the lead phone guy. I handle all of the telecommunications here at the campus and for our remote locations such as east campus, North Salinas and Ryan Ranch. Myself and Jonathan Munz handle all of the emergency “blue light” phones, alarm communications, and password resets for the voicemail. Basically, if it has a dial tone, we make sure it works.
Before I came here I was doing the same thing for Bolthouse Farms in Bakersfield, CA. I took care of all of their telephones, two-way radios and access control system. I also transitioned them from a legacy telephone system to Zoom phones in ten locations over five states.
How did you become interested in telecommunications?
I’ve always been one of those kids that took things apart to figure out how they work. In 1995, I had the opportunity to apply for a service tech position with Pacific Bell, which was the beginning of my telecommunications career. After a lengthy selection and training process I became a Service Technician, Installation and Repair, for Pacific Bell in Sacramento. I was the guy who came out to your house to install new phone service or make repairs when it wasn’t working. That was at the beginning of the DSL service in Sacramento, and I started installing that and other data services such as ISDN. Once I got into the data side of things I was hooked. I found I’m good with computers and I read technical manuals like some people do novels. Getting into telecom engineering and PBX management was where I needed to be.
Your area is heading up our switch to Zoom phones this summer. Can you give us some background on why we are making this switch?
The pandemic really highlighted how we needed to change how and where people work. Transitioning to Zoom phones will help with that. It gives us a greater flexibility to work from virtually anywhere.
If you are on a laptop using the same Zoom app you’ve used to be on video calls, you can have your same university extension available to make and receive voice calls. You can even download the Zoom app to your state-owned cell phone, so you don’t even need your computer.
Another benefit was to save on costs. Our current system is very costly to maintain, requiring many servers and constant updates for it to continue to function. We can cut those costs in half while getting a greater flexibility and ease of use. It’s a win-win really.
What is one common misconception about Zoom phones?
That you will receive calls 24/7, especially if you have the app on your phone. That simply isn’t true. You have the ability to adjust your business hours on your profile. If a call comes in outside those hours it will simply go to your voicemail and you can deal with it how and when you want. A cool bonus is all voicemails will automatically be transcribed and emailed to you as well as a file.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
Wow, that’s a tough one to quantify. I love the technical aspects, getting in and fixing things, sometimes untying knots and making things work. It's particularly satisfying to find a solution to something that many people have tried but couldn’t figure out. When things are particularly hard and brain wracking I can be heard yelling “Ha! I win! “when I figure it out.
What is your favorite thing about working at CSUMB?
Location, location, location. Sometimes when I’m driving around I almost can’t believe how fortunate I am to not only work but live in such a beautiful place. You have to understand, I have lived the last 20 years in the Central Valley, and the last eight years in Bakersfield, dealing with 115-degree summers. Living here is fantastic. I grew up in Sacramento and used to come to Santa Cruz all the time to surf and go to the beach. I’ve always wanted to live in the area. The culture here is also pretty great. It’s a very collaborative environment and it's more laid back than what I have become accustomed to. It’s a wonderful change.
Moving on: Veronica Flores announces retirement
Veronica Flores, the Director of Enterprise and Engagement Applications in the Division of Information Technology, is retiring on June 2, 2023, after nearly 21 years at CSUMB.
Veronica began her career at CSUMB in 2002 as the manager of the Campus Service Center. She rose through the ranks from Lead Student Information Systems Business Analyst (2006), and Director of Student Information Systems (2008).
She leaves behind a legacy of having integrated the Student Information Systems group from Student Affairs into the Division of Information Technology in 2021. In its current form, the new group, Enterprise Application Services, is poised to innovate on behalf of the university for years to come.
Veronica has played a key role in the implementation of many systems during her years with the campus including numerous student information system upgrades, new system integrations, and projects too numerous to list. Her dedication to students and the campus is exemplary and we wish her the very best in this new chapter.
More personnel news
Welcome back to our division
- Cody Wall, Database Administrator.
Welcome to Information Technology
- Brad Atherton, Customer Relationship Management Developer
- Alf Brunstrom, Data Integration Developer
- Rebecca Nannie, Senior Information Technology Budget Analyst
- James Sutton, Data Integration Developer
Student Assistant News
Nico Hartojo (Photo Credit: Katie Tozier)
One of our student assistants at the Technology Help Desk, Nico Hartojo, has been playing on the CSUMB baseball team. He graduates this Spring, but his season may very well extend beyond Commencement.
CSUMB is currently ranked #18 nationally and #1 the West region. They host the CCAA conference tournament and hope to get an invitation to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Also, Nico is leading the conference in hitting!
Nrupaja Vartak (Photo Credit: Nrupaja Vartak)
Our very first IT Communications Graphic Design student assistant, Nrupaja "Nru" Vartak, will also be graduating this Spring. Nru is a computer science major with a minor in business administration and communication design.
She's provided IT with a defined "techy" look and feel our so many of our IT graphics, including the infographic in this newsletter, our digital signs, social media, and our intro/outro graphics on our Tech Tip Tuesday videos.
Congratulations to our other IT Student Assistants graduating in Spring 2023
- Derek In, Computer Science,works for the Center for Academic Technologies.
- Andrew Liddle, Computer Science, works in Technology Support Services.
- Ulysses Zamora, Computer Science, works for Engagement Applications.
- Chloe Berezowsky, Psychology, works at the AV desk.
- Tylyn Nakamura, Psychology, also works at the AV desk.
Tech Tip Tuesday
Our latest Tech TIp Tuesday is episode 48: Tips for wrapping up the semester
Visit Spring 2023 Tech Tip Tuesday page or our Tech Tip Tuesday archive for more tech tips.
Cybersecurity in April
In April of this year, Information Security and IT Marketing worked on a cybersecurity campaign for the campus much like the one we did last October for Cybersecurity Awareness month.
The April campaign push included a campus-wide phishing campaign (see infographic for numbers) that we teased on social media and campus digital signs.
The click rate stayed pretty much the same for our staff and faculty, who get formal cybersecurity training through Sumtotal every October.
For students, we are pleased to see the click rate went down seven percentage points, from 9 percent down to 2 percent. Students do not have any required cybersecurity training.
April also saw us releasing four new cybersecurity-focused Tech Tip Tuesday episodes:
- Episode 44: Antivirus installation walk through, including how to update software.
- Episode 45: Cyber hygiene tips to keep you cybersafe.
- Episode 46: Three real-life cybersecurity situations and how to prevent disaster
- Episode 47: Information Security and what our Information Security Officer does.
The April tabling event was even more successful than the October one because we were able to piggyback off of the #OtterThursday events that take place outside the OSU every Thursday.
Special thank you to Rebecca Nannie for the photos of our Cybersecurity Tabling event!
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Chief Information Officer
Chip Lenno
Publisher
Greg Pool
Director of Digital Transformation
Editor
Amy Marbach
User Services Communications Specialist
Writers
Amy Marbach
Cecelia Colchico
Greg Pool
Graphic design
Nrupaja Vartak (graduating this spring)