Why Is The UW Requiring Secure Software?
The
new requirements for secure communications, email, and
file transfer software are intended to insure that
passwords traveling over the UW networks are encrypted,
thus protecting you and the University of Washington.
Several recent trends and events have made protecting passwords an important topic:
- More personal and private information is now available on UW network services, such as through MyUW.
- Hackers continue to try to capture UW passwords. UW networks are much more secure than they used to be, but hackers still sometimes find weaknesses.
- Hackers who obtain UW passwords are using UW faculty, staff, and student accounts to access private information and to launch attacks on other UW and non-UW computers.
Anyone who obtains your UW NetID and password can
- Read your email
- Access your personal information
- Modify and delete your files
- Send email as if it were from you
- Run programs that could disrupt UW networking and computing services.
For More Information
- Computer Security - Contains much more information about how to protect your computer and UW computing and networking systems.
- New Requirements for Connecting to Central Computing Services - Password protecting software for email and terminal sessions (telnet) is now required.
- Secure File Transfer Software - Password protecting file transfer software is now required.
- Send a Question To UW Technology - Enter your question on a Web page, receive your answer by email.
