In an OnCampus article in September, I introduced two methods you should use when sharing confidential electronic information outside Drake. Since then, we’ve seen wide adoption, greatly improving the security of sensitive information. If you haven’t started using these methods yet, here’s a reminder of your options.
Secure Email
Drake’s email service has secure functionality built in. If you have a Drake.edu email address, you can send secure emails simply by adding the phrase encrypted message: as part of the subject. The contents of the message and any attachments will by encrypted, and the email recipient will be required to verify their identity when they open the message. Read more about this service in the article Sending and Receiving Encrypted Email Messages (How-to) in the IT Service Portal.
While sending an unencrypted email containing confidential information is still possible today, new features will be introduced over the next year to prevent unencrypted emails containing social security numbers, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information from being sent outside of Drake.
Secure File Sharing
We can also share files securely using OneDrive. Rather than sending the data outside of Drake, OneDrive allows us to bring others into the data, giving us greater control. The best way to do this securely is by sharing files or folders with specific contacts, rather than creating an anonymous link. This requires the contacts to sign in with their organization’s account, or with a one-time passcode. When the data no longer needs to be shared, you can remove the access. Read more about this service under the “How do I temporarily share my files to others?” section of the article Getting Started with OneDrive (FAQ).
As an additional measure to help protect confidential information, ITS will continue to provide phishing education in November using simulations of common attack methods.
— Peter Lundstedt, ITS
