Secure Your Mobile Device

Volume 5, No. 9

Some Cal Lutheran employees may receive student- or employee-related information on their mobile devices; such data must be removed and the device must be secured. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations mandate that any Social Security Numbers and/or other student or employee Personal Identifiable Information (PII) in un-encrypted formats may not be stored on mobile devices. For CLU employees this means leaving that information in Datatel or Raiser’s Edge.

To comply with FERPA, please secure your mobile device now. The directions below will help; however, should you experience any problems, please contact the Help Desk right away.

To secure an iPhone or iPad:

·         Go to Settings, General   

·         Select Turn Passcode On

·         Enter and then verify your 4 digit passcode for a simple passcode
(For added security, you can also set Simple Passcode off and enter a longer passcode)

·         Depending on sensitivity of the data, you may also choose to turn on the Erase data option so that after ten failed sign-on attempts the data will be erased from the device

Note: This is critical for anyone receiving sensitive or student information in emails and attachments.

To secure a Google Android device:

·         Go to Settings, Location & Security

·         Under the Screen Unlock section, select Set up screen unlock

·         Choose whether you prefer a screen Pattern, PIN or full Password option
(pattern is the least complex, while if executed appropriately the full password is the hardest to “crack”)

·         Finally, confirm your screen unlock option

Note: To secure Blackberry and other smartphones/mobile devices, consult the manufacturer or call the CLU Help Desk; perhaps our technical staff can assist.

*This Issue’s Techno Term:

Term:  Password cracking
Definition: 
Password cracking is the process of recovering passwords from data that have been stored in or transmitted by a computer system.  
Example in a sentence:  We were expecting an intense night of password cracking, but someone noticed Harry had written it down on his notepad.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_cracking

If you have questions or need assistance, please call the Help Desk at (805) 493-3698 or send e-mail to helpdesk@callutheran.edu

Additional information is available at the Computer Training Website, and an archive of past issues of Tech Bytes is located at http://www.callutheran.edu/iss/training/tech_bytes/

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