Secure Connect FAQs

Secure Connect will require contributions and input from all members of the UC San Diego community, with a specific focus on academics and staff. Safeguarding our intellectual property, student and employee information, and patient records is a collective responsibility.

The program will include both educational and technical components. The training efforts will be focused on building shared cybersecurity understanding and vocabulary for our community. The technical aspects of the program will provide an opportunity to reimagine access to UC San Diego Trusted Networks to ensure our information is kept secure.

All academic and staff personnel are required to complete the annual UC Learning Cybersecurity Awareness training.

When logging on to a system using SSO (single sign-on), the system will check for Cybersecurity Awareness training compliance. Leading up to your training deadline, you will be alerted that training is coming due (you will see this message for 30 days). Once the training has become past-due, upon log-in users will be redirected to complete the training. Training completion will be required to continue access to university systems.

If your device does not have the required software you will not be able to access the university's trusted networks. Please note that the software requirements differ for university-owned and BYOD devices.

Trusted networks at UC San Diego include: 

• UCSD-PROTECTED (wireless network)
• VPN
• Wired connections

These are not considered trusted networks, so no change in access is expected:

• UCSD-GUEST
• ResNet
• eduroam

A university-owned device is a device purchased and owned by UC San Diego and used by employees to access the university network and conduct functions related to their job. Devices purchased with grant funding qualify as university-owned devices.

BYOD stands for “bring your own device”. BYOD comprises personal devices (owned by the employee) used by employees to access the university’s network. Devices owned by outside organizations that are used by vendors or consultants to access the university network and conduct functions related to their job, also qualify as BYOD devices.

Mobile devices such as phones and tablets are not subject to the same requirements as computers and laptops under the mandate.

Yes. All university-owned devices will require registration and security software (Qualys and Trellix) regardless of intended access.

EDR, or endpoint detection and recovery, is a cybersecurity solution designed to monitor, detect, investigate, and respond to threats on computing devices. It helps security teams quickly identify and eliminate suspicious endpoint activity to minimize the impact of an attack.

EDR software will only be implemented on university-owned devices. We are aware of the capabilities of EDR software and have carefully considered its intended use.

Capabilities

Some of EDR's capabilities include:

• Administrative access to device
• Access to device activity and data

Intended Use

• Threat detection and response ONLY
• EDR software will not gather, collect, or maintain any user data that is not necessary for the purpose of providing security
• The Office of Information Assurance has placed strict guidelines around EDR use, ensuring that private user information is protected from unauthorized access, disclosure, or use

Stay tuned for more detailed information regarding the EDR and vulnerabilities management.

Your research is crucial, and so is keeping our network secure. While most devices can seamlessly meet the Secure Connect outcomes, we understand that some equipment might have unique technical requirements. In such cases, exceptions can be granted based on technical compatibility:

• What This Means for You:
  • Download the required the required software (Qualys and Trellix) on your computing devices
  • If your equipment has technical limitations that prevent it from meeting Secure Connect’s criteria, please partner with campus IT to determine the appropriate cybersecurity mitigating measures. You can do so by using the exception process detailed below. 
• How to Apply for an Exception:
  • If an exception is anticipated, submit an Exception Request Form (coming soon) as soon as possible to avoid work interruption once the enforcement window begins
  • Provide details about your equipment, including why it can't fully comply with Secure Connect requirements.
  • Our team will assess your request to determine the most compatible solution.