As part of a series of on-going initiatives to heighten cyber-security throughout the UC system, UC ANR is currently reviewing our on-line infrastructure to identify areas in need of strengthening. CSIT will be rolling out changes in the next weeks to address identity management, user privacy, password complexity and site integrity.

The UC ANR Survey system is one of our most popular tools. A large number of ANR groups use it to organize events, sell tickets, measure audience opinions and solicit member feedback. Because the Survey system supports a great deal of user interactivity, it has elevated security challenges. As on-line threats continue to proliferate, our need for heightened security increases, not just for the Survey system but to prevent unauthorized intrusions endangering other parts of the UC ANR IT infrastructure.

Consequently, starting on Friday January 26, only UC ANR staff and affiliates will be authorized to create new surveys or to act as owners of new surveys. In addition, UC ANR surveys will enforce HTTPS connections to all user devices, in line with the most recent security measures promulgated by the Google Chrome web browser.

We do not expect any service disruptions or user difficulties, but please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about our new security measures. Contact CSIT immediately at help@ucanr.edu.

Update: To clarify, "affiliates" refers to county-paid employees, contract employees and contractors. Volunteers are not included. However, volunteers can still be administrators for surveys going forward, they will just need a staff member or affiliate to create and own the survey.