- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
At UC ANR's July Town Hall, Jaki Hsieh Wojan, UC ANR's chief information security officer, explained ANR's recent website and portal issues and the steps being taken to solve them. Below are questions that were asked during the town hall.
Why are we keeping physical servers in Davis? Have you considered transferring from local modems to cloud-based methods?
We are working on a long-term project to move some of ANR's data to the cloud: Integrated Web Platform. IWP will be deployed on Google Cloud. Because we have nearly 1,300 websites, it's taking time to implement a common platform to fit everyone's needs. It is not as simple as picking up our webpage sand moving them to a cloud host, that would just move the existing problems into a new location. The IWP project is rearchitecting the entire web content management system. You can see the progress at https://iwp.ucanr.edu.
Will ANR publications be preserved?
Yes
Before archiving are you asking permission from the owners of data? Is the data available after archiving if needed?
Active sites won't be removed in our first pass. Before data is archived, owners will be contacted or leaders of the units, if the owner isn't available. Archived data will be kept and can be restored, if needed.
We can't change owners of websites so some of our sites belong to people who are no longer with ANR. How will IT handle this?
IT can change website owners. You can submit a ticket for that request at help@ucanr.edu
What are our options for taking credit card payments online?
Aventri is an option for taking credit card payments. IT is looking into additional options.
We use some of those websites that are not updated often as a resource of information for the community after an academic leaves. It will be unfortunate to lose that resource.
Archived data will be preserved and can be made available. You will be able to contact help@ucanr.edu if you need access to archived data.
How can I help reduce the volume of data on the servers?
Please maintain your SiteBuilder sites. Remove images that are no longer being used on particular pages, deactivate or delete outdated info, etc. Send a message to iwp@ucanr.edu if you need assistance.
Why are we purchasing new onsite equipment if the goal is to move to the cloud?
Moving to cloud is a multiyear, complex project and it encompasses far more than the website and portal. A “lift and shift” of our current environment to the cloud would just move our current problems to a different location. We need to modernize on a local level before we can fully migrate everything.
Can we have an all IT Town Hall?
Yes.
I am worried about refresh rates when the Content Delivery Network (CDN) is in place.
The refresh rates can be granularly configured to treat each type of content with different refresh rates. We will be working on optimizing these rates once we start using the CDN. We will communicate how best to request a different refresh rate when we get closer to implementation.
A recording of Jaki Hsieh-Wojan's presentation can be viewed at https://youtu.be/wAQGGimS3Rg.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Jaki Hsieh Wojan, chief information security officer, has recorded two brief videos that employees may watch at their convenience to learn more about cybersecurity.
One video discusses best practices and general advice for securing devices, such as laptops, when traveling internationally. If you are planning a trip to another country and need to bring work materials, it is a must watch. “Travel Advice with Jaki Wojan” is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/nIviuY5g9_0.
The other video discusses privileged access or administrative rights on local devices. It describes the risks and responsibilities associated with having privileged access, and the process for acquiring those rights. Anyone who wants administrative rights on their device should watch “Admin Rights & Cybersecurity Best Practices with Jaki Wojan” at https://youtu.be/NixotK0SUy4 before submitting a request to IT.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Armstrong joins 4-H as program representative for Tuolumne County
Erika Armstrong has joined the UCCE Central Sierra team as 4-H Program Representative for Tuolumne County.
Armstrong, who has spent her career working with nonprofit agencies and managing volunteer programs, worked with United Way Monterey County and the Alliance on Aging. She also was a campaign manager for a candidate for the Board of Supervisors of Monterey County. Her most recent job was stay-at-home mother for her daughters.
She holds a bachelor's degree in collaborative health and human communication from California State University Monterey Bay.
Armstrong is based at the Tuolumne office and can be reached at (209) 533-6990 and elarmstrong@ucanr.edu.
Hsieh Wojan named chief information security officer
Jacqueline (Jaki) Hsieh Wojan joined ANR as chief information security officer (CISO) on March 28. As CISO, she will be responsible for cybersecurity functions, policies and procedures, including statewide management and protection of ANR's institutional information and information technology resources.
Hsieh Wojan brings over 10 years of experience in computer operations and cybersecurity risk management. She is a certified Project Manager, a Certified Scrum Master, and an experienced CISO. In her previous position as CISO at Matica Corp., a computer software design and development company, she oversaw the IT infrastructure, deployed complex systems, vetted third-party vendors, and most recently, relocated their on-premises IT server room to a data center.
She earned an M.S. in computer information systems from Boston University and a B.A. in East Asian Studies (Cum Laude) from Union College in Schenectady, New York.
Hsieh Wojan is based at the ANR Building in Davis and can be reached at jhsiehw@ucanr.edu.
UC scientists dominate entomology society awards
Mark Hoddle, UC Cooperative Extension specialist and UC Riverside Center for Invasive Species research director, won the C.W. Woodworth Award for outstanding accomplishments in the field over the last 10 years. He develops biological controls for invasive pests including Asian citrus psyllid, spotted lantern fly and glassy-winged sharpshooter.
Read more about the UCR award recipients at https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2022/03/21/uc-riverside-scientists-dominate-entomology-society-awards.
EcoFarm honors Smith with ‘Sustie' award
EcoFarm developed the Sustie to honor people who have been actively and critically involved in ecologically sustainable agriculture and have demonstrated their long-term, significant contributions to the well-being of agriculture and the planet.
Smith has enthusiastically researched nutrient and pest management in organic crop production. He worked tirelessly to assist growers, from small- to large-scale farmers, in solving production problems and developing practices to improve crop and soil quality. Smith has been actively involved with EcoFarm and, starting in 1990, he served for many years as a co-facilitator of the annual Bus Tour.
He has been an unflagging advocate for increasing the use of cover crops and worked with growers on evaluating varieties and novel ways of including them in production systems. He was editor of the UC ANR publication “Cover Crops for Vegetable Production.”