Dear Colleagues,
Lately, we have seen an increase in the number of spoofed emails, a form of phishing/spam email. To avoid getting hacked, verify that email addresses are authentic before responding.
Email spoofing is the forgery of an email so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source.
Below is a real spoofing email one of our UC ANR employees received. We have replaced the From and To names, which were real UC ANR employee names. However, this was not sent by the person whose name appeared in the From section.
Sometimes it is obvious as the email of the sender, From email, is not hidden. Sometimes it is hidden and all you see is the name, which might be your supervisor, manager, director or VP.
The goal here is to have the employee (You) respond to the email, which doesn't have a link or attachment. So, it can't be a phishing/spam email, right? WRONG. Either a link or attachment would be provided once you respond.
Please be aware of these types of emails. If you have any concerns, or something doesn't make sense, follow the best practices:
- Try to reach out to the person directly via their known office phone
- Send a NEW email to his/her known email address asking for clarification
- Inform the IT team, via help@ucanr.edu.
- Never reply to the email you have received
- Never click on a link
- Never click or double click on an attachment
- Take a snapshot of the email using Windows built-in Snipping Tool rather than forwarding the email to someone else
Spoofed Email
From:ANR Supervisor/Manager/Director/VP
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2018 10:26 AM
To: You
Subject: Urgent Request
Are you available for a quick task?
Thanks
ANR Supervisor/Manager/Director/VP.
Sent from my iPhone
P.S. Thanks to our ongoing Phishing Awareness Campaigns, our employee did the right thing and sent a new email asking for clarification and notified the IT team.
Tolgay Kizilelma
Chief Information Security Officer
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
In 2017, ANR learned valuable lessons amid events within the UC Office of the President making necessary our examination of policy and procedures regarding University-purchased portable electronics. As you know, in December 2017, we placed a moratorium on the purchase of electronic devices while we conducted that review. Thank you for your patience during this process. Now that the policy review and the development of compliance standards are completed, we are lifting the moratorium. Let me advise you of the changes in policy and plans for UC ANR's Endpoint Security Management Initiative.
UC Systemwide Policy G-46 Scope
UC Systemwide Policy G-46establishes requirements for the use of University-purchased cellular phones and other portable electronic equipment and outlines the appropriate circumstances for purchasing these resources, specifically cell phones, MiFi's and tablets (e.g. Kindles, Androids & iPads). This does not include tablet PCs, running full versions of desktop operating systems, laptops, or laptops that can be converted to a tablet mode (e.g. Surface Pro, Notebooks, ThinkPads).
UC ANR Employee Eligibility Form for University-Provided Electronic Device (ANR G-46 Eligibility): If an employee requires a portable electronic resource and providing that resource represents a reasonable use of public funds, the Department (Unit) Head can authorize the purchase using the criteria within the ANR G-46 Eligibility Form.
ANR has determined that due to the inherent program delivery focus of certain ANR positions, the ANR G-46 Eligibility form is not required for UC ANR Advisors, Academic Coordinators/Administrators, ANR-based Cooperative Extension Specialists and Community Education Specialists.
UC ANR Employee Agreement Form for University-Provided Electronic Device (ANR G-46 Agreement): Prior to receiving a portable electronic device, all employees must sign a usage agreement acknowledging that the primary use of the resource(s) will be for official University business and that any personal use of the resources will be incidental in nature. This requirement applies to UC ANR Advisors, Academic Coordinators/Administrator, ANR-based Cooperative Extension Specialists and Community Education Specialists.
Implementation
Currently the Controller's Office is piloting a web-based software to coordinate completion, tracking and storage of the new ANR forms. In support of our strategic goals to streamline administrative functions and modernize technology, we plan to make ANR G-46 Eligibility and G-46 Agreement forms part of this pilot. More information will be forthcoming in June. In the meantime, please use the paper forms found at the bottom of this page. There are FAQs within the G-46 policy describing preferred rate plans, approved vendors and other specifics regarding the purchase and use of cell phones, Mi-Fi's and tablets located here.
If you have questions about policy, contact Robin Sanchez, Controller's Office (rgsanchez@ucanr.edu). If you have questions about ordering a cell-phone, Mi-Fi or tablet, please contact either Emily LaRue, BOC-K (elarue@ucanr.edu) or Sally Harmsworth, BOC-D (sharmsworth@ucanr.edu).
The purposes of the above changes are to bring ANR into compliance with UC Systemwide policy and protect our academics and staff from incurring imputed income. Similarly, UC ANR's Endpoint Security Management Initiative is meant, in part, to comply with UC Systemwide IS-3 Cybersecurity policy. IS-3 will shield ANR staff and academics from external threats such as ransomware, information and privacy breaches, and data loss that could jeopardize our mission of public service, research, and education. What follows are details of the Initiative's goals and standards.
ANR Endpoint Security Management Initiative
In order to strengthen our cybersecurity posture and to comply with UC Systemwide IS-3 cybersecurity policy, ANR is launching an Endpoint Security Management Initiative covering all ANR-owned computers. The objectives of this initiative are:
- To better protect UC ANR-owned IT assets (hardware, software, data) via prevention, threat identification and detection.
- To automate computer updates and patch critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities in a timely manner to mitigate risks.
- To ensure computer security software is installed and updated to protect UC ANR-owned computers and data.
As a key component of this initiative, the ANR IT department will coordinate the computer procurement process and ANR will standardize on several Dell Latitude laptop and OptiPlex desktop computer models. All new computer purchase requests will be initiated using the ANR IT Help Desk ticketing system. ANR IT staff will consult with end users to determine appropriate laptop or desktop computer models to be ordered and will coordinate the placement of computer orders via the UC Davis AggieBuy system. New computers will be delivered to the ANR IT department in Davis to be configured and appropriate cybersecurity software installed before being shipped to the end user's location.
New ANR Procedure for Ordering Laptops and Desktop Computers
Effective immediately, all requests for laptop and desktop computer orders charged to ANR funds must be routed to the ANR IT department via the IT ticketing system. Due to ANR cybersecurity requirements, the use of UC purchasing cards or personal funds to purchase ANR-owned computers is no longer allowed.
Procedure:
(1) The end user will create a ticket in the ANR IT Ticketing System identifying the type of laptop or desktop computer to be purchased. The IT Ticketing System can be accessed in the ANR Portal via the “IT Help” button.
(2) As necessary, IT staff will consult with the end user to determine the appropriate laptop/desktop computer model and needed specifications. As part of this process, the end user will be provided an “ANR Computer Purchase Request Form.”
(3) The end user will complete and obtain unit financial approval on the “ANR Computer Purchase Request Form,” then upload the form to the IT ticket.
(4) The ANR IT department will place the order through AggieBuy and upload the "ANR Computer Purchase Request Form" as supporting documentation.
- The shipping location will be designated as the ANR IT department in Davis.
- As orders are entered into AggieBuy, standard ANR financial approval routing will occur.
(5) The ANR IT department will receive new computer equipment and provide appropriate ANR imaging and encryption and will then ship the equipment to the end user's unit location.
Detailed information on the ANR Endpoint Security Management Initiative and the ordering procedures will be posted on the ANR IT website by May 15. If you have questions about this initiative, please contact Tolgay Kizilelma at tkizilelma@ucanr.edu.
Sincerely,
Tu Tran
ANR Associate Vice President - Business Operations
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Gabriel Torres joined UCCE on Feb. 1, 2018, as an area viticulture advisor in Tulare and Kings counties.
Prior to joining UCCE, Torres was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Nematology at UC Riverside developing an integrated pest management strategy for controlling the most prevalent nematode species in grape vineyards in California. Torres evaluated rootstock resistance, chemical and biological compounds, and anaerobic soil disinfestation methods. Torres conducted most of the nematode experiments under the supervision of UC Cooperative Extension specialist Andreas Westphal.
From 2014 to 2016, Torres was a leader of the plant pathology program for the Colombian Oil Palm Natural Research Centre (CENIPALMA) in Bogota, Colombia. There he developed and guided projects aimed at solving disease problems of the oil palm crop in Colombia, including bud rot, lethal wilt, and basal stem rot.
He completed a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Michigan State University and a B.Sc. in agronomy from Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia.
Torres is based in Tulare and can be reached at (559) 684-3316 and gabtorres@ucanr.edu.
Lund named grape advisor for Madera, Merced and Mariposa counties
Karl Lund joined UCCE on Jan. 8, 2018, as an area viticulture advisor in Madera, Merced and Mariposa counties.
Prior to joining UCCE, Lund was a trial specialist at Syngenta Flower, where he designed and conducted floriculture research trials under both greenhouse and garden conditions for a wide variety of flowering plants, specifically focused on the development of fertilization recommendations and nutrient profiles. In 2016, Lund was a technology development representative at Monsanto, where he worked with seed distributors and local farmers to plant, maintain and evaluate pre-commercial varieties of lettuce, bell peppers and spinach.
Lund spent many years teaching and conducting research in viticulture. Starting in 2008, he worked in the laboratory of Andy Walker at UC Davis, where he ran a project looking at the phenotypic and genetic diversity of phylloxera in Northern California, and trying to understand the genetics of phylloxera resistance in hopes of breeding new phylloxera resistance rootstocks for California. His research helped identify new feeding types of phylloxera in Northern California and connected those feeding types to genetic groups. He also identified new sources of broad phylloxera resistance to be used in breeding phylloxera-resistant rootstocks.
As a postdoc in the Walker lab, Lund looked at drought avoidance in grapevine rootstocks. Insights from this work may be useful in the creation of more drought-tolerant rootstocks. In addition to his research, he was a teaching assistant for several UC Davis classes. Lund wrote a book chapter on grapevine breeding in the western United States and lectured at Cal Poly SLO for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Lund completed a B.S. and a Ph.D. in genetics at UC Davis.
Based in Madera, Lund can be reached at (559) 675-7879, ext. 7205 and ktlund@ucanr.edu.
Kansal joins CSIT as portfolio and project manager
Namita Kansal recently joined the Communication Services and Information Technology as a portfolio and project manager.
Some of the projects she is working on include assessing the network status of all UCCE sites in California to inform strategic decisions to fund and prioritize the UCCE sites that urgently need network upgrades, portfolio-level reports to inform strategic, operational and funding decisions for the Web IT team, a change management process for the entire IT team, and a project plan and funding estimates for the ANR website redesign.
Before joining ANR, Kansal was a project manager at the UC Davis School of Medicine, working to operationalize strategic initiatives, program development and project management.
She earned a masters in public administration and a master in arts from Syracuse University.
Kansal is based at the ANR building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1207 and namkansal@ucanr.edu.
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has selected Ali Pourreza, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis, to receive the Sunkist Young Designer Award.
This award recognizes and honors ASABE members under 40 years of age for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the agricultural engineering profession and to stimulate professional achievement.
Sponsored by Sunkist Growers, Inc., the Young Designer Award recognizes the development of a technical plan that influences agricultural engineering progress, as evidenced by use in the field.
Pourreza developed a polarized imaging technique to detect accumulation of starch in citrus leaves as an early indication of citrus greening disease or huanglongbing (HLB).
“The polarized imaging technique was primarily used for early citrus greening detection, that is a major disease of citrus with no known cure,” said Pourreza. “Early detection of citrus greening is important because growers can prevent further spread of the disease before the entire orchard gets infected. The polarized imaging technique can also be used in other applications that involve the detection of starch or sugar.”
He also developed the Virtual Orchard, which uses aerial imagery and photogrammetry to create a 3-D image of an orchard.
“Knowledge about tree geometry such as individual canopy cover, volume, height and density is important for growers to understand variability within their orchard and make timely decisions about irrigation, nutrient, pest and disease, etc.,” Pourreza said. ”Virtual Orchard is an affordable technology that makes this information accessible for growers. Information extracted from the Virtual Orchard can be used to apply variable rate inputs in a site-specific manner according to the prescription maps that identify the application rate at different locations of an orchard.”
The award will be presented to Pourreza during the ASABE annual meeting in July in Detroit.
UC ANR receives award for extending high-speed broadband
Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer; Tolgay Kizilelma, chief information security officer; and Tu Tran, associate vice president for business operations, were recognized as project leaders.
“You can't do big data with dial-up internet speed,” said Jeffery Dahlberg, director of the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center. “Before this upgrade, our internet was slower than my home internet speeds. Now we have speeds more like you will find on UC campuses.”
In addition to the RECs, Highlander Hall, home to News and Information Outreach in Spanish and the Citrus Clonal Protection Program, is now connected to CalREN. Elkus Ranch (the environmental education center for Bay Area youths), the UC ANR building in Davis and 30 UC Cooperative Extension sites are in the process of being connected.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
As IT has announced in previous messages, important video recordings on Adobe Connect should have been moved by June 15 to avoid losing access to the recordings.
If you still have important video files on Adobe Connect that you haven't already saved to Box or YouTube, please contact IT immediately – IT Help Desk at help@ucanr.edu or (530) 750-1212.
As you know, ANR has adopted Zoom as the new conferencing system platform, which also has MP4 recording function, and therefore we are canceling ANR's Adobe Connect subscription.
Tolgay Kizilelma
IT Infrastructure and Support
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Just a friendly reminder, if you haven't already saved important video files on Adobe Connect to Box or YouTube, please save them by Friday, June 16, to avoid losing the recordings when ANR cancels the Adobe Connect service.
The following are steps you need to take:
- Find out if you have any videos stored on Adobe Connect that are being used on a website.
- If you have important files, convert them to MP4 files and save them to a local hard drive.
- Upload the converted video to Box, YouTube or another third-party streaming service.
- Replace the old URL link on websites with the new video link.
As we've adopted Zoom as our new conferencing system platform, which also has MP4 recording function, we'll soon be canceling ANR's Adobe Connect subscription.
For more information to assist you with converting the existing proprietary Adobe Connect files to MP4 format and uploading them to Box, YouTube or another third-party streaming service, visit http://ucanr.edu/sites/adobeconnectvideos.
Please contact IT Help Desk at help@ucanr.edu if you have any questions about this transition.
Tolgay Kizilelma
IT Infrastructure and Support
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.