Cybersecurity Initiative Update

UCLA Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

All Faculty and Staff

Dear Colleagues:

Last October I wrote to you about a systemwide initiative to enhance cybersecurity, which is leading to changes in the way all of us use information technology and steward data.

All University of California campuses and medical centers are moving to a common platform for detecting and identifying cyber threats that will be implemented over the coming months. These advanced technologies will play an integral role in reducing the risk of disruption to online systems, services and data that we all depend upon each day. The platform enables us to align our technology choices with our policy and practice requirements, and implementing it will allow us to coordinate between the general campus and the health sciences while complying with systemwide requirements.

UC faculty have raised concerns about how these threat detection and identification technologies operate and their possible impacts on privacy and academic freedom. For UCLA, shared governance is an integral component of cybersecurity planning and oversight, and we are actively seeking faculty input. The Board on Privacy and Data Protection, the Information Technology Planning Board (ITPB), and an ad hoc working group all include faculty participation. The Senate leadership has been briefed on our plans and I have asked for their input and participation as we move forward.

Additional feedback and review will emerge from UCLA’s Oversight Committee on Audit, Information Technology, Governance, Compliance and Controls; the Deans’ Council; and the IT directors of campus units.

Awareness and information about cybersecurity are integral to the success of our efforts. If you have not yet completed the online cybersecurity training, which is mandated by the Office of the President, please do so as soon as possible. You can access the training through the UC Learning Management System.

Updates on UCLA’s cybersecurity activities are available on our Information Security Office website; for a systemwide view, visit the UCOP information security website.

In accordance with the recommendations of the UC Privacy and Information Security Initiative and as part of our commitment to transparency, we will keep you apprised of any changes to threat detection and identification as well as advances in cybersecurity.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Waugh
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost