Dear Colleagues,
As I shared with you just over one month ago, in pursuing our aspiration of being excellent, relevant, and exemplary, our north star must be an unequivocal commitment to integrity. That commitment applies not only to the way we engage in education, research, innovation, and service, but to the tools we deploy to support and accomplish our mission.
One of the support services we all rely on each day is the use of information technology. Cybersecurity is vital to the way we serve our students, patients, and employees, and necessary to protect the work of our faculty, researchers, and clinicians. Over the past three years, and intensely over the past six months, our IT Security team has been rapidly implementing measures to safeguard our data and systems in response to the changing cybersecurity landscape.
Today, I want to take a moment to point you to several resources that can help us all better understand the “what” and “how” of our cybersecurity strategy. More importantly, I want to underscore the “why” for the swift steps we are taking. Ours is a fast-moving and comprehensive approach anchored in best practices, to be implemented over the coming months. These initiatives are aimed at real-time identification of cyber threats so we may better protect the U and our stakeholders. Some measures are already underway, such as realigning administration of our technology, enhancements to our
VPN (Virtual Private Network), and increased email security.
For those of us who are not cybersecurity experts, some of the new practices may seem onerous. Yet, one only needs to scan the headlines to grasp the gravity and evolving threats faced by universities and health systems, and the mission-threatening disruption an attack would pose. Cyber threats are not merely hypothetical. They are an acute risk that many in our sectors, including comprehensive research universities and preeminent academic health systems, have already had to confront.
Over the next several days and weeks, the Provost and I, along with Chief Information and Digital Officer David Reis and Chief Human Resources Officer Alison Mincey, will meet with faculty leaders and administrators across the University to engage in a conversation about our cybersecurity initiatives. In the meantime, I encourage you to review our evolving list of frequently asked questions.
In today’s environment, cybersecurity is not optional, it is paramount to protecting those we serve. During their respective meetings this month, the University Board of Trustees and the UHealth Board of Directors urged the administration to devote the necessary resources to mitigate the risks posed by cyber threats. As a member of both boards, I joined in the unanimous support for these essential efforts, including a resolution passed by the UHealth Board just this past Friday.
Recognizing the catastrophic potential for operational disruption as well as financial and reputational harm of a cyberattack on both the institution and impacted individuals, the Board noted: “It is imperative that all members of our community understand their role in maintaining the security and integrity of our data, and are fully committed to upholding all cybersecurity protocols and best practices.”
I know that we can count on each of you to support our IT professionals and to help protect the University of Miami from the damage a cyberattack could cause. Thank you for the work you do to advance our mission and for joining me in these important efforts to ensure its continuity.
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