Weekly Tech Update: Your what's what of IT news

Happy Thanksgiving week! Check out the academic calendar to make sure you know when to show up to work/class this week - otherwise, we hope you have a great holiday and are ready for the holiday shopping season!

Now, let’s get into the news for the week!

JAMF outage

This one is for our technology partners across campus. The JAMF cloud service, which is used to manage Miami-affiliated Apple computers, experienced an outage over the weekend due to vendor maintenance. This led to an incident this morning (Monday, Nov. 20) wherein logins to the service were not working. IT Services technicians have engaged the support team at JAMF and have put a hotfix in place. You should be able to log in now. We’re sorry for any inconvenience!

First AI Symposium a huge success

Miami University hosted the first Miami AI symposium on November 1, and by all accounts, it was a huge success. Just ask David Seidl, Miami’s vice president of Information technology, and CIO. “The AI Symposium was a huge success with hundreds of attendees throughout the day and wonderful talks from Miami students, faculty, and staff.”

Read our recap and check out presentation materials from some of the sessions.

Thanks for coming to the AI Symposium!

We had an amazing time two weeks ago at the very first AI Symposium, sponsored by IT Services, the Office of the President, and Associated Student Government. Later this week, we will have a full recap up on the website, but suffice it to say: We are so grateful for the engagement of the Miami community and humbled by the response to the event. Thank you for helping us make this event a success, and for giving us the opportunity to think deeply and critically about artificial intelligence and large language models in higher education.

NameCoach: Tool helps Miami students, faculty, and staff share name pronunciation

Miami students have the ability to record the correct pronunciation of their names and list that pronunciation on their Canvas profile.

NameCoach, a tool that helps provide pronunciation information for student, faculty, and staff names, is now available for Miami users in Canvas and online!

Save the Date: Miami Data Summit 2024

The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, January 18, 2024! This half-day event will feature a keynote and breakout sessions all about data and how we use it at Miami, with the theme of “Uncovering Value in Data.”

Have you met Uzoma yet?

And the winner is…

Great job, RedHawks! Miami University was able to win the challenge of which Ohio school is the most cybersecure. We are already looking at how to expand the competition for next year. For now, we can rest on our laurels knowing that Miami is doing a great job of knowing common cybersecurity principles.

New password guidelines

The Information Security Office has updated the password creation guidelines and standards for passwords associated with Miami University accounts. These new guidelines will help us keep Miami accounts safe in our ever-changing technological world of new hacking techniques and greater information security threats.

After all, it is still National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! (For one more day at least…)

Register now! AI Symposium

The first of hopefully many, this event is titled: 2023 AI Symposium: AI at the Intersection of Teaching, Learning, and the Future. Come for a full day of discussions and presentations about artificial intelligence and its impact on our industry.

Note: Registration is only absolutely required if you will be joining for lunch. Otherwise, please feel free to stop by throughout the day.

Miami AI Symposium: Register here.

Register now! AI Symposium

The first of hopefully many, this event is titled: 2023 AI Symposium: AI at the Intersection of Teaching, Learning, and the Future. Come for a full day of discussions and presentations about artificial intelligence and its impact on our industry.

Note: Registration is only absolutely required if you will be joining for lunch. Otherwise, please feel free to stop by throughout the day.

Miami AI Symposium: Register here.

Scam alert: Research assistantships

Once again, the research assistantships scam is going around. Please be aware of any emails that promise immediate employment or other offers that seem too good to be true. Read more about that in the Security Corner.

Cool resource: The Cybersecurity Canon

For a list of engaging works (of fiction and nonfiction) about cybersecurity, technology, and awareness of topics like scams, visit the Cybersecurity Canon. Yes, this resource is hosted by a rival Ohio school, but it’s worth a perusal to check out some books and learn more about staying safe online.

The Cybersecurity Canon

Instagram: Welcoming Workday UnitTesters!

We are officially halfway through National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and that means time is dwindling for you to take the CyberMania quiz. Help us spread the word about cybersecurity awareness – and beat Ohio in the process. We’re currently winning. Let’s keep it that way!

Next Friday: Access for All: Accessible Technology Symposium

Registration is open for the 8th Accessible Technology Symposium! Two tracks are available: Technology and disability. The keynote speaker will be Bree Callahan, the ADA / Section 504 Coordinator for the University of Washington. It’s a full day of information, learning, and gifts, not to mention a free lunch where you can break bread with the most dedicated accessibility evangelists at Miami.

Register now!

Save the Date: Miami AI Symposium November 1

The first of what we hope will be many Artificial Intelligence (AI) summits at Miami is set to take place on November 1 in the Armstrong Student Center on the Oxford Campus.

Sessions will be 45-50 minutes long and should provide opportunities for engagement from the community in the form of Q&A, audience participation, or other options. Major themes for the day will include the use of AI in classrooms and for instruction, learning, and education, AI's use in research and the arts, and the use of AI, including topics like prompt engineering.

Read the full announcement in the IT News.

Save the Date: Miami AI Symposium November 1

The first of what we hope will be many Artificial Intelligence (AI) summits at Miami is set to take place on November 1 in the Armstrong Student Center on the Oxford Campus.

Plans for the symposium, titled AI at the Intersection of Teaching, Learning, and the Future are still being finalized, but it should be an engaging, action-packed day.

We are also still accepting proposals! Send along a proposal if you have an interesting idea in mind.

Read the full announcement in the IT News.

Tech Talk: Fall 2024 Google Workspace tips, tricks, and treats

The fall semester is now well underway, so this is the perfect time to review some helpful software tips for everyone’s favorite enterprise application: Google Workspace. Let’s take a look at a few things that can improve your experience with Gmail, Google Meet, Google Drive, and more.

Learn more about Google!

Tool helps Miami students, faculty, and staff share name pronunciation

Miami students have the ability to record the correct pronunciation of their names and list that pronunciation on their Canvas profile.

NameCoach, a tool that helps provide pronunciation information for student, faculty, and staff names, is now available for Miami users in Canvas and online!

Stay tuned for Cybersecurity Awareness Month…

Last week was a busy one for our information security experts, and we are gearing up for October’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month festivities. Stay tuned for an exciting update later next week about NCSAM – we have some fun things up our sleeves this year.

From the ISO: September cybersecurity smorgasbord

This week has IT Services singing the cybersecurity blues. We have several new issues to report on and a couple of the same old, same old.

Read all about it – and don’t forget to stay cybersecure!

Tech Talk: Fall 2024 Google Workspace tips, tricks, and treats

The fall semester is now well underway, so this is the perfect time to review some helpful software tips for everyone’s favorite enterprise application: Google Workspace. Let’s take a look at a few things that can improve your experience with Gmail, Google Meet, Google Drive, and more.

Learn more about Google!

Tech news tweets: Don’t forget to update your Apple products!

September 11

This week is a cybersecurity smorgasbord. Gear up!

Don’t get phished!

The information security team has received numerous reports that a fraudulent email message (or a "phishing" message) about student research assistants has been circulating. There are several, similar versions of the message being sent.

Check out the IT News for the complete details.

Apple users: Update your products

Any users of Apple products (including Watches, iPhones, Apple computers, and iPads) should immediately update their software to the latest version, as Apple has pushed out a necessary security update that fixes a zero-day flaw found in the code.

IT on campus: Rainbow Reception!

Welcome to the start of Fall 2023! We hope classes are getting off to a great start. This is our first official Weekly Digest for this semester, and we have lots of good information for your curious eyes and ears! Let’s dive in!

Welcome (back) to Miami from all of IT Services!

We have quite a few important activities happening this academic year – new systems, new strategies, and new faces. Not to mention some of the same: the same stellar service options, the same commitment to excellence, and the same high-quality technology tools that help make learning and working possible at Miami.

Before the school year starts in earnest, we wanted to take some time to highlight just a few of those top initiatives and priorities that we are focused on in the 2023-2024 period.

And who better to give us that rundown than our very own David Seidl, CIO and VP for information technology?

Watch David’s welcome.

IT Services Provides a Full Collection of Technology Support Options

As we embark on a new school year, do you know how to get tech support? Who do you call when you forget your password or have trouble logging in to myMiami? Support is one of the most important services provided by Miami Information Technology Services, and we are happy to review some critical info as we start the new academic year!

Learn how to get support.

Come see us!

Getting ready for fall!

The fall semester is fast approaching, and our teams have spent the summer preparing for the start of classes next week. Our Network Services team worked to strengthen and upgrade the network infrastructure (as usual), developers made key code changes to important applications like the Student Information for Families app, and the security team continues to send out notices about necessary software updates that patch vulnerabilities.

For a quick guide to Miami technology and what you should know for working and studying at Miami, visit our site at MiamiOH.edu/Top5.

Welcome (back) to Miami from all of IT Services!

We have quite a few important activities happening this academic year – new systems, new strategies, and new faces. Not to mention some of the same: the same stellar service options, the same commitment to excellence, and the same high-quality technology tools that help make learning and working possible at Miami.

Before the school year starts in earnest, we wanted to take some time to highlight just a few of those top initiatives and priorities that we are focused on in the 2023-2024 period.

Check out David’s welcome video now.

Information Security Alert: Email phishing message claims your mailbox settings are out of date

The Information Security Office has received reports that a fraudulent email message about mailbox storage settings has been circulating. The message is being sent from a compromised Miami email account. The ISO has blocked the accompanying link and prevented further messages from this account, but you should take note of the following message.

The email says that “mailbox storage mail settings are out of date” and prompts recipients to click on a link to increase their limits. Please note that the link accompanying this message, “miamiohportal.weebly.com,” is not a legitimate link.

Contact InfoSec@MiamiOH.edu if you suspect you have clicked on any fraudulent links or are suspicious of any emails in your inbox.

So, it was international cat day...

Upcoming maintenance: ID card access system

In preparation to welcome the students back later this month, Miami’s ID Card access system will undergo a required update on Tuesday, August 8.

The update will begin at 8:30 a.m., and should last approximately four hours. Outages are expected to occur intermittently throughout this timeframe; however, primary services (see below) will continue to operate in Offline mode. The WebCard Center will not be available at all during the outage window.

An important note about door access: Exterior doors will follow their expected schedule! If you anticipate needing swipe access at any interior doors (such as in stairwells of secure buildings, etc.), please use your Miami physical ID or digital ID at that door before the upgrade starts. If you have previously used your ID at that door in the last five days, it holds onto your information, so it will open.

For a detailed list of affected systems, please visit the news article.

Getting ready for fall!

The fall semester is fast approaching. Our Network Services team is working to strengthen and upgrade the network infrastructure (as usual), developers are making key code changes to important applications like the Student Information for Families app, and the security team continues to send out notices about necessary software updates that patch vulnerabilities.

For a quick guide to Miami technology and what you should know for working and studying at Miami, visit our site at MiamiOH.edu/Top5.

Don’t forget: Microsoft Office is FREE!

For as long as you’re affiliated with Miami, whether you be a student, staff member, or faculty member, you have access to Microsoft Office for free on up to 15 devices (five tablets, five computers, or five smartphones). Just go to MiamiOH.edu/GetOffice and use your Miami email address and password to log in.

Check the Instagram Feed: IT Services at Orientation

Summer 2023 update: Top IT initiatives

As the summer continues and all across the University we’re gearing up to welcome new students in the fall, IT Services has been busy making progress on our main objectives for this year. Our Top IT Initiatives continue to be a primary focus for us, and we’re looking forward to sharing our progress with the University community.

Last week, we posted a brief refresher of the main projects we have going on right now, where each project is in terms of resourcing and deadlines, and some of the next steps we’ll be embarking on.

Getting ready for fall!

The fall semester is fast approaching. Our Network Services team is working to strengthen and upgrade the network infrastructure (as usual), developers are making key code changes to important applications like the Student Information for Families app, and the security team continues to send out notices about necessary software updates that patch vulnerabilities.

For a quick guide to Miami technology and what you should know for working and studying at Miami, visit our site at MiamiOH.edu/Top5.

Don’t forget: Microsoft Office is FREE!

For as long as you’re affiliated with Miami, whether you be a student, staff member, or faculty member, you have access to Microsoft Office for free on up to 15 devices (five tablets, five computers, or five smartphones). Just go to MiamiOH.edu/GetOffice and use your Miami email address and password to log in.

Check the Instagram Feed: IT Services at Orientation

The hot southwest Ohio summer continues apace, and IT Services is continuing to prepare for the arrival of the students in the fall. Stay cool with some tech news from Miami!

Getting ready for fall!

The fall semester is fast approaching. Our Network Services team is working to strengthen and upgrade the network infrastructure (as usual), developers are making key code changes to important applications like the Student Information for Families app, and the security team continues to send out notices about necessary software updates that patch vulnerabilities.

For a quick guide to Miami technology and what you should know for working and studying at Miami, including some frequently asked questions, visit our Knowledge Base page at MiamiOH.edu/Top5.

Helpful Reminder: Tech Tools and Tips for Everyone at Miami

We often think of the big-ticket items when it comes to technology at Miami, such as Wi-Fi, Canvas, myMiami, Google, and Banner. But there are other tools that are just as useful that can make working and learning easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. Let’s take a look at some of these tech tools and get a refresher on how we can use them to improve the day-to-day experience at Miami.

Read on for more!

Be on the lookout: Software training!

Starting this Fall, and continuing in January, IT Services will be providing software training for staff and faculty who play a role in requesting, approving, securing, or tracking software within your division/department.

Get all the details here.

Check the Instagram Feed: IT Services at Orientation

We’re back with the weekly tech update for Miamiians, by Miamiians. Let’s see what IT Services is up to this week!

HUGE announcement: IAM vendor partnership underway!

IT Services is excited to announce our new partnership with IAM solution provider Identity Automation and implementation partner Moran Technology Consulting.

After several long months of putting together a request for proposal, paging through responses, and deliberating functionalities of different tools, we have partnered with these companies to implement a new identity governance and administration (IGA) tool.

Read on for more about the tool and the program’s next steps.

IT meet-and-greet with Josh Senn: IAM solution engineer

For the past year, Miami has been on a journey to improve the interoperability of our systems and determine a way to better manage authorization and permissions in our myriad services. And Josh Senn is the guy who’s going to help us figure all that out.

Meet Josh (again) in our follow-up profile!

In case you missed it: Congratulations, Roxanne!

Earlier this month, university data modeler Roxanne Storer entered retirement. We had a bit of a get-together to wish her well in her new post-Miami adventures.

Happy holiday week, Miamians! We hope you are spending the summer in the ways you like. For us, it’s upgrading systems across the university and keeping students, faculty, and staff up to date on the latest and greatest in IT Services. And after a brief newsletter hiatus, we are back with that weekly content you crave!

Helpful Reminder: Tech Tools and Tips for Everyone at Miami

We often think of the big-ticket items when it comes to technology at Miami, such as Wi-Fi, Canvas, myMiami, Google, and Banner. But there are other tools that are just as useful that can make working and learning easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. Let’s take a look at some of these tech tools and get a refresher on how we can use them to improve the day-to-day experience at Miami.

Read on for more!

Top 4 strategies and tools for the fight against malware

The threat of malware, ransomware, and other malicious software continues to be a prevalent issue. According to a report from Symantec, in 2020 the number of malware variants rose by 62 percent, and the AV-Test Institute found that 560,000 new pieces of malware were discovered every day that year. It’s an ocean wave you can’t necessarily stop – but prevention and protection techniques can help stem the tide.

In this article, we take a look at some key steps that can make your online experience safer and keep your computer free from the grips of dangerous malware. These steps include the practices of prevention, maintenance, detection, and removal.

Learn how to make your online experience safer.

Be on the lookout: Software training!

Starting this Fall, and continuing in January, IT Services will be providing software training for staff and faculty who play a role in requesting, approving, securing, or tracking software within your division/department. The first session coming up is August 8!

Get all the details here.

Orientation is well under way, and IT Services has been excited to spend time with the incoming class as they learn all about Miami and what the next several years of their lives will be like.

This Weekly Tech Update is a smorgasbord of security news and information. Let’s dive in!

Security Corner: The latest from the ISO

The information security team has been busy this week with notices about several emails going around. In this news piece, we take a look at a few of them. Long story short: Send suspicious emails to InfoSec@MiamiOH.edu.

Read on about the latest phishing scams.

More from the ISO: Spoofed Miami numbers

The Information Security Office has also received several reports of Miami phone numbers being used in scam calls.

Miami phone numbers (which all begin with 513-529-xxxx) have been “spoofed.” This means that the number appears legitimate (since internal numbers all share the same six starting digits), increasing the likelihood of an unsuspecting staff member to pick up the phone. The scammer will then proceed to ask for personally identifiable information.

If you receive a cold phone call like this from a Miami number, please be wary of giving out your personal information. Pay particular attention if you aren’t expecting the call and don’t know the person who’s calling. Scammers like this are simply trying to steal personal data (including your identity). You can always email the person or office to verify what they need.

This just in: Update Google Chrome!

Google patched a critical security flaw in their latest version of the Chrome web browser. It is recommended that everyone running the browser update as soon as they can.

More information about updating Google Chrome can be found in the Google support portal.

IT Services is ready and excited to share information and tips with the incoming class, as orientation starts this week!

Other than that, we have a lot of news to share about IT at Miami. Let’s see what all we have on deck!

CrowdStrike Victorious: A big win for cybersecurity at Miami

After several months of coordination and careful execution, we are happy to announce that CrowdStrike Falcon has been successfully deployed at Miami.

Check out our recap of the powerful detection and elimination tool in the news.

ShredFest 2023 highlighted by large community support

Our annual shredding event has come and gone. We were able to collect over 11,000 pounds of paper to be shredded, which is over 800 more pounds than we did a year ago. An amazing show of community support for IT Services and the Office of the General Counsel! Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

Come see us at Orientation!

Reminder: Shred your sheets with ShredFest!

Come hang out with us in Oxford on Tuesday and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. We’ll be outside Cook Field from 12 to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements, old tax returns, and more can be shredded!

Visit the ShredFest site for more information.

Notice: Upcoming changes to Shared Drives for students

Some changes are on the horizon for Miami Google Drives, specifically the Shared Drive service. As originally noted in the Google Storage FAQ, the Shared Drive service will be limited to faculty and staff. As of May 15, 2023, students will no longer be able to create Shared Drives.

Ever seen a shredding truck do its work? Come see one in person!

Tech Fee call for proposals coming in August

With the end of the school year and graduation activities right around the corner, it is never too early to look ahead to the fall and the next round of the Student Technology Fee Competitive Proposal Process (Tech Fee). The complete schedule for FY24 is available at MiamiOH.edu/TechFee, but we wanted to highlight a few items early.

Changes Coming to Office Telephone Billing

Beginning on July 1, 2023, the telecommunications funding model will change to a simplified, fixed-cost model based on 2021 levels to accommodate the ongoing costs of operations for the telephones and underlying network. This new funding model was created through a partnership between IT Services and Finance and Business Services.

See the IT News item for more information.

Reminder: Shred your sheets with ShredFest!

ShredFest is coming up the week of May 8, 2023. Come hang out with us and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements,old tax returns, and more can be shredded!

Visit the ShredFest site for more information.

Notice: Upcoming changes to Shared Drives for students

Some changes are on the horizon for Miami Google Drives, specifically the Shared Drive service. As originally noted in the Google Storage FAQ, the Shared Drive service will be limited to faculty and staff. As of May 15, 2023, students will no longer be able to create Shared Drives.

Office 365 scam making the rounds once again

The information security team has received numerous reports that a fraudulent email message about Office 365 accounts has been circulating. The message is being sent from a compromised Miami email account. The ISO has prevented further emails from being sent from one affected account, but there may be more compromised accounts.

Tales from the data center: Our anachro-knight CIO secures our data

Office 365 scam making the rounds once again

The information security team has received numerous reports that a fraudulent email message about Office 365 accounts has been circulating. The message is being sent from a compromised Miami email account. The ISO has prevented further emails from being sent from one affected account, but there may be more compromised accounts.

Changes coming to office telephone billing

Beginning on July 1, 2023, the telecommunications funding model will change to a simplified, fixed-cost model based on 2021 levels to accommodate the ongoing costs of operations for the telephones and underlying network. This new funding model was created through a partnership between IT Services and Finance and Business Services.

See the IT News item for more information.

Reminder: Shred your sheets with ShredFest!

ShredFest is coming up the week of May 8, 2023. Come hang out with us and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements,old tax returns, and more can be shredded!

Visit the ShredFest site for more information.

Myaamia Center and IT Services win CIO 100 Award

In case you hadn’t heard yet: We’re excited to celebrate the @myaamiacenter receiving a CIO 100 award!

Read all about it!

Featured Knowledge: Google Workspace / Guide: Download data from your Miami account using Google Takeout

Here, find out how to download and transfer all of your data from your Miami account to a personal account using a helpful Google utility, Google Takeout. This will be helpful in your journey if you’re trying to get within quota or simply need to take personal information out of your Miami drive.

Spring clean your digital life

EDR Project update

So far, our CrowdStrike deployments are moving forward successfully. We are still hoping to have most academic divisions moved to Phase 3 by the end of the spring semester – there are several departments that have opted to wait until the summer session. The project team is pleased with the progress and looking to get institutionally owned mobile devices under the CrowdStrike umbrella soon.

IAM Program: Big updates coming soon!

Be on the lookout for the big announcement of the vendor Miami is choosing for the new Identity Governance & Administration tool. The team is deliberating this week and will make final recommendations very soon.

The team has also added a new member: Josh Senn! He was hired as the IAM Solution Engineer to orchestrate and facilitate the migration to the new solution. We’re happy to have him on board.

As always, visit the IAM website for information about this important project and what's next for the university.

Time for Spring Cleaning!

It’s solidly springtime in the Midwest, and as leaves bud on the trees and lilies try to poke their heads out of the thawing soil, it gives us a ready opportunity to clean out some of the cobwebs in different parts of our filing cabinets and harddrives…

Shred your sheets with ShredFest!

ShredFest is coming up the week of May 8, 2023. Come hang out with us and shred any documents you have accumulated in the last year since the last ShredFest. Everyone is welcome, including students. Please be aware that the University is under a broad litigation hold and you will not be permitted to shred any University records. But any personal information, bank statements,old tax returns, and more can be shredded!

Visit the ShredFest site for more information.

Google Drive: It’s time for some spring cleaning!

Now, onto your Miami Google Drive! You know by now that we are implementing limits to Google Drives, depending on your role at the university. Take some time this spring to see what you’ve got in your Drive taking up space – and see if any of that stuff is not Miami-related. Personal items can be moved to your own Drive by following the instructions in the Knowledge Base.

Save the Date!

Come celebrate with us at the official Workday Project kickoff event scheduled for Thursday, April 27 from 4 - 6 p.m. in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.

Save the Date!

Come celebrate with us at the official Workday Project kickoff event scheduled for Thursday, April 27 from 4 - 6 p.m. in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.

Myaamia Center and IT Services win CIO 100 Award

We’re excited to celebrate the @myaamiacenter receiving a CIO 100 award this week!

Read all about it!

Welcome back from spring break!

Cross-promotion: Across the Divide Conference

This Friday, March 31, the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion is hosting the fourth annual Across the Divide: Innovating Inclusive Excellence conference. It’s a full day (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) of activities and sessions focused on centering diverse voices. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

The keynote address will be made by Ron Crutcher, Miami's first African American Provost, University of Richmond President, and Miami alum, and his speech is titled - I Had No Idea You Were Black: Navigating Race on the Road to Leadership’.

More information can be found on the program’s website.

Notice: Laravel applications getting back-end upgrades this year

Beginning in January, IT Services has been working to upgrade all Laravel applications to use newer versions of PHP and the Laravel framework. That work will continue for the better part of this calendar year.

Laravel applications include things like CourseList, MyCourses, FindUser, and other Miami-developed resources.

We are hoping to be finished with all upgrades by August 2023.

For more info, visit the IT News site.

Featured Knowledge: Google Workspace / Guide: Download data from your Miami account using Google Takeout

Here, find out how to download and transfer all of your data from your Miami account to a personal account using a helpful Google utility, Google Takeout. This will be helpful in your journey if you’re trying to get within quota or simply need to take personal information out of your Miami drive.

Reminder: Moving Banner applications to new hosts on Tuesday

IT Services will be migrating some Banner applications to new hosts. They will be moving from Weblogic hosts to Tomcat hosts.

This work will take place Tuesday, March 21, starting at 6:30 a.m. Please be sure to save your work before this window opens. This work will take approximately two hours. If your app is not loading during this window, please wait and reload.

We do not expect any outages – the cutover for these applications will be quick. When this maintenance is completed, any users currently using one of the affected apps will need to log out and back into the app they were using.

For a full list of affected apps, please see the IT News article.

Reminder: DMARC subject line warning on emails

Over the past couple of months, you may have received an email to your MiamiOH.edu address with the subject line: “DMARC Failure - Notify Sender.” On Jan. 30, we implemented a new compliance rule in Google that has resulted in this subject line appearing on some emails.

DMARC is being implemented by IT Services to better protect the MiamiOH.edu domain from unauthorized use by phishers and spoofers thereby protecting Miami’s brand. DMARC verification uses information in email headers to verify a sender's authenticity.

If you receive an email marked with “DMARC,” please contact the sender and ask them to put in a ticket with IT to get that header removed.

If you have any questions, please check out the IT website for more information.

Upcoming work: Moving Banner applications to new hosts

IT Services will be migrating some Banner applications to new hosts. They will be moving from Weblogic hosts to Tomcat hosts.

This work will take place Tuesday, March 21, starting at 6:30 a.m. Please be sure to save your work before this window opens. This work will take approximately two hours. If your app is not loading during this window, please wait and reload.

We do not expect any outages – the cutover for these applications will be quick. When this maintenance is completed, any users currently using one of the affected apps will need to log out and back into the app they were using.

For a full list of affected apps, please see the IT News article.

Travel Tech: Spring Break 2023 Edition

This week, we put up some helpful tech-related tips for those in the Miami community getting ready to go out of town for spring break. These tips are also great advice for folks who are staying in town – something for everyone!

Take a gander at our top tips for tech travel this spring.

Spring Break Tech Tip: Unplug!

Upcoming maintenance: Production Oracle patching scheduled for March 24

On Friday, March 24, 2023, between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. (March 25), IT Services will be installing a patch to the production Oracle grid infrastructure (specifically on the databases that are on 19c).

For the full announcement, visit the IT News.

Featured Knowledge: Download Google data in your browser

Recently, we announced that Miami will be implementing quotas on Google Workspace storage. This means that if you have any personal files in your Miami Google Drive, now is the time to remove them! There are a lot of benefits of separating work and personal documents, and we’re here to help you do that.

Follow this article for more information about how to download data from your Google account so you can transfer it to a different account: Google Workspace / Guide: Download data from your Miami account in your browser.

From around the University: New Workday resource

In preparation for the move to Workday, there is a brand-new resource for info about the project. Bookmark this page and visit for more info!

Visit the site.

Important Update: Changes coming to Google storage

In the next year, Miami is going to be making some adjustments to our Google Workspace storage environment. In short, due to new restrictions coming from Google itself, we will be implementing storage quotas on all Miami accounts.

The good news is: Very few people (less than one percent) will be impacted by the new storage limitations, and these folks will be contacted individually.

Read on to learn more about the new storage quotas and what this means for you.

Data Summit is next week!

The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m. The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals!

The theme: Miami Data Madness.

Learn more!

Congratulations to David Seidl!

Data Summit is next week!

The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m. The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals!

The theme: Miami Data Madness.

Learn more!

From Across the University: Get Ready for a Workday Transition

In preparation for the move to Workday, there is a brand-new resource for info about the project. Bookmark this page and visit for more info!

Visit the site.

Reminder: Whitelabel error in myMiami

Unfortunately, the Whitelabel error that you sometimes receive when trying to log in to myMiami is a known issue with the service. We are working hard on a solution and hope to have this resolved soon.

If you receive a Whitelabel error, here’s what you should do:

Try to log in to myMiami in an incognito or private browser. This essentially strips your browser of any identifying information (any cookies you may have accumulated throughout your journey through the internet). Yes, this means you’ll have to Duo again!
If that works, return to your non-private browser and clear your cache and cookies. This will allow you to log in.
If incognito doesn’t work, please contact IT Help and we can investigate!

Words to Live By: Power of Will

Update on LastPass breach and recommendations

The LastPass password management tool has suffered a new breach that involves user data. The Information Security Office (ISO) is aware of this latest situation and is thus making several immediate recommendations.

If you are a LastPass user, either personally or using the Miami enterprise account, we request that you IMMEDIATELY reset your master password as a precautionary risk-reduction measure. Your new master password should have a minimum of 12 characters. (This is a policy for Miami enterprise users.) For instructions on how to change your LastPass master password, please visit the LastPass support page.

View all of our recommendations now.

Dates set for ShredFest 2023

The dates have been finalized for ShredFest 2023, so make sure you have them on your calendar. ShredFest is your opportunity to bring confidential office and personal documents for secure, on-site shredding at the various Miami campuses.

Save the date!

Reminder: Miami Data Summit scheduled for March 16

The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m., with the theme “Miami Data Madness.” The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals! The event will be completely virtual.

Registration is now open, so if you are interested in attending, check out the event website for more information, a full schedule, and to reserve your spot today!

Congratulations to College@Elm!

Last week, the ribbon was cut on the College@Elm Innovation and Workforce Development Center. This center, which has been lauded as a future center for economic development for small businesses in Oxford, is (among other things) a feat of collaboration between the University and IT Services, as our folks were heavily involved with the technologies that needed to be in place at the unveiling. Congratulations to everyone involved!

More information about College@Elm can be found at the Aspire website.

Reminder: Miami Data Summit scheduled for March 16

The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m., with the theme “Miami Data Madness.” The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals! The event will be completely virtual.

Registration is now open, so if you are interested in attending, check out the event website for more information, a full schedule, and to reserve your spot today!

Thank you, President Crawford!

Miami Data Summit scheduled for March 16

The next Data Summit will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 1:15 - 4:30 p.m., with the theme “Miami Data Madness.” The keynote speaker is Geoff Smith, Co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable and Sr. Technology Advisor for the Cincinnati Bengals. He will share how he helped build a data and analytics culture with the AFC North champion Bengals! The event will be completely virtual.

Registration is now open, so if you are interested in attending, check out the event website for more information, a full schedule, and to reserve your spot today!

Featured KB article: Filelocker / Transfer Files Securely

Filelocker is an open source program created by Purdue University. Miami faculty, staff, and students can use Filelocker to conveniently and securely share files with other people both on and off campus.

Sharing passwords, private information, and other files without using Google Drive is possible with Filelocker. These shares are secure and easy to do!

Read how to share files in Filelocker

Miami University celebrates Black History Month

It’s Presidents’ Day, and you know what that means: The tech content you know and love is still right on time!

DMARC: New subject line warning on emails

Over the past couple of weeks, you may have received an email to your MiamiOH.edu address with the subject line: “DMARC Failure - Notify Sender.” On Jan. 30, we implemented a new compliance rule in Google that has resulted in this subject line appearing on some emails.

DMARC is being implemented by IT Services to better protect the MiamiOH.edu domain from unauthorized use by phishers and spoofers thereby protecting Miami’s brand. DMARC verification uses information in email headers to verify a sender's authenticity.

If you have any questions, please check out the IT website for more information.

New tool helps Miami students, faculty, and staff share name pronunciation

Miami students now have the ability to record the correct pronunciation of their names and list that pronunciation on their Canvas profile.

NameCoach, a tool that helps provide pronunciation information for student, faculty, and staff names, is now available for Miami users in Canvas and online!

IT Services folks honored for years of service

Identity and Access Management Program: Phase 1 heading for the finish line

The IAM Program team has been working hard behind the scenes to move the project along. This sometimes means that we have been outwardly quiet, but hours of weekly meetings continue to take place as we get closer to deploying a comprehensive identity and access management solution. To that end, the first phase of this transformational project is nearing completion.

Top IT Initiatives in the Spotlight

It’s no secret that IT Services is busy with a lot of projects aimed at improving processes, fulfilling requests from University partners, and fortifying the technological environment at Miami to facilitate learning, instruction, research, and service. This is all part and parcel of being the information technology experts at a university; all projects, big and small, are important pieces of our ongoing strategy to better support Miami’s mission.

Some of those projects deserve a little more time in the spotlight, though. These are projects that take a little more elbow grease, a little more intentional thought, and a lot more involvement from the Miami community.

Miami is at the forefront again

Two of the products in our Top IT Initiatives ran ads in this year's Super Bowl! Neat!

Happy February, Lovebirds! We’re spending the shortest month of the year on the biggest projects for IT Services. Check out a brief overview of what we’re up to here!

Identity and Access Management Program: Phase 1 heading for the finish line

The IAM Program team has been working hard behind the scenes to move the project along. This sometimes means that we have been outwardly quiet, but hours of weekly meetings continue to take place as we get closer to deploying a comprehensive identity and access management solution. To that end, the first phase of this transformational project is nearing completion.

Top IT Initiatives in the Spotlight

It’s no secret that IT Services is busy with a lot of projects aimed at improving processes, fulfilling requests from University partners, and fortifying the technological environment at Miami to facilitate learning, instruction, research, and service. This is all part and parcel of being the information technology experts at a university; all projects, big and small, are important pieces of our ongoing strategy to better support Miami’s mission.

Some of those projects deserve a little more time in the spotlight, though. These are projects that take a little more elbow grease, a little more intentional thought, and a lot more involvement from the Miami community.

DMARC: New subject line warning on emails

Over the past couple of weeks, you may have received an email to your MiamiOH.edu address with the subject line: “DMARC Failure - Notify Sender.” On Jan. 30, we implemented a new compliance rule in Google that has resulted in this

DMARC is being implemented by IT Services to better protect the MiamiOH.edu domain from unauthorized use by phishers and spoofers thereby protecting Miami’s brand. DMARC verification uses information in email headers to verify a sender's authenticity.

If you have any questions, please check out the IT website for more information.

Reminder: Get Office on all your devices!

Welcome back to campus for the Spring 2023 semester! We hope you are settling into your classes (if that applies to you) and feeling positive about the rest of the semester. Here are some weekly news items to pay attention to as we start a successful season at Miami!

Out of the breach: Protect your data in 2023

In the information security world, “data breach” is somewhat of a dirty phrase. It represents something none of us want to happen – yet continues to happen at a distressing rate.

What can regular consumers of the internet do to prevent data breaches? What happens when your credentials are compromised in a breach? Let’s take a look at some key factors and learn more about this not-so-nice phrase. Read our guide here.

Reminder: IT Services Provides a Full Collection of Technology Support Options

IT Services provides systems, software, and support to Miami University. As we embark on a new school year, it’s a good idea to take a deep breath, quiet your nerves about the brand-new semester, and review who to call when you need technology support.

Let’s take a look!

IT Services in the wild!

We spend time at orientation events to give students information about the services and support that we offer. This past week, we attended the Spring 2023 orientation event in the Armstrong Student Center. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Happy Tuesday, Miami Tech Heads! We hope you had a restful, contemplative Martin Luther King, Jr., Day yesterday and are ready to get back at it today for a short week! We hope you enjoy this Tuesday edition of the weekly newsletter. Let’s see what IT Services is up to this week:

TODAY: Authentication forced in myMiami

At 6 p.m. this evening, myMiami will switch to authentication-only. This means that when you go to myMiami.MiamiOH.edu, you will see the red Miami login page and need to log in before seeing any content.

This change is being done to bring the new portal more in line with the previous version of myMiami, so the change should not be disruptive. Entity accounts and courtesy accounts will still be able to log in to myMiami as usual.

EDR rollout continues

We are continuing to work hard on the rollout of our endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool, Crowdstrike Falcon. By the end of this month, each Miami-owned device will have Crowdstrike installed and running. More information can be found on our website.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day - Miami University

EDR rollout continues

We are continuing to work hard on the rollout of our endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool, Crowdstrike Falcon. By the end of this month, each Miami-owned device will have Crowdstrike installed and running. More information can be found on our website.

Join the TechNews listserv!

Do you wonder what we’re up to on a more regular basis? Are you interested in learning the updates and upgrades that don’t make major IT News headlines? Subscribe to the TechNews listserv to be more informed about IT activities that could impact your daily work.

Subscribe now!

IT Services honored by President Crawford at One Miami event this weekend

Happy New Year, fellow Miamians! To staff, faculty, and students returning to campus in early January, welcome back from a hopefully restful break. This year is going to be a good one – and we’re excited about all the things happening on the information technology front in 2023. We’ve got EDR continuing to be rolled out across campus, new technologies making their way to our doorstep, and many more updates coming.

Strap in, folks. We’re heading for great things!

Speaking of great things…

New ERP system on the horizon

Miami University will soon replace its current legacy Banner system with Workday, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

Miami’s Board of Trustees adopted a resolution supporting the switch during its recent December meetings. An ERP system allows an organization to manage its day-to-day operations, including payroll, finance, and student information.

Deployment of the Workday system will begin in July 2024 with the human resource and finance divisions, followed by a phased student implementation in 2026.

More information can be found in our joint announcement.

Update: IAM Program

Remember the IAM Program? A dedicated team of folks from IT is steadily working through proposals sent in response to the RFP we issued in late 2022. The RFP was for a partner to help us implement an IGA tool this year, and the response so far has been quite good. We will have more information to come about IAM and what it means for University offices soon!

New year, new job?

We are looking for someone who loves all things data, loves a challenge and is looking for a dynamic and highly rewarding position at a nationally respected university. Is this you?

Our Ideal candidates, like you, will help Miami University to continue to take big steps forward with our data analytics environment that is unifying multiple successful data-driven business intelligence and data analysis efforts across campus. This is a chance to help guide Miami’s data-driven future. The University Data Modeler position is a highly technical position with responsibility to lead the development, validation, publishing, and maintenance of logical and physical data models. You’ll be an integral part of providing data-driven insights that inform significant University-wide decisions.

Come along!

December 11, Monday

Reminder: Winter break changes

Register now: Miami Data Summit 2024

Miami Makes Best Places to Work in IT List for Third Straight Year

Previous Updates

November 20

JAMF outage

First AI Symposium a huge success

November 13

Thanks for coming to the AI Symposium!

NameCoach: Tool helps Miami students, faculty, and staff share name pronunciation

Save the Date: Miami Data Summit 2024

Have you met Uzoma yet?

October 30

And the winner is…

New password guidelines

Register now! AI Symposium

October 23

Register now! AI Symposium

Scam alert: Research assistantships

Cool resource: The Cybersecurity Canon

Instagram: Welcoming Workday UnitTesters!

October 16

Next Friday: Access for All: Accessible Technology Symposium

Save the Date: Miami AI Symposium November 1

September 25

Save the Date: Miami AI Symposium November 1

Tech Talk: Fall 2024 Google Workspace tips, tricks, and treats

Tool helps Miami students, faculty, and staff share name pronunciation

Stay tuned for Cybersecurity Awareness Month…

September 18

From the ISO: September cybersecurity smorgasbord

Tech Talk: Fall 2024 Google Workspace tips, tricks, and treats

Tech news tweets: Don’t forget to update your Apple products!

September 11

Don’t get phished!

Apple users: Update your products

IT on campus: Rainbow Reception!

August 28

Welcome (back) to Miami from all of IT Services!

IT Services Provides a Full Collection of Technology Support Options

Come see us!

August 21

Getting ready for fall!

Welcome (back) to Miami from all of IT Services!

Information Security Alert: Email phishing message claims your mailbox settings are out of date

So, it was international cat day...

August 7, Monday

Upcoming maintenance: ID card access system

Getting ready for fall!

Don’t forget: Microsoft Office is FREE!

Check the Instagram Feed: IT Services at Orientation

July 31, Monday

Summer 2023 update: Top IT initiatives

Getting ready for fall!

Don’t forget: Microsoft Office is FREE!

Check the Instagram Feed: IT Services at Orientation

July 24

Getting ready for fall!

Helpful Reminder: Tech Tools and Tips for Everyone at Miami

Be on the lookout: Software training!

Check the Instagram Feed: IT Services at Orientation

July 17

HUGE announcement: IAM vendor partnership underway!

IT meet-and-greet with Josh Senn: IAM solution engineer

In case you missed it: Congratulations, Roxanne!

July 3

Helpful Reminder: Tech Tools and Tips for Everyone at Miami

Top 4 strategies and tools for the fight against malware

Be on the lookout: Software training!

June 8

Security Corner: The latest from the ISO

More from the ISO: Spoofed Miami numbers

This just in: Update Google Chrome!

May 22

CrowdStrike Victorious: A big win for cybersecurity at Miami

ShredFest 2023 highlighted by large community support

Come see us at Orientation!

May 8

Reminder: Shred your sheets with ShredFest!