Read more about the enhancements made to CU-wireless.

1. Faster Authentication

Authentication means getting your device connected securely using My杏吧原创One credentials as quickly as possible. On a typical 杏吧原创 school day over 19,000 wireless laptops & phones roam the campus at any one time. While moving around the campus, these devices must pass network security and 鈥渁uthenticate鈥� at each wireless access point encountered. This constant roaming of so many devices across the 杏吧原创 University campus generates 2.6 million authentication server requests per day, making CU-Wireless likely the most used service on campus. What makes the 杏吧原创 campus even more challenging, is that when classes change over, almost all user devices move at the same time and need to authenticate at the same time. This creates large spikes and even more load than non-campus environments. Providing fast authentication on campus requires a significant amount of server resources to process these time sensitive requests.

What upgrades did we do?

In Summer 2018, ITS did a complete overhaul and re-design of our wireless authentication systems. 6 new Authentication Servers (called Cisco ISE servers) were deployed on more powerful hardware. These replaced the 4 slower legacy servers (called ACS Servers). In addition, the new solution is now fully integrated behind load balancers which evenly splits the 2.6 million authentications per day across all 6 servers. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the authentication time for wireless users as they roam around campus. Prior to the upgrades, while classes switched over a new authentication could take up to 9 seconds. Following these upgrades, wireless authentication now takes between 0.008 and 2.4 seconds with the bottleneck now being the end user device capabilities.

Maximum Authentication Time

• Before Upgrades: 9 seconds
• After Upgrades: 2.4 seconds

2. Air Quality Improvements

Think of the wireless air quality as an invisible highway with multiple lanes (called channels), and the cars (called wireless radios) need to share all available lanes. The more free lanes you have, the faster traffic can flow. Also if you have more cars (wireless radios), you can carry more passengers (wireless devices). All of this translates into faster download speeds for our laptops, phones and tablets.

What upgrades did we do?

In simple terms, the best way to improve the wireless air quality for each wireless zone on campus is to offer more lanes. We can do this by deploying more access points containing 802.11ac capable radios on campus, which can choose from 25 Lanes (channels) rather than the 3 Lanes offered when using older WiFi protocols. In addition, having multiple 802.11ac radios in the same classroom splits the load over different lanes (channels) and improves Air Quality and download speeds. In 2018, ITS significantly increased the number of 802.11ac radios on campus from 2,000 to 2,900 (45% increase) by deploying new access points and upgrading older access points to new cutting edge models which have two 802.11ac capable radios built in rather than one. In 2016 杏吧原创 University was one of the first Universities in Canada to take advantage of the Cisco 2802 model, effectively giving us 鈥渢wo for one鈥� 802.11ac radios in each new access point. This cost effective approach allowed us to accelerate our 802.11ac radio density on campus.

3. Signal Strength

Having a wireless access point close enough to you so that your device maintains a strong signal is vital. Think of yelling across the room, and having to repeat yourself when you aren鈥檛 heard. This is not very efficient…and the same goes for wireless. If one person is too far away from an access point, communication is lost, repeated, and performance goes down for every person connected to the access point.

What upgrades did we do?

The main method to improve signal strength is to ensure that our laptops and phones are never too far away from a wireless access point. By adding more access points in each area, we decrease this distance. During Summer 2018, ITS deployed 700 new access points, significantly increasing the number of access points on campus from 1900 to 2600 (37% increase). Being closer and having stronger signal means less repeating, better HD video streaming, and faster download speeds.

4. Dedicated Routing Infrastructure

While the number of wired machines on campus have leveled off at around 14,000 devices, wireless continues to grow and is responsible for the majority of the internet usage on campus. Unlike your home wireless router which supports only a few wireless devices, the wireless network at 杏吧原创 University must support more than 19,000 wireless devices at the same time. This requires some heavy lifting when it comes to routing that traffic!

It鈥檚 important to take into account 杏吧原创鈥檚 History on this one. Historically, as part of 杏吧原创鈥檚 major Campus Network Upgrade (CNU) Project design, each building was paired with a 鈥渟ister鈥� building, and they were assigned two dedicated distribution routers to handle the traffic for the pair. As this plan was implemented before the explosive growth of wireless, CU-Wireless traffic relied on shared routers which were primarily used by 杏吧原创鈥檚 DMZ systems and not specific for wireless.

What upgrades did we do?

In 2018, the routing infrastructure serving wireless has been completely redesigned. A new pair of Nexus VDC routers were deployed specifically for wireless. Given that wireless traffic now likely exceeds the wired traffic from all campus buildings combined, this was a necessary move to take load off of the DMZ routers and allow further growth of our wireless user base for years to come. In addition security has also been improved, since the previous routing design did not allow wireless traffic to be fully monitored for virus, malware, and copyright threats originating from the wireless network.

5. Powerful Controllers & Instant Redundancy

Home wireless networks usually involve one manually configured access point using one frequency/channel at time. In comparison, 杏吧原创鈥檚 enterprise network involves over 2,600 access points which must all be managed, configured, and assigned channels from a central source called a wireless controller. Thanks to intelligent controllers, when an access point fails all surrounding access points increase power levels dynamically to avoid an outage to that particular zone. When outside interference from sources such as microwaves or cordless phones cause problems, controllers dynamically change the affected access points to a more clear channel. The campus wireless controllers also aggregate all campus wireless traffic centrally before it can be routed.

What upgrades did we do?

In 2018, 杏吧原创鈥檚 legacy wireless controllers (WISM modules) were replaced with Cisco鈥檚 largest and most advanced controller on the market. The new more powerful 8540 external Cisco controllers increase the number of access points we can support on campus from 2,000 to 6,000 (200% increase) and give the University ample headroom for upcoming growth. In addition, the new controllers support a feature called Single Sign On (SSO), which provides instant failover of access points from the primary to backup unit in the case of a controller failure. In the past, controller failures on campus would lead to 5-15 minutes of downtime for a wireless user. This downtime has now been eliminated.

In Conclusion…So what changed with wireless in 2018?

Pretty much everything! All 5 key components of the campus wireless infrastructure were replaced, upgraded or redesigned from the ground up. These 5 key major improvements have already significantly reduced the number of wireless complaints, and provide room for future growth and demand by our students, staff & faculty. Due to extensive and careful planning, 杏吧原创鈥檚 in-house staff (Chris Murray & Mike Milne) deployed all of these new systems concurrently, and migrated users in August 2018 with virtually no impact or visibility to the user community.

Thank you for your patience.

Here are our top 10 tips to stay safe on social media:

1. Use a strong password. The longer it is, the more secure it will be.
2. Use a different password for each of your social media accounts.
3. Set up your security answers. This two factor authentication is available for most social media sites.
4. If you have social media apps on your phone, be sure to password protect your device.
5. Be selective with friend requests.
6. Click links with caution. Social media accounts are regularly hacked. Look out for language or content that does not sound like something your friend would post.
7. Be careful about what you share. Don’t reveal sensitive personal information ie: home address, financial information, phone number. The more you post the easier it is to have your identity stolen.
8. Become familiar with the privacy policies of the social media channels you use and customize your privacy settings to control who sees what.
9. Protect your computer by installing antivirus software to safeguard. Also ensure that your browser, operating system, and software are kept up to date.
10. Remember to log off when you’re done.

For more tips on staying safe online, visit our Information Security Tips page.

• Pick a strong password. Online Banking passwords must be unique and complex. It is highly recommended that you change your password every 3 months.
• Choose complex personal identification questions. When setting up your online banking account always choose 2 factor authentication if available as it offers a higher level of security.
• Beware of phishing. 聽ITS will never ask you for your password via email and neither will your bank. 聽If you do receive an email from your bank asking for your password, do not give it to them!
• Login on a secured connection. Do not login to online banking from an unsecured wireless network. 聽Make sure that you are on a trusted secured connection so your user credentials are not vulnerable to being compromised. Always use a good browser with added security like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and always logout before you close your browser or end your session. 聽 Always make sure that you are logging into a secured website via 鈥渉ttps鈥�. All banks will always have the encryption lock in the browser showing the level of security.
• Aways log out.
• Clear your cache.If you’re logging into your banking account on a public computer, after you’ve logged out you can聽enhance your security by

from our Information Security team.

Whether you’re banking, connecting with friends, working, or just passing the time, when you’re online you are never alone. Just as you’d watch your back, your family, and your belongings in a busy public place, you need to be equally cautious online.

Protecting yourself can be easy when you make cyber safety a priority and become aware of the most common threats and risks to your online security.

Enable Firewall Security

• Check to see that it is turned “on”, and ensure that it’s updated regularly. Your operating system’s (OS) help menu or online help should be able to guide you.
• If your OS doesn’t include a firewall, install your own firewall software. Look online for programs from credible companies.

Browser and OS Security

• Use the drop down menus on your browser to set your options. Always set your own options for optimum security.
• Clear your cache and your browsing history at the end of your session, so that you don’t leave a record of sensitive data.
• Keep your browser and OS updated with the newest version.
• OS manufacturers release regular updates called ‘patches‘ or ‘fixes’ to improve security. Enable automatic updates so your device will download and install these fixes as soon as they’re available.

With so many of us using social media today, sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn make perfect targets for scams.

Here are our top 10 tips聽to stay safe on social media:

1. Use a strong password. 聽The longer it is, the more secure it will be.
2. Use a different password for each of your social media accounts.
3. Set up your security answers. 聽This two factor authentication is available for most social media sites.
4. If you have social media apps on your phone, be sure to password protect聽your device.
5. Be selective with friend requests. If you don鈥檛 know the person, don鈥檛 accept their request. 聽It could be a fake account.
6. Click links with caution. 聽Social media accounts are regularly hacked. 聽Look out for language or content that does not sound like something your friend would post.
7. Be careful about what you share. Don鈥檛 reveal sensitive personal information ie: home address, financial information, phone number. 聽The more you post the easier it is to have your identity stolen.
8. Become familiar with the privacy policies of the social media channels you use and customize your privacy settings to control who sees what.
9. Protect your computer by installing antivirus software to safeguard. 聽Also ensure that your browser, operating system, and software are kept up to date.
10. Remember to log off when you鈥檙e done.

IT Security: Our Shared Responsibility

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats. 聽To learn more about Cyber Security Awareness Month, check out the聽and the聽听飞别产蝉颈迟别蝉.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month

This month we are participating in Cyber Security Awareness Month. We hope our campaign helps you better understand cyber threats and the simple steps you can take to minimize your risk.

Simple things like:

• Knowing how to spot suspicious emails
• Creating secure passwords
• Keeping your computers and mobile devices safe
• Recognizing which websites may be risky

Today鈥檚 spotlight is on cyber security. Keep reading for some eye-opening stats and tips on how to stay safe online.

The Impact of Data Breaches

础听data breach聽is when sensitive, protected or confidential聽data聽has potentially been viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so (). This may result in damage to reputation and trust, and can lead to financial loss and identity theft.

• are lost or stolen every minute. That’s 5,191,030 in one day.
• Trend Micro聽estimates that the WannaCry ransomware attack of May 2017, around the world and caused financial and economic losses of up to $4 billion.
• Recently Yahoo reported that a data breach of 2013
• 聽(so far), include E-Sports Entertainment and Xbox,聽 fast food chains Arby’s and Chipotle, retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and K-Mart, and Equifax.
• The Equifax data breach affected
• Help protect yourself from data breaches is by聽safeguarding your password.

Password Security and Why it Matters

In our modern, digital lives, we manage numerous accounts and passwords.聽Passwords can be compromised in a variety of ways. We need to know how to best keep them safe.

• involve a weak or stolen password.
• More than in 2016, with 8.2 million passwords being stolen every day (that’s聽 about 95 every second!)
• used 10 million passwords leaked in data breaches to compile a list of the most popular ones.聽They include variations of: 1234
• 56, qwerty, password and google.
• According to Keeper, with almost one in five choosing 123456.
• Use a聽to create strong passwords, track them and avoid duplication.
• Keep your password safe and secure with these 5 tips.

Safeguard your Email

Email is a popular attack vector for cyber criminals who use it to send out malware and to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information.

According to the :

• 156 million phishing emails are sent everyday
• 16 million of those (about 10%) make it through spam filters
• 8 million are opened by the end user
• 800,000 of phishing emails that are opened, lure someone into clicking on a link
• 80,000 people fall for an email scam everyday and share personal information

At 杏吧原创 we block over 85% of all inbound email as spam or viruses. Here’s how to recognize a聽phishing attempt.

Things We Thought you Should Know

1. 杏吧原创 Has a Security Operations Centre (SOC)
A SOC is a centralized unit that deals with security issues. And we have a brand new one in ITS! Its main functions are:

• Security incident and event management
• Campus network infrastructure monitoring, incident and work order management
• Technical support for security and network operations

2. Instructional Media Services (IMS) Knowledge Base
IMS recently released an聽Online Help Centre for Classroom Technology聽to help instructors with technology in the classrooms and around campus. Congrats on this great new resource!

3. OneDrive Cloud Storage
All 杏吧原创 staff and faculty have access to 1TB of cloud storage through OneDrive for Business. Backup your files to the cloud and easily share documents with your team…more.

4. 杏吧原创 E-commerce
If you need to accept聽payments for a 杏吧原创 event – conference, lecture series, workshop – check out聽杏吧原创’s E-commerce payment service. This in-house, online service is easy to use and is PCI (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant.

5. Site Licensed Software聽
ITS has made special purchase arrangements for a number of software packages (such as SPSS, MatLab and Office 365). Visit the ITS site to see what is聽available through the site licensed software program.

6. Cyber Security Tips
Follow our cyber security campaign throughout October for tips on staying safe online.

Resources

Password Manager Software Reviews

Here are some tips to help you protect your personal information:

• Limit the amount of personal information you post when using social media tools such as Facebook, twitter and YouTube.
• Do not assume that email is private.
• Limit the amount of personal information (such as SIN, credit card numbers, banking information, drivers license number, etc.) you store on your computer. If your computer is lost or stolen this can be valuable information.
• Log off, lock your screen, or use a password-activated screensavers when stepping away from your computer.

For more information on protecting yourself online, please visit聽/its/security/.

Today鈥檚 spotlight is on Machine Learning.

Computers that teach themselves? Sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. But machine learning is here and is already a part of many things we do everyday.

What is Machine Learning?

• Machine learning is a kind of artificial intelligence. It allows computers to learn without being explicitly programmed.
• It uses algorithmic models, which are trained to recognize patterns in large amounts of data, to automatically make predictions.
• In other words, machine learning allows computers to learn and adapt.
• 杏吧原创鈥檚 School of Computer Science offers several on the topics of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Why now? What makes machine learning more feasible?

• There is more and more data at our disposal – both in quantity and variety.
• Computational processing is becoming cheaper and more powerful.
• Data storage is becoming more affordable.
• This makes it possible to create models that analyze complex data quickly and accurately.
• 杏吧原创 researchers who need high performance computing resources have access to the Research Computing and Development Cloud.

Examples of machine learning

Many things we do every day are powered by machine learning algorithms:

Social Media

• When you click 鈥淟ike鈥� on Facebook, your feed is adjusted to display similar content in the future.
• Apps suggest 鈥淧eople you may know鈥� based on your connections to others.
• Image tagging automatically detects yours or your friends鈥� faces in photos you upload.

Marketing

• Recommendation engines make educated guesses based on what they think you will like.
• For example, Amazon recommends similar products and Netflix makes movie suggestions.
• Web pages and mobile apps display ads based on what you have previously looked at.

Email and Search

• Spam filters learn to classify spam based on an email鈥檚 content, subject and how you choose to filter it.
• Every time you do a Google search, the program looks at how you respond to the results – if you click, what you click and if you type in a new query. Google learns to deliver more accurate results next time around.

Transportation

• Apps, such as Waze Fastest Routes, learn which driving routes are best by analyzing driver behavior and outcomes.
• Self-driving cars learn where obstacles, road edges and other cars are by analyzing video frames from an onboard camera.
• A group from聽BlackBerry聽and its software subsidiary聽QNX Software Systems聽visited 杏吧原创 this past spring, to explore collaboration in connected car and autonomous vehicle research…

Machine Learning Research at 杏吧原创 University

Yuhong Guo is 杏吧原创鈥檚 Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning. She is interested in the question 鈥淲hat if machines could automatically learn useful skills by interacting with data that is already freely available?鈥� Her aim is to develop automatic data analysis and to reduce dependence on human input… Read more

5 Things We Thought you Should Know

1. CAUBO 2017 Quality and Productivity Awards
杏吧原创 ITS and Faculty Affairs were acknowledged for their excellent work on the new online Faculty Careers System. Congrats! The system has increased the efficiency, accuracy and timeliness of managing the faculty leaves process…聽Read more聽(story on page 29)

2. Implementing IPv6 at 杏吧原创 鈥� a case study
杏吧原创鈥檚 Mike Milne tackled the task of implementing IPv6 here at 杏吧原创. His story was recently published on the TeamARIN blog…

3. 杏吧原创 HR moves to intranet
All staff and faculty HR content is now available on the . The internal聽site contains all HR policies, documentation and forms (i.e. monthly leave forms, health claim forms, etc.) important to staff and faculty.

4. Latest web template upgrade
Web Services has migrated more than half of existing Framework sites to version 2.0 which features more layout options, streamlined front and back-end editing, and fast loading, search-engine friendly pages. See the new template in action on:聽 and Industrial Design.

5. CUAD2017
Despite the rain, 杏吧原创 University Appreciation Day聽was a great success. Thanks to the many faculty and staff who came together to celebrate.