I can’t believe it’s that time of the year already! No, I’m not talking about fall and the days getting shorter with the weather getting colder. I am talking about your annual required Securing the Human (STH) security awareness training. Also, October is also National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM).
For the fifth year in a row, the Institute has worked with the National Cybersecurity Alliance to become an NCSAM Champion. As NCSAM Champions we represent those dedicated to encouraging personal accountability and proactive behavior in security best practices and digital privacy. This year’s NCSAM theme is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart,” and will have a different topic each week. I will send information out throughout the month, both via email and social media (follow the accounts in my signature below!).
In addition, the annual Securing the Human training will be assigned starting Thursday morning, October 1, and will be role-based again this year. The training was approximately 45 minutes per group last year, with new employees receiving a set of modules that took close to an hour. The time for each group this year is roughly 35 minutes, with the exception of new employees who will still have about an hour of training.
There are a few very important things to know about this year’s training:
- You will receive an email from me, via K@TE, when the training has been assigned.
- You will have until Monday, November 30, to complete the training.
- This training is required of all UTIA employees, including the College of Veterinary Medicine, per UTIA IT0123 – Security Awareness, Training, and Education Policy.
- If you are a retiree and do not have a post-retiree appointment, you are not required to do the training.
- If you have an E01 responsible account, you are assigned your training by UTK.
- It is my understanding that all E01-responsible employees are now being assigned all “required training” through one assign of all modules. This does NOT apply to the rest of us.
- If you are unsure about your responsible account, you may contact your appropriate HR office or you may email me and I can let you know.
- You may have a joint appointment (e.g. teaching and research), but you will have only one responsible account.
- Training is required of new employees within 30 days of hiring.
- If you did not complete the training during your first 30-days, I will be reassigning the New Employee training module for you again. This year has been difficult, at best, and I am taking that into consideration.
- Please use Firefox or Chrome to take the training. Internet Explorer has issues and can cause the training to hang up.
- If Internet Explorer is your default browser, copy the link in the assignment email and paste into Firefox or Chrome. (You should also consider changing your default browser for other reasons.)
- To access the training, please go to K@TE and look for “Your Transcript” in the lower middle area of the page.
- Please close each module by clicking the “X” in the top right corner of the module. Not doing so could cause that module to hang up and you will need to take that module again.
- You will receive two automated reminders during the two months if you don’t complete the training.
- Your supervisor will be notified weekly during the month of November if you have not completed the training.
We have done a great job of completing this training by achieving a total completion rate of 96%-98% each year since 2016. Keep in mind that policy says the training is to be a part of your annual performance review. In addition, UT’s Audit and Compliance is required to report completion statistics for each campus and institute to the UT Board of Trustees Audit Committee. Those campuses and even departments with a low completion rate run the risk of being named as the recipient of an IT audit.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. If you have issues during the training, please let me know.
As always, I thank everyone for your commitment to protecting yourself and the Institute’s data.
Sandy
