Just over half of the departments have fully completed their connections and several others have introduced some of the components. We are now at a stage where it is very important that all the departments that have not yet completed the connections do so, and in order to ensure this, a plan for the completion needs to be developed by the relevant departments in cooperation with IT Services. The transition to the mandatory components must be completed in full by 30 June 2021.
IT access is the basic service for all of the University’s faculty and staff and the following four components of the service are mandatory:
- Login service (log in using a university account)
- Virus and malware protection, which is centrally monitored and administered
- Inventory management software
- Decommissioning service
A well-functioning IT environment is a prerequisite for our activities to continue to be well functioning. In addition to having appropriately-adapted equipment and with high levels of reliability, a functioning IT environment also includes high levels of information security, appropriate management of licences and low environmental impact.
The required components
The login service allows Stockholm University’s users to log into a variety of systems and applications using their university account. The basis for all management of identity is in the user database where information about individuals, positions/roles and groups for different services is stored. The uniform identity management means simplicity for the users at the university as the number of usernames and passwords can be minimised. This results in a lower overall cost for identity management and increased IT security via managing identities in a uniform and controlled manner. In addition, the logging of activities is made possible, which can be tracked and documented afterwards.
Comprehensive protection against viruses and malware that is centrally monitored and administered provides updated and effective protection for all users. The IT security work places stringent demands on fast-reactive action when one or more computers become infected.. Malware is a generic name for any type of software program which is designed to damage, steal, delete, or corrupt computer data.
With the assistance of the inventory software, the university obtains an overview of all its IT assets (hardware as well as software). It inventories which programs are installed on the computers and allows control over which computers and software are installed at each department, unit/group, or the equivalent. It also enables secure and cost-effective licencing management.
The decommissioning service ensures the safe handling of the information stored in a desktop computer/tablet/smart phone to be decommissioned, i.e. that the material stored on the device is securely deleted in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is to minimise the risk of leakage of information (unauthorised disclosure). It is also important that software licences belonging to the university are removed, so as to avoid violating the laws and agreements governing copyright. Where the equipment has a resale value, it is reconditioned via Stockholm University’s subcontractors and the department, unit/group or the equivalent receives a refund corresponding to the resale value when it is resold by the vendor. Equipment with no resale value in the used equipment market is recycled in an environmentally sustainable way.
What happens next?
A plan for implementation is developed by IT Services, in collaboration with each respective department. The transition to the mandatory components must be fully completed by 30 June 2021.
The project manager for the implementation will contact the relevant departments to start planning the work. Those departments where all computers are already connected to the mandatory components of IT access or SU Workstation (“SUA”) are not affected by the change.