News for Employees
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Petya ransomware alert: What you need to know
The Office of Cybersecurity has been monitoring an active, new, widespread ransomware attack that’s spread to around 65 countries. The ransomware is a variant of a previously identified malware called “Petya.” There is no evidence that UW–Madison is a specific target. Like all ransomware, this version encrypts files and demands payment in BitCoin to decrypt them. This version of Petya can jump to other computers on a network by exploiting an unpatched Microsoft Windows vulnerability. It’s recommended that you enable automatic updating of Windows and that you install antivirus software and keep it up to date. The Office of Cybersecurity does not recommend paying ransom demands.
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New email list library for employees launched
To improve internal communications on campus, a set of standard email distribution lists is now available to campus leadership in the MyUW portal. These lists are reserved for sending official messages to employee groups, schools and colleges, major units, and campus governance free of charge. Official messages include information that the university is required to deliver to employees or that is essential to work status and performance. Employees may not opt out of receiving official messages. Contact your dean, director or communicator if you have an official message that needs to be sent but do not have direct access to the List Library. Access to KnowledgeBase document is here.
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Baldwin grants awarded to 18 projects
Projects both large and small will help the university contribute knowledge and resources across the state, thanks to grants from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment. The competitive grant program is open to UW–Madison faculty, staff and students. Ira Baldwin, a longtime UW teacher, researcher and administrator, served as dean of the Graduate School and the College of Agriculture and as vice president for academic affairs. Ineva Reilly Baldwin taught and served in the university administration as assistant dean of women and associate dean of the College of Letters & Science. This year, eight grants were awarded as well as 10 mini-grants encouraging innovation and experimentation in small-scale projects.
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Forget exercise — just get moving
Talking about the benefits of exercise is really a concept that’s worn out. That’s not something you’d expect to hear from two people whose careers are dedicated to helping individuals improve and maintain their health. But that’s exactly what Jude Sullivan and Dan Wanta – senior exercise physiologists at UW Health’s Sports Medicine Fitness Center – believe. “It’s important to recognize that the word “exercise” (as it refers to voluntary physical exertion) is only a few generations old,” says Wanta. “Before then, most people’s lives were naturally physically active.” Instead of obsessing about exercise, focus on the fundamentals. Simple things like taking the stairs, parking in a space far from the door, walking instead of driving when possible, really add up and help keep us in motion throughout the day.
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Many campus staff will soon be able to track career performance in MyUW
The ability to quickly access one’s performance reviews via MyUW is coming soon for many UW-Madison staff. The improvements will provide employees with an electronic performance review history (beginning with the first performance review conducted within the new system), which can help with their career and development goals.
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New food shed offers free vegetables, produce
The new UW Campus Food Shed offers students and faculty access to free vegetables and produce, stocked by UW agriculture researchers and local farms with excess crops. Many of this excess produce would otherwise be composted or thrown out. The food shed refrigerator is on the third floor of the Student Activities Center, with other locations in Science Hall, the Allen Centennial Garden and the Horticulture Building. It is open Monday through Friday. The refrigerator will be stocked when researchers and students have produce available, most consistently on Fridays.
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Find many resources on new IT website
If you visited the IT website recently, you’ll notice it looks a little different. The site, which was created to include all campus IT resources, was updated by DoIT using the new, official UW WordPress theme. This new look, feel and functionality better aligns with the digital style of wisc.edu and follows the UW brand and visual guidelines. You’ll find information on software, printing, free online training, web development, informational articles, guides, Tech Store deals, campus IT events and more.
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UW-Madison adopts drone use policy
A new UW–Madison policy will help researchers and instructors on campus meet the Federal Aviation Administration rules for flying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) — better known as aerial drones — while also helping to protect privacy. The policy, “University of Wisconsin–Madison Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Policy,” encourages safe and lawful use of drones for research and instruction. The policy provides a drone use approval process and replaces a previous campus policy that prohibited students, staff or outside entities from operating unmanned aircraft/drones on the UW–Madison campus, interiors or exteriors. The new policy allows for some drone use for research and teaching.
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UW campus vulnerability scan coming soon
Beginning on July 5, participating UW-Madison campus units will undergo an external cybersecurity risk assessment. This vulnerability scan, through Cylance, Inc., is intended to identify signs of malicious activity for the purpose of diagnosing possible compromise and risks to participating units. If compromised machines are discovered during the analysis, Cylance will contact the Office of Cybersecurity for follow up and remediation with system owners. Please refer to the Office of Cybersecurity web page for more details as to how this will be administered, when, and how this might affect each department. Refer to the “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQs) that have been prepared to address a number of initial questions.
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Field for facilities position narrowed to four
A search committee of faculty, staff, students and community members has recommended four finalists for the position of associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Members of the UW–Madison community and general public will have opportunities later this month to meet and talk with the finalists. Each of the candidates will give a presentation and answer questions in an open forum. To see the candidates and dates, times and locations of the forums, visit here. View the candidates’ resumes here.