We are deploying new firewall technology for the IST machine room that allows us to segment different systems based on level of risk/exposure.  We also plan to introduce intrusion detection for the machine room itself, so that we can better detect and respond to security events involving institutional information systems.

We've identified that security problems in locally written web forms and applications present a serious risk to UW information.  We have acquired web application vulnerability scanning software with the intention of incorporating its use into the development life cycle of web applications.

This project is a long term project to improve our ability to detect and respond to security incidents by consolidating logs from systems and network/security devices into one place, with the use of software to analyze the data in real-time, correlate events, and report.

The proposed goal of the overall  project will be to provide a single cohesive model for the management of identifiers on campus, as well as the technical architecture required to support that model. The goal is not to complete every service that may have been requested by various departments or units. Rather, it is to allow those efforts to tap into central infrastructure and use any best practices developed for Identity Management on campus. See details.

Develop a comprehensive set of policies, procedures, standards and guidelines relating to information security for the UW community.  Once these have been established, operationalize through the promotion of standard operating procedures and the delivery of security awareness training.  See http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/security/policy/

UW mitigates Internet threats through the use of network-based access controls implemented in a variety of ways. While these network access controls reduce the risks of successful compromise, they also create some impediments to the UW community using UW computing services over the Internet.  A remote access VPN service enables telecommuting by virtually extending the campus network to remote users, allow them to by-pass some of the network security controls.  More information.

Description: Sensitive data on laptops present a serious risk to the university if these laptops get lost or stolen.  The use of laptop encryption mitigates this risk.  We will be rolling-out a commercial solution that features central management, key recovery, and support for both Windows and Mac OS X.

IST Machine Room Uninterrupted Power Project

The objective of this project is to review and identify all of the advantages and disadvantages of one large central UPS solution over what we have now and to find and recommend a vendor and a model, of UPS devices that, at the very least, meets or exceeds our current UPS requirements. Options as to where the UPS could be located should be presented. The project team also needs to determine how much of the current machine and communications room equipment can be served by such a solution and make it part of the recommendation. See details.

SharePoint Services was first introduced to the campus in September 2005. It has become a very popular collaboration tool by faculties/departments across the campus. Some groups are starting to push the limits of SharePoint Services, and some are asking for features only available in SharePoint MOSS (e.g workflows). SharePoint 2010, formerly known as SharePoint MOSS, will be available early in the year 2010. We need to learn more about SharePoint 2010, and make a decision if this is the direction we should go. Project Charter.

The objective of this project is to investigate the calendaring and meeting scheduling functionality of Exchange, to identify gaps in the functionality of Exchange in comparision with Oracle Calendar and to consider and make recommendations for the possible replacement for Oracle Calendar with Exchange. If the recommendation of the project is to replace Oracle Calendar with Exchange, it would seek approval from UCIST and proceed with the implementation of the recommendations. See more in Project Charter.

Exchange Migration to Exchange Server

The Endpoint Security Evaluation Project was charged with reviewing the desktop anti-virus and other security available for Windows and MacOS desktop devices. UW has had a long and positive relationship with Symantec. The current license with Symantec expires in August 2009. As the new product from Symantec is a replacement of the existing licensed offering, an assessment of competing products is appropriate. Project Charter. Final Report.

Bob Hicks

The "Preparing for Vista and Office 2007" project (below) assessed Office 2007 and recommended it's implementation during the spring and summer of 2007. This project provides the details of this implementation in the academic-support areas of the University.See details (including problem list).

Microsoft plans to release new versions of the workstation operating system (Microsoft Vista) and the office suite (Microsoft Office 2007) in the next year. This project will assess these new technologies and determine if, when and how they will be implemented and supported by IST. See Project Charter.

Vista Problems Reported at UW