Help keep Wayne State data safe from your home
Learning, working from home requires extra security steps online
Home network security is the protection of the internet network that connects the devices in your home - router, computer, smartphone, cameras, speakers, game consoles, and everything else - to the web. Wayne State University Computing & Information Technology (C&IT) is proud to offer students, faculty and staff the services they need to accomplish their goals off-campus - but if done incorrectly, accessing university data from a home connection leaves all of us vulnerable to attack.
Most attacks are not personal in nature and can occur on any type of network-big or small, home or business. If a network connects to the internet, it is inherently more vulnerable and susceptible to outside threats.
- Christopher Wilcox, Senior Systems Security Specialist
That's why we've compiled this information to help us protect our home internet connections as we all rely on them now more than ever.
Keep Work On Your Work Computer
Your work computer has been configured by your local IT department to keep university data secure. Accessing university systems and data from a personal device that may not have these security standards puts sensitive information at risk.
Report Scam Emails
Phishing emails continue to be one of the most common attacks for virus delivery and credential harvesting. Use the reporting tools inside Outlook or forward a message to abuse@wayne.edu to report it.
Download Updates ASAP
Be sure to check your computer, smart devices and apps for updates - or enable automatic updates to be extra careful.
Use Your Security Settings
Many products come with factory-default configurations intended to make them user-friendly and reduce the troubleshooting time for customer service. Go into your settings to familiarize yourself - you may be surprised at what those default settings do or do not include.
Change Default Accounts
Most network devices, such as routers and cameras, are pre-configured with the same default administrator passwords to simplify setup, so change them as soon as possible.
Toughen Up That Password
Use our Strong Password Standard to help you choose strong credentials to secure your devices.
Encrypt Your Network
For assistance setting this up, contact your internet service provider or refer to your router's manual. The C&IT Help Desk is unable to assist in configuring these settings. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommends using the Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3), Personal Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and Temporary Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). See National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for more information.
Keeping your devices and data secure is important to C&IT. Please review our security knowledge articles for more advice from our Information Security Office: https://tech.wayne.edu/kb/security