News


Residential Wi-Fi Outage – Sept. 8, 2023

UA-Xfinity residential wireless internet experienced an extended outage Friday, Sept. 8 from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. During that time, internet access was unavailable to many on-campus residents. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Xfinity at 833-455-2678.


2023 Adobe Celebration Week – Sept. 11-15

Join OIT for a kick-off event on the Quad Sept. 12 from 12:00 – 4:00 pm. as part of the 2023 Adobe Celebration Week, Sept. 11-15. All week we’ll feature guest presenters and host workshops focused around the Adobe Creative Cloud Tools. During the 2023 Adobe Celebration Week, we’ll dive into new Adobe offerings that utilize some of…


Artificial Intelligence Increases Threat of Extortion

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns about a growing trend of malicious individuals using deep fake technology for explicit extortion attacks. This brand of extortion involves threatening victims with publicly releasing explicit images or videos unless they pay a ransom. Previously, the compromising content used in extortion was often fake, but now threat actors…


June 5 Phishing Email

On Monday, June 5, many UA students, faculty and staff received a scam email. The subject of the message could be “Now Hiring for Summer Employment” or a variation related to employment, and it appears to be from a Winthrop University email about “The Dimax Centre for Disability Services Council.” This is not a message…


May 9 Social Media Warning

On Tuesday, May 9, someone who appears to be a former student posted on the Alabama Student Ticket Exchange Facebook page, offering to make a master list for students’ class assignments. Remember to NEVER give out your MyBama login information or CWID to someone on the internet.


Upgrade Windows 10 – 22H2

Beginning in May 2023, faculty and staff with Windows computers will begin receiving announcements on their computers to upgrade Windows 10 to the newest supported version, 22H2. Faculty and staff have the option to upgrade when they receive the announcement or schedule the upgrade for another time. OIT recommends that faculty and staff perform the update at…


Some users may be unable to view or access web apps in Microsoft 365

Update: The situation is improving with the Microsoft 365 outage. Access has returned to most users, but we have not received an official report from Microsoft. I will send a final update once the outage is resolved.  Original: Microsoft has identified an issue with users accessing and viewing web apps in Microsoft 365 at 6:30 PM on…


Microsoft to enable number match authentication for all UA alumni and retiree UA email accounts

Beginning February 27, 2023, Microsoft will enable number match authentication for all UA alumni and retirees who are currently using Microsoft Authenticator to access their UA email accounts. With number matching enabled, the Microsoft Authenticator app will prompt users with a number. Users will need to type that number into the app to complete the authentication process…


LastPass Breach – Password change required

Many faculty, staff, and students utilize LastPass as a password management tool to store passwords in an encrypted environment.  On December 22, LastPass informed its customers of a potential cyber security incident that could compromise the passwords stored in their accounts. LastPass discovered that in November 2022, a copy of the customer password vaults had…


OIT to Implement Additional Email Security in January 2023

Beginning in January 2023, OIT will implement new email security features to help students, faculty and staff better recognize phishing emails. These new security measures utilize mailbox intelligence and recognize email user patterns. Outlook will provide safety tips for inbound mail that comes from new or unusual senders. Below is a screenshot example. The mailbox…