News


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…


Network Upgrades Saturday, Dec. 17

OIT will be performing necessary network upgrades Saturday, Dec. 17 from 8am – 11am. The wired and wireless campus network will experience intermittent outages during the maintenance window. Services will resume normal operations by 11am.


Banner Upgrade – Sunday, Dec. 4

OIT will be implementing a Banner bundle upgrade on Sunday, Dec. 4 from 5:30am – 10 am. myBama and channels that connect to Banner will not be accessible, including self-service and administrative systems. For questions or concerns, contact the IT Service Desk at 205-348-5555 or itsd@ua.edu.


Banner Upgrade – Sunday, Dec. 18

OIT will be implementing a Banner bundle upgrade on Sunday, Dec. 18 from 4:00am – 10 am.  myBama and channels that connect to Banner will not be accessible, including self-service and administrative systems. For questions or concerns, contact the IT Service Desk at 205-348-5555 or itsd@ua.edu.


SAS 9.3 Reaching Limited Support

The analytics software SAS 9.3 will be moving to limited support in February 2023. As always, we encourage users to utilize the current version of software. Visit https://oit.ua.edu/software/sas-9-4/ to access the latest version and learn more about SAS.


Nov. 28 Service Outage Root Cause

On Monday, Nov. 28 at 1:45pm, a critical component supplying power to the Gordon Palmer data center failed.  All services within the data center abruptly shut down causing a widespread network and system outage. OIT implemented mitigation efforts to restore core services by 5:45pm. OIT reactivated equipment on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 9am to provide…


Windows 7 to be Restricted from UA Network

Beginning Monday, Jan. 16, Windows 7 devices will no longer be permitted to connect to the UA campus network. As a reminder, Windows 7 reached end of life on Jan. 14, 2020. All Windows devices should be running Windows 10 or Windows 11.


Cybersecurity Town Hall Event

Join the OIT Security Team Thursday, Oct. 20 at 12:00pm for a virtual Town Hall Meeting. Ransomware is a term you’ve seen a lot in the news lately, but do you know how to protect yourself, your computer and your sensitive information from a ransomware attack? Join the OIT Security Team Thursday, Oct. 20 at…