New policies announcement "Required Employee Training Policy" and "Adobe Sign Configuration and Use Policy" effective 1 January 2023

 Dear Faculty and Staff:

Merry Christmas to you all. We are emailing you to announce two new policies which were recently approved by the President's Cabinet. 

• "Required Employee Training Policy" from the Human Resources and Information Technologies offices. https://helpdesk.malone.edu/helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa/wa/FaqActions/view?faqId=415
• "Adobe Sign Configuration and Use Policy" from the Business Office and Information Technologies. https://helpdesk.malone.edu/helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa/wa/FaqActions/view?faqId=416

Both policies will be in effect in the new calendar year 1 January 2023. Brief summaries of both policies are below.

What do I need to do?

1. Catch up on your training and encourage your peers to catch up on their training! To see what has been assigned to you, log into Malone Xpress and click the KnowBe4 training link from the launchpad. The icon looks something like this:
   
   
   
   
   
2. If you are a department chair or manager, you will be able to see a "Team Dashboard" which shows you what your team has due. If you are manager of managers or a dean of chairs, you will see a drop down menu to view the different team dashboards which answer to you. The "second warnings" will start to be sent in mid to late January (see policy section 3.3.2). Let us know if you see employees which need removed or added to your team dashboards.
   
3. If you are interested in using Adobe Sign, please follow the guidelines in the policy and let the Help Desk know who in your department you want to be set up to use it.

Please contact the IT Help Desk if you have any questions or issues. We can be reached via email at helpdesk@malone.edu , via the web at https://helpdesk.malone.edu or by phone at 330.471.8428.

Required Employee Training Policy - full policy found in FAQ415
Approved By: President’s Cabinet
Date Approved: Thursday, 17 November 2022, effective 1 January 2023
Date Last Amended: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Date of Next Review: 15 May 2025
Team[s] Responsible: Human Resources, Information Technologies

1. Purpose
Employee training is a vital and required part of working at Malone University. This policy defines the process of compliance and enforcement for Malone employee training

2. Overview

• All employees of Malone University must take regularly assigned training related to their working with the students, faculty, staff, and larger University community.
• This policy applies to all Malone University employees whether full or part-time. It will selectively apply to student workers, members of student organizations, volunteers, contractors, and others who might work with our student body or information related to the operation of the University.
• As an employer and institution of higher education in the United States of America, there are a variety of regulations and legislation to which we are beholden. Regular employee training is one way in which the University can remain compliant with those rules.
  
  Engaging and completing regular training demonstrates a care for the students, faculty, staff, and the larger Malone University community and aligns well with the University’s foundational principles in that, “We value and foster intellectual breadth and virtue, believing that individuals who seek Christ's Kingdom First are called to embark on a lifelong process of learning.”

Adobe Sign Configuration and Use Policy - full policy found in FAQ416
Approved By: University Cabinet
Date Approved: 8 December 2022, effective 1 January 2023
Date Last Amended: Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Date of Next Review: 10 May 2024
Team[s] Responsible: Business Office and Information Technologies1. 

1. Purpose
This policy governs the set up, configuration, and management of Adobe Sign on Malone University’s campus. This includes billback for each department’s use of the system.

2. Overview

• Adobe Sign is available for use by all academic and administrative departments on campus.
• We have a contracted per use transaction cost established between Malone and Adobe through the AICUO.
• This policy is built so that all parties understand the abilities and the cost structure.
• The service page is https://na4.documents.adobe.com/

SSO Transition update #3 - MFA methods and Authenticator Apps

Hello Malone University Students, Faculty, and Staff:

Malone Xpress was converted to the new SSO system on Wednesday. This was a day later than expected because of some technical glitches in Malone Xpress. We have fielded several calls about the best way to set up your multi factor authentication so this post is dedicated to the types of questions that we have received from you in the past week or two.

There is no cost for MFA

You DO NOT NEED TO PAY for any services related to MFA at Malone. We have fielded several calls where users are being prompted to sign up for a subscription for their MFA authenticator apps. When I search the IOS App Store for “Microsoft Authenticator,” the first result is an ad for a third party app. The second result is the actual “Microsoft Authenticator App” the link to the correct iOS download is here. The Android app is here.

You can use any compatible authenticator app. I personally use Google’s authenticator app (download for iOS or Android). 

Whichever app you choose, this same app can be used for any service - banking, services, social media, etc. - that supports authenticator MFA.

More than one MFA method

There are four different mechanisms for multi-factor authentication which can be used. We recommend you set up at least two in case one fails or isn't available to you when you need it:

• An authenticator app such as the ones from Microsoft or Google <--most secure and recommended.
• Phone - you can be called or texted a verification code.
• Alternate phone - a backup method in case the phone you set up is not available.
• Office phone - this would call a third number you specify and read a code to you.

Even after you have completed the initial set up of your MFA methods, you can update which methods for MFA you want to use in your Microsoft profile's security section: https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info

How do Authenticator apps work?

When setting up a new service in your authenticator app, the most common method is for you to scan a QR code that the service will show to you during the set up. If you choose to use a different authenticator app than Microsoft’s, you will need to select that option during set up.

The process requires you set up a connection between your chosen authenticator app and whatever service(s) requires MFA. This connection is unique and is based on your smartphone’s hardware, a secure key managed by that service, and the current time. Every minute or so, a new valid key is generated by the app using these three pieces of information. That code expires every minute so that even if it was somehow stolen, it would stop working within sixty seconds. 

How the code is calculated is created is based on some very clever math that Kyle Calderhead, David Hahn, or Shawn Campbell could explain to you. If you take the algorithms course, you would be able to explain it like they can!

Things to watch for when using an Authenticator App

• When moving to a new phone, be sure to transition your MFA set up to the new device. This usually  means opening the authenticator app on the old and new phones at the same time and scanning a code shown on the old phone screen with the camera from the new phone. This migration cannot be done just by restoring your device from a backup because it is unique to the hardware of your device. Remember to completely wipe your old device before discarding, reselling, or giving it to someone else.
• Many services will give you backup or rescue codes that can be used instead of the MFA app. Be sure to store these securely someplace. We suggest printing these rescue codes and storing them in your files somewhere. Do not save them to a digital file on your computers or devices. These codes can be used to recover your ability to log in say, if you drop your phone in a lake or it is stolen.

SSO transition update - Malone Xpress scheduled for Tuesday, 6 December

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

We are making steady and positive progress moving all of our services and systems to our new SSO platform (Microsoft Azure AD). 

Malone Xpress is scheduled to be moved over to the new system early Tuesday morning, 6 December 2022. This will be when most students, faculty, and staff will be required to set up their password reset and authentication factors.

At this point, you may want to review our last message. It contains more details about what we are doing. But here is a shorter version that tells you only what you need to know and what to do...

1. Go to https://login.microsoftonline.com/ and sign in with your Malone.edu email address. If you are prompted to log in using your "personal" or "work or school" account, choose "work or school" account.
2. Set up your password self-service reset options and your multi-factor authentication options. 

You can do this now so you won't need to do it later. You can also choose to wait, but later you will be required to set it up. This would not be fantastic if you were forced to do this during a time-crunch, e.g., about to take a test, late for a meeting, assignment deadline.

You can review a complete schedule of services which are completed or scheduled in this Google Sheet (Malone.edu account required to access).

More information

As of writing this message, about a 100 users have completely set up themselves with MFA and password reset. Nearly 300 of you have set up your password reset information.