Research frequently creates unique needs for computing. This, in turn, often fosters a felt need for research groups to “support themselves” rather than take full advantage of college-wide support from CCS.
There are various downsides to this, but a major issue is the potential impact on cybersecurity. Often, CCS is not able to perform required security scans and mitigation on research computers, which then leads to greater vulnerability to attacks that threaten not only the specific research group, but the entire college.
Hence, it is imperative – and a requirement of university policy – that CCS be able to properly scan and maintain security on ALL computers, including those used in research.
However, there are those “unique needs” of research to consider – one size does not fit all – and so, CCS is committed to work with each PI and research group to determine an appropriate way to address security. In some cases, this will be with the standard Active Directory implementation; while, in some cases, the right answer might be a non-Active Directory approach.
The goal is to improve our security posture and compliance, while causing no undue impact to research activities.
Please see the accompanying information on Exceptions for more information on this.