Computing & Information Services | Brown University

The Information Technology Security Computing Incident Response Team (CIRT) is the emergency response team for all IT security events at Brown University, and is critical to protecting Brown University's electronic communications infrastructure.

The Information Security Group provides many avenues for training to the Brown community, both in person and online.

Symantec Endpoint Encryption (SEE) provides advanced data and file encryption for desktops, laptops, and removable storage devices. ISG recommends that faculty and staff who use laptops containing Brown Restricted Information (especially frequent travelers) consider using SEE, which should only be installed by a qualified support person. 

Identity Finder software is available to all active staff and faculty to detect and secure sensitive data on their computers, with the goal to help prevent identity theft and aid in keeping Brown compliant with federal and state laws.

CIS has made an arrangement with InCommon for issuing digital certificates (cert). A cert is an electronic file containing personal information about its owner as well as the owner's public key, used to establish a web site owner's credentials when transactions on the Internet must be secured.

Brown University's Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows access to programs and services exclusive to users on the Brown on-campus network from off campus. A VPN connection provides a Brown IP (Internet Protocol) address at a remote location, providing the benefits of being on the Brown network.

The Information Security Group performs regularly scheduled and ad-hoc scanning of network and web services to identify vulnerabilities, ensure security standards, and maintain regulatory compliance.

The Information Security Group is available for consulting on all topics related to information security, privacy, P2P, compliance, social networks, wireless, laptop safety, and on-line protection. The group also consults on new and on-goind security projects, and is also available for speaking at department and organizational meetings.

The Information Security Group, in addition to a bi-annual risk assessment, can perform a security-focused risk assessment of a department for compliance to standards or regulations, or for audit preparation or remediation.

In order to promote and maintain the security of Brown data and its network infrastructure, firewalls have been strategically installed as part of the overall network architecture. Requests for the opening or closing firewall ports are reviewed, researched, and acted upon by the Information Security Group, who manages this service.