This FAQ is intended to contain plain language and can be shared with staff, faculty, administrators, researchers and contactors as needed.
Cyber threats continue to rise across higher education, and universities have become frequent targets of ransomware and data theft. 91亚色 must meet legal, contractual, and research security obligations while protecting faculty, staff, administrators, researchers, contractors and research data. Using Jamf (for macOS), Intune (for Windows), and Microsoft Defender provides a consistent, modern security foundation across all University owned computers.
The principles of this Procedure are not new; however, this is a new Procedure intended to strengthen the security of University-owned computing devices, data, personal/private information, and to support our faculty, staff, administrators, researchers and contractors in managing and mitigating against cyber-security risks.
听No. 听Device management tools don't听govern the content, direction, or independence of teaching or research. They protect University systems and data.
- These tools aren't used to review your teaching materials, research files, emails, or documents.
- They aren't used to track your听browsing history or keystrokes.听
- They aren't used to monitor research activity or research processes.
These tools secure your devices, not your work.听
Device management tools collect technical information needed to keep University-owned computers secure and supported. This may include:
- Operating system version;
- Installed applications;
- Device health and security status; and
- Hardware model, serial number, and encryption state.
These tools won't听provide visibility to:
- Research files;
- Personal documents;
- Email content;
- Web browsing history;
- Photos, contacts, messages or calendar entries;听
- Passwords or personal communications.
91亚色 reviews these controls internally to ensure they鈥檙e used appropriately and with your privacy in mind.听
Most employees will notice very little difference.
Your device will:
- Update automatically;
- Install critical patches;
- Have up-to-date antivirus protection; and
- Remain compliant without needing IT visits.
If you have local administrator rights today, you will likely keep them (limited managed configuration) unless you work with high-risk data which includes any data that is confidential, regulated, financial or personal in nature. Please refer to the Information Security Classification System for more detailed information.鈥
No. Modern device management tools run in the background and are designed for minimal impact. Most users will not notice any change.
These security protections are now required due to:
- Increasing cyber threats targeting universities;
- Privacy and security obligations under the Ontario鈥檚 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) legislation;
- Research security requirements from Tri-Agency* and industry sponsors;
- Insurance and risk management requirements; and
- Board direction to modernize cybersecurity practices.
Exceptions will only be granted where technical incompatibility exists鈥攁nd only after IT review.
*Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Most users will continue to receive local admin rights under the 鈥渓imited managed鈥 model unless:
- Required software poses significant risk;
- The device handles high risk institutional data; or
- The Faculty IT unit identifies elevated security needs.
Where admin rights are required for research tools, they will be preserved.
Faculty IT and UIT will work with you to ensure compatibility.
If your equipment or workflow cannot function under standard device management, the University will assess an exception pathway that balances flexibility with security requirements.
Most non鈥慶ompliance happens due to routine issues such as:
- Missed updates;
- Device being offline for long periods; and
- Old operating systems.
IT will contact you, help restore the device to compliance, and ensure minimal disruption. Users who fail to bring their device into compliance within one week of notification will have access to certain University services temporarily restricted until compliance is achieved.
Intentional removal of security protections (e.g., disabling encryption or removing the device from management) will result in restricted access to university systems until resolved.
Only with your explicit, real-time consent.
Remote support sessions:
- Must be initiated by you or approved by you;
- Cannot occur without your knowledge; and
- Are used only for troubleshooting.
Faculty, staff, researchers, administrators and contractors benefit from:
- Increased protection of intellectual property and research data;
- Reduced ransomware exposure;
- Automatic patching to fix security vulnerabilities, bugs and performance issues; and
- Faster troubleshooting鈥痵o you can focus on your work.
These protections support your teaching, research, and professional activities.
- askit@yorku.ca for general support
- Faculty IT units for research specific concerns
- UIT Information Security for privacy or compliance questions