Umbrella security : remote deployment
As part of the Network Replacement and Security Programme (NRSP), we will be adding an additional layer of security protection to all University managed devices by deploying a security product called Cisco Umbrella.
This was first deployed successfully to IT Services managed devices and is now being deployed more widely to all University-owned devices, specifically to WBS-managed Windows devices.
Why are we performing this change?
As part of the University’s wider security objectives, we will be providing users with a greater level of security protection by preventing access to known malicious websites which could inadvertently affect your device and/or the wider University. This is especially important now that so many of us are working remotely.
What does this mean for you?
When you access a website, the activity will be logged and checked against a list of known or suspected malicious sites and content. Any attempts to access such sites will be redirected to a warning page, effectively blocking the malicious content. An example of this warning page is shown below.
If you feel that this page has been blocked in error, please click on the “Report an incorrect block” link to provide details, and this will be reported to the correct team for review.
Other than malicious sites, we are not intending to block other categories of web site, although some information relating to which websites you have visited (but not the exact content) will be logged by the system to enable greater transparency and protection. Website logging already happens on campus, but Umbrella will ensure that this protection is extended while working remotely.
The additional security will be enabled 24/7, even if you are not connected to the VPN.
What will this change involve?
On the day of the deployment (or as soon as possible following this date) you will need to connect to the VPN so that the Umbrella security product can be installed automatically on your device. You will need to reboot your computer once the Umbrella client has been installed, but you will not need to do anything further in order to benefit from this increased security protection.
You should not experience any issues or disruptions connecting to the internet, but if you do experience any issues, please raise a ticket with the WBS Helpdesk at http://help.wbs.ac.uk/contact .
When will this take effect?
We will be deploying the Umbrella security product progressively to WBS-provided Windows devices from 21st April '21.
What do you need to do?
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Continue to connect to the Warwick VPN at least once a week to ensure security improvements such as this are applied to your WBS-provided devices. If you have any problems accessing the VPN please contact us. You will need to reboot your computer once the Umbrella client has been installed, but you will not need to do anything further in order to benefit from this increased security protection.
- You can check the system is protecting you by trying to visit a number of Cisco-provided sample sites. These are completely safe to visit and are simply used to test the system. If all is working well when you try to visit the sites below you will be redirected to a warning page:
examplemalwaredomain.com
examplebotnetdomain.com
www.internetbadguys.com -
If you experience a blocked page which you think is incorrect, please click on “Report an incorrect block” on the warning page to provide details, and this will be reported to the correct team to be dealt with.
Questions or concerns?
If you have any questions or concerns please get in touch