UC Davis Cyber Security Survey returns this fall

Remember the campus Cyber Security Survey? If you've spent at least a few years in campus technology, you probably do. It assesses the current state of information security at UC Davis.

The survey is returning this fall after a few years' hiatus, and if you help manage technology at UC Davis, you could be asked to help complete it.

Information and Educational Technology will send the survey to deans and vice provosts in October, and ask them to delegate the task of completing it to the appropriate people in their areas. IET sent an advance copy of the survey to the Technology Support Program listserv this month.

IET will ask the deans and vice provosts to ensure the survey is completed and submitted by Dec. 1.

The survey asks dozens of questions that range from simple to complex--from "Does an individual in your unit have information security responsibility in his/her job description?" to "What percentage of systems [in your area] contain credit card information?"

If you don't have a complete answer, then respond as best you can, said Chief Information Security Officer Cheryl Washington. Candid, nuanced answers should deliver better data and a more accurate overall picture than a simple yes or no.

"We are seeking insight into how the campus operates," IET's Information Security group says in the survey introduction. "Giving us your best possible answers will help us identify trends across campus, and find the areas with the most risk, so that we can offer our services to help reduce that risk."

IET will share the results of the survey, probably next spring.

This survey is separate from the campuswide information security assessment announced in August.