Compliance Corner – Issue 3.8
The FINAL VIDEO! In this last installment of our video playlist, we catch up with Dr. Watkins after the investigation into Dr. Evans’ behavior. How did he feel when he learned that colleagues spoke up in his interest, and how are things in the Anthropology Department now? (Select the image below to play the video.)
Try a Little Kindness
Last week my fearless leader, Suzanne Milton, and I had the privilege of speaking with new students and families during a Weeks of Welcome event. While our mission was to share what we do to promote ethics, compliance and safety on campus, many of the conversations we had branched into other areas. Most of the folks we met seemed interested in what we were doing, but they also had questions:
Do you know where Harris Hall is?
What should I do if I want to switch majors before I register for classes?
Is it OK if I park over there while my daughter moves into her dorm?
We answered the questions to the best of our abilities, and asked some questions ourselves:
Where are you from?
What are you studying?
Would you like some water or candy?
Do you know where you’re headed next?
However brief our conversations, the new Rams and their families seemed happy and appreciative to have spoken with people who were genuinely interested in helping them and learning more about them in the process. There were smiles aplenty from all parties as we said our farewells, sending off the new members of our Ramily with wishes for a great year.
Next week is Be Kind to Humankind Week, “an annual worldwide celebration of kindness.” It strikes me that what we are doing (by interacting with students and families as we welcome them to campus) is showing kindness; sharing a smile, lending a hand, answering a question.
Be Kind to Humankind Week started after its founder witnessed a horrible tragedy that could have been prevented had someone shown some kindness. This has me wondering what else we could prevent, and promote, by being kind to one another at VCU. What if we took a moment to be kind to:
- The colleague who’s having some struggles at home and seems distracted of late
- The teammate who drops by for a chat at the worst possible time
- The colleague who’s always late because they don’t have a car right now
- The student who’s trying to carry too much across campus
- The new teammate learning their job, causing things to run more slowly
- The colleague who made a mistake and feels like they’ve let down the team
By tapping into that related emotion – empathy – and seeing ourselves in the colleague/teammate/staff member/student, we can help to lighten someone else’s load by being kind, promoting a more positive culture and preventing moments that could create a negative one.
And while it’s never the wrong time to show it, now is a good time for kindness. The beginning of a new academic year can be stressful, and can often feel chaotic. There are new people to meet, new routines to learn and new meetings on the calendar. Kindness can soften the strain of all of the “new,” improving our interactions with one another while making it easier to accomplish all that must be done. Being kind costs us nothing, but it’s worth so much. Whether you’re celebrating Be Kind to Humankind Week or just trying to transition into a new academic year, try a little kindness; it’s something we can all afford.
To learn more about Be Kind to Humankind Week, visit https://bk2hk.org/week/ .
(Un)acceptable Use
A Compliance Case Study
The People:
Dr. Carmen Strong – Dean, School of Public Health
Mike Smithers – Chief Information Security Officer
Alec Wilde – Instructor of Epidemiology
The Setting:
Dr. Carmen Strong is in her office when her phone rings. It’s Mike Smithers, the Chief Information Security Officer for the university.
The Event:
[Ring, ring]
Dr. Strong: This is Carmen.
Mike: Hey, Carmen. It’s Mike Smithers. How are you?
Dr. Strong: Hi, Mike! It’s been a while. To what do I owe this pleasure?
Mike: Well, I wish it were a pleasure, but unfortunately, I’m calling with bad news.
Dr. Strong: Oh, dear. What is it?
Mike: Do you have a member of faculty named Alec Wilde?
Dr. Strong: Yes…Alec teaches courses in epidemiology. What’s happened?
Mike: Well, I hate to have to deliver this message, but a recent audit of IT security threats showed that there were multiple visits to pornographic websites that originated from his laptop, with his login credentials.
Dr. Strong: Multiple visits to pornographic websites? Really?
Mike: I’m afraid so.
Dr. Strong: Alright. How many? And when did these visits take place?
Mike: Well, we looked at a one-month period. Between June and July, Mr. Wilde visited 111 pornographic sites. It looks like most of the visits took place during a window between about 3:30 and 5:30.
Dr. Strong: Hmmmmmmmm….. Hang on, I’m looking at his schedule. I still can’t believe what you’re telling me…. Well, that window falls right between his class that ends at 3 and the one that starts at 6. I guess it’s possible.
Mike: Carmen, every time Mr. Wilde goes to one of these sites, he’s exposing us to the risk of catching a virus, not to mention misusing university resources.
Dr. Strong: Mike – how do you suggest that I handle this?
Mike: I think we need to meet with Mr. Wilde to explain what we’ve discovered and hear what he has to say.
Dr. Strong: I’m looking up his number now…
The Takeaway:
When Alec Wilde met with Dr. Strong and Mike Smithers to discuss his visits to the pornographic sites, he denied that he was the one who had visited them. He said that someone else must have used his credentials to hack into his laptop. But upon further discussion, when Mike asked about how and when he walked away from his laptop, Alec admitted that he had actually gone to those sites. He said that it started because pop-ups appeared on his screen, and he clicked on them to try to delete them, but eventually, he just started visiting the sites on his own. He apologized, saying he knew better, and that he was embarrassed by his behavior. While Alec eventually did the right thing by taking responsibility and apologizing, he violated several expectations and policies, and was terminated as a result.
One of the expectations outlined in the Code of Conduct is stewardship.
University resources are intended to help us achieve our mission and vision. We must exercise reasonable care to ensure resources are not wasted or misused…
VCU Code of Conduct
When Alec used his work computer to access the pornographic sites instead of those related to his job, he was not being a good steward of several resources: the computer, the VCU network, and his time. Yes, time is another resource that can be misused; when we’re “on the clock,” we’re supposed to be focused on the duties for which VCU is paying us.
The Computer and Network Resources Use policy defines acceptable use of university computers and networks as that which is restricted to “university-related responsibilities and actions.” The policy goes on to state that these “resources must not be used in connection with…Accessing, downloading, printing, uploading, or storing any information, files or services having ‘sexually explicit content’ except for bona fide, agency-approved research approved in writing by the university president or the president’s delegate.” The sites that Alec visited were not related to his responsibilities in the School of Public Health, and the content he accessed was sexually explicit.
But in addition to this, by visiting unauthorized websites he could have exposed the VCU network to malware. Malware is short for “malicious software,” and it’s designed by cybercriminals to hack into a network through a computer when someone using that computer clicks on a link containing the malware code.
The Computer and Network Resources Use policy exists, in part, to protect all of us – from staff members to the entire VCU network – from a serious data breach. While a breach could happen as the unintentional result of an employee surfing a few websites, the damage done could be significant and lasting.
If you are tempted to visit a website while sitting at your work computer, maybe surfing for end-of-summer deals while enjoying your sandwich, think twice. Even though you might not be like Alec, visiting sites with Xs in the URL, your use of the computer and network could still be deemed unacceptable, and could be downright dangerous.
This case study was based on an actual case investigated by the Integrity and Compliance Office. Names, locations and details have been changed to protect the people involved.
Source: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/topics/security/what-is-malware.html
Have an idea for our blog? Please contact us at [email protected] or (804) 828-2336; we’d love to hear from you!