Professor Christopher P. Manfredi, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), describes the responsibility of all academics to uphold McGill's information security.
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Academics and cybersecurity
Ensure cybersecure practices in all teaching and learning activities.
Access McGill's systems safely
- Enable two-factor authentication on your McGill account. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is required on all McGill accounts because it helps verify that you are the person who is signing into your account. Don’t delay, enroll now at mcgill.ca/2fa
- McGill's Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows you to connect to restricted sites and resources.
- Ensure your device is secure when connecting to McGill remotely (see Secure your devices section ).
Stay safe when working remotely
- Preparing for remote work - Follow these guidelines to ensure safe computing from a distance.
- Protect your remote workspace: Find valuable resources in Safe at home: a module in the online course IT Security Awareness Essentials (available on myCourses).
- Tips for protecting information while using remote technologies
Protect your identity
- Learn to recognize phishing scams that attempt to steal your personal information.
- Strengthen and protect your password:
- Your McGill password is for McGill systems. Do not use your McGill password on non-McGill systems or websites.
- Create a strong password.
- Do not share your password with anyone.
- Use a different password for each platform or system.
- Do not overshare on social media: Tips for safe sharing
Safeguard student data
Only use McGill-approved storage and collaboration solutions for storing students' personal data. All educational software used for teaching and learning must comply with the McGill Cloud Directive.
McGill supports academic activities with a range of secure teaching and learning solutions. See the full list of McGill-approved cloud services for software supporting secure data storage, file sharing, publishing and collaboration.
Software: considerations
Note that if you recommend a solution to students that is not McGill-approved, you are legally responsible for any resulting consequences. For more information, see IT Policies, Regulations, Directives & Standards.
- McGill's cloud services website provides additional information, including:
- Cloud solution approval process
- What is personal information? Types of data and what can be stored in the cloud
- Software Piracy : Unauthorized software use can have serious consequences. Ensure that your software use complies with licensing agreements.
McGill-approved teaching solutions
Here is a sample of available tools and services available.
- Lecture Recording System (LRS) for instructors
- myCourses for instructors: McGill's learning management system for online teaching and learning
- Polling @ McGill: Technology supporting live, interactive question and response and learning assessment.
- Surveys, quizzes and forms in Office 365: As part of the Microsoft Office 365 offering, Microsoft Forms allows users to quickly and easily create surveys, quizzes, registration forms, and polls.
- LimeSurvey: Allows users to create surveys and publish to a public or a private audience.
- Teaching and learning technologies (McGill Teaching and Learning Services site)
Secure your devices
Follow some basic safety tips to keep your devices safe:
- Enable the lock feature and password-protect to help prevent unauthorized access.
- Apply regular updates: How updates secure your device
- Encrypt your devices whenever possible.
- Install antivirus software: