The University of Texas at Dallas
close menu

Information Security

7 Simple Steps to Protect Sensitive Data

Silas Vieira

July 10, 2019

Picture of student on computer

At UTD, you will likely have access to valuable information while you perform your assignments. You are trusted to maintain your professionalism, follow procedures and ask questions when you are unsure how to properly protect information. All UTD stakeholders are provided with training and offices such as the Registrar, Information Security and Information Resources are dedicated to supporting your success. You can help keep UTD compliant and secure by understanding that there are attackers interested in stealing information, and there are compliance requirements that all organizations must satisfy.

Observe the following practices to protect sensitive data:

  1. Understand and protect data covered under the HIPAA and FERPA. The guidelines are covered in employee orientation and during annual compliance training.
  2. Encrypt emails when sending from UTD to any other organization on the Internet, using the trigger [encrypt] in the subject line. Including [encrypt] is like protecting the contents of the message with an envelope. Sending from an email account @utdallas.edu to any other domain, such as @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com, etc. requires the email to travel across the Internet, therefore encryption will provide a significant risk reduction.
  3. Never leave your computer without locking it – even for a few minutes.
  4. Use a password-protected screensaver.
  5. Be aware of who is around your work area, and what they might see. Don’t leave papers or documents out in plain sight that contain personal or sensitive information. Don’t post sensitive data on your office walls. This can include names, birthdates, home phone numbers, and other seemly harmless data. In the wrong hands it easily identifies a person and can be used incorrectly.
  6. Don’t keep sensitive data on your computer. Store information on departmental share drives or on encrypted drives.
  7. Don’t save passwords when prompted to. It may be tempting to do so, but if someone breaks into your machine, either physically or virtually, they will be able to access anything you need a password for without even knowing your password.

For more information, please contact the Information Security office at infosecurity@utdallas.edu.