News | Technology Services | Office of the Chief Information Officer

Cybersecurity outreach: Teaching cyber safety skills across campus

Technology Services staff Cindy McKendall and Sandy Delaney are charged with providing cybersecurity training to University of Illinois staff and faculty on a quarterly basis, so that individuals can understand how their actions can help keep university data and systems safe from cyber threats. In the past two years, they also have engaged with several university-affiliated groups to provide more individualized training.

This spring, these staff members taught a course through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Members urged OLLI director Kathryn Williams to invite them to submit a proposal to reprise the cybersecurity essentials course they offered the previous year. They were happy to share cybersecurity and privacy tips and strategies with nearly 20 OLLI participants.

The OLLI course covered a range of topics from cybersecurity basics like using longer and unique passwords to phishing and multifactor authentication.

McKendall noted that this year’s class was especially interested in privacy topics.

“We talked about cookies, what cookies are, and how they can impact your browsing experiences. I showed examples of cookie banners and how to turn off non-essential cookie banners,’’ she said.

Delaney said that the students were a very eager and engaged audience. “I feel like I have to be on the top of my game for this group. They have great questions and I want to anticipate and stay ahead of them.”

To cap off the series during the final class, small groups worked together on a cybersecurity escape room – a paper-based exercise where they were challenged to use what they learned in the course along with logic and puzzle-solving skills to “save the barnyard.” With a series of clues, they worked to discover who had used stolen digital credentials, who was digitally impersonating real individuals and more.

McKendall enjoys offering the escape room exercise to groups ranging from high school students to staff and now this audience. “It is a different way to reinforce the learning,” she said.

Participant Larry Orndoff, whose career also included training and teaching adults, praised the series of classes.

“This team is right up there with the best, most professional, and patient adult trainers I have been around.”

Technology Services’ online cybersecurity training is provided to all staff at Illinois and UIS, and optional self-directed cybersecurity courses are also available to students.

To learn more about cybersecurity training and how to reach out for special group training, visit the Technology Services website.

Internet safety month: Seeing through scams

Author: Lucy Roller
Lucy is a student employee with Technology Services.

June is Internet Safety Month. Congress created Internet Safety Month in 2005 as a direct response to the increasing percentage of young people with access to the web. With the world’s growing reliance on technology, it is crucially important to make sure that you are responsible and safe online.

One persistent danger of the internet is the threat of scams. According to security.org, as of 2020, Illinois was ranked #19 in the nation for cybercrime. Here are some common scams and how you can avoid them.

Phishing

Phishing is when someone impersonates someone else to try and trick people out of money or personal information. This may take the form of offers that seem to be good to be true, promising money in exchange for bank information, and impersonating family or friends in desperate situations. Internet scams such as phishing often employ a technique known as social engineering. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines social engineering as “The act of deceiving an individual into revealing sensitive information, obtaining unauthorized access, or committing fraud by associating with the individual to gain confidence and trust.”

To avoid social engineering, be extremely cautious with who you believe on the internet. Do not give out personal information to people online, especially financial information. Review any suspicious links carefully before clicking on them. If you think someone is trying to scam you, report them, to prevent them from tricking others.

Artificial Intelligence

Another tool that scammers often use is generative artificial intelligence. AI now can be used to impersonate the voice or image of familiar people to aid in scams, or create false, harmful images that can be used for blackmail.

AI engines can hallucinate and output information that ranges from slightly inaccurate to blatantly false. When trying to find information, review your sources carefully before believing them. If something seems odd or suspicious, such as a message from a family member, try to verify it in another way. Double check your information across multiple sources.

What else can you do?

Avoiding scams is important, but it isn’t everything. Here are some further measures you can take to keep yourself safe on the internet.

Use strong passwords

Make sure that you’re using complex, unique passwords. Don’t use personal information that is easy to discover in your passwords. Use a password manager to store and remember your passwords. Bitwarden is the university approved password manager, but there are many great options out there.

Use multifactor authentication

Multifactor authentication requires you to use multiple devices or accounts to verify your identity when you are trying to log into an account. According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, “The use of multifactor authentication on your accounts makes you 99% less likely to be hacked.” Enabling multifactor authentication is a quick and easy way to improve your digital security.

Update software

Updating your software is another simple way to keep yourself safe online. Make sure that all your software is up to date to ensure that the latest safety technology is in place.

Though June may be Internet Safety Month, being responsible online is important year-round. Tech Services has plenty of resources and guides to help you stay safe. Make sure that you are taking steps to protect yourself on the web.

Technology Services’ new website launched!

Author: Lucy Roller
Lucy is a student employee with Technology Services.

On June 2, the Technology Services website was relaunched. This project was part of a larger effort to improve the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s digital presence by redesigning several of our websites. The goal of this initiative is to streamline information, maintain design consistency, and improve accessibility.

The Tech Services website was redesigned to remove redundant information and be more easily navigable. Tech Services serves a wide range of audiences, and the relaunch will help us not dilute its content.

The Office of the CIO’s brand consistency will also be improved by this relaunch, allowing users to quickly identify sites belonging to the Office of the CIO, and ensuring a similar experience across all of them. Rob Watson, Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing and Chief Communications Officer for the Office of the CIO, spoke with us about this aspect of the relaunch. “It’s about enhancing the user experience by building a cohesive Office of the CIO web ecosystem,” he shared, “We’ve redesigned the (Tech Services) site with university students, faculty, and general staff in mind. We want their feedback if something isn’t easy to locate or they think something is missing.”

The relaunch is also part of an ongoing effort to improve the accessibility of all Office of the CIO websites. Tech Services is committed to providing an accessible experience for all users, adhering to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium. The WCAG uses the POUR system as a guide, providing a framework to ensure that all online content is Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust for all users, regardless of ability. The updated website has a consistent design, accessible colors, clearly labeled buttons and links, and alt text for all images.

As the Office of the CIO’s Communication Coordinator, Lauren Stream, shared with us, “Accessibility has been top of mind when creating nearly every element on the website. We hope it will be easier for users from all walks of life and different skill levels to find the information they need.” Improving accessibility not only helps users with disabilities but often allows the site to be easier to operate for all users. The reorganization of our website will help to ensure that we can provide a quality, accessible experience to all.

What can users expect?

Overall, our website retains much of the user-helpful content and many of the same features. The major changes are focused on design, information architecture, and a single intentional audience. Users can expect an updated, streamlined layout that is easier to navigate. Outdated or redundant information, along with any details that do not serve our audience, have been removed, making the site less cluttered and easier to understand.

Another significant change is that the Cybersecurity website is being merged into the Tech Services site and will be sunset in the near future. All the relevant cybersecurity information for Illinois students and faculty will be located on the Tech Services site while any information meant specifically for technical professionals will be moved to the new IT pro site, which is being launched later this year.

Tech Services is here to assist you with all your technical needs. We hope that the relaunch allows you to better take advantage of the resources we provide. Updates to the Office of the CIO web ecosystem are a gradual process, and content will be moved over time. Some content may be unavailable for brief periods. For the first few months, redirects will be in place with any information that has been moved to ensure that it remains accessible. We’re doing our best to keep URLs the same so that links and bookmarks will still work.

If you have any issues with the website or any feedback, we encourage you to submit a help request to the Communications and Marketing Team.

Dozens of portals to one: my.illinois for all

For more than 20 years, Engineering has hosted dozens of portals, including my.las, my.oar, and my.techservices that supported key university applications. Across all three University of Illinois campuses, this grew to nearly 70 separate portals, each requiring its own maintenance and support.

We are about to enter a new phase, together. The Office of the CIO and Engineering IT are partnering to unify those portals under a single destination: my.illinois.edu.

This consolidation is a concrete example of Illinois’ Boldly IT at work—specifically Strategy 1.2: Develop a formal collaborative structure for IT.

“Unifying these across all units makes the single portal potentially visible to every single user on campus,” said Jim Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer at the Office of the CIO. “Removing the specific unit branding and specific portal-locked applications treats all units as part of one larger ecosystem. There has been a single provider of these apps for many years, but this unifying change visually represents us acting more as one IT unit in a coordinated way.”

One address, one experience

Faculty, staff, and students will now have one place to go, regardless of which unit they work in or which applications they need. Access is controlled at the user level—you’ll only see what you have rights to, no matter which portal you log into. This will be a unified experience for those using the portals and those managing them.

“When we have updates…we would only have to apply them to one portal, instead of 70,” said Brad Butler, Associate Director of Application Development, Data Analytics, and Project Management Office at Engineering IT. “We are hoping to provide a more consistent user experience and common destination for accessing our applications. We will no longer have to explain ‘go to a specific portal to submit something’ — they can simply go to one place.”

Engineering IT has owned and operated the my.___ portals for over two decades. What began as a framework built by Josh Potts in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department grew as developers from across Engineering joined in, each building applications designed for anyone to use.

“We all have a common goal, to help people do their jobs more efficiently and collaboratively,” said Butler. “We write our applications so that anyone can use them and over time, through word of mouth and personalized service, we grew and evolved to what we are today.”

More than 100 applications are available through the portals, with 43 currently live at my.illinois.edu and more being added over time. Eight are fully funded by the Provost’s office and approved for all units campuswide—TimeTracker, Vacation/Sick Leave, Chart of Accounts, Inventory, Appointments, Gradapps, Gradrecs, and UGradrecs.

The transition

The portal itself will remain the same and is not retiring; the domain is what will change. The portal itself will remain the same and is not retiring; the domain is what will change.

“We won’t move anyone, they can simply choose between the two for now. We will notify all users over time if we decide to shut down an existing portal, but even if we were to do that, we would redirect the old portals to the new my.illinois,” said Butler.

“The idea of consolidating to this one name has been proposed a few times over the years,” said Hurst. “But only now under this new [Boldly IT] strategic plan have both sides embraced that.”

If you have questions or feedback about the move to my.Illinois, you can visit my.illinois.edu/apptrack and chat with the chatbot or send an email to engrit-apps@illinois.edu.

Canvas impacted by nationwide security incident

A nationwide security incident at Instructure, the vendor that operates Canvas, occurred on May 1, 2026. This incident impacted Canvas at thousands of institutions worldwide and was not directed at the University of Illinois specifically. We are continuing to monitor this situation and will provide all updates below.

Canvas is back online

May 9, 2026. 11:56 a.m.

Technology Services staff has evaluated the Canvas application and the CIO and Provost have agreed to restore service. Users are able to log in and access materials in the application.

Please be extra cautious about clicking links or opening/downloading attachments. The University of Illinois will not ask you to provide or verify your personal data related to this incident. Passwords will never be shared or requested via email.

The Canvas application may be slower than normal.

Integrations and applications that interact with Canvas may not function initially. Technology Services staff will continue to work to enable them.

Service restoration in progress

May 8, 2026. 6:46 p.m.

We are in the process of restoring the Canvas service and are committed to making it available as quickly as possible.

Remain vigilant and be cautious about clicking links or opening /downloading attachments via email.

Another status update will be posted by noon on Saturday.

Risk evaluation continues

May 8, 2026. 10:01 a.m.

University cybersecurity professionals and leadership continue to evaluate the risk associated with bringing Canvas at Illinois back online for the Illinois community. Meetings and decisions will continue throughout the day and updates will be provided here.

Do not access Canvas

May 7, 2026. 10:26 p.m.

Users may hear that Canvas is coming back online. Users should not attempt to access the Canvas at Illinois or Canvas Catalog system until official university direction is provided through formal communication methods. This evening campus leadership made the decision to delay reactivation to evaluate risk before restoring access to our Canvas environment.

Ongoing cybersecurity event affecting campus

May 7, 2026. 4:37 p.m.

Canvas is currently offline due to an ongoing cybersecurity incident. We are awaiting information from Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, as to when the service will be available again.

View the Massmail sent to faculty, staff and students.

Nationwide security incident at Instructure

May 7, 2026

What Illinois is doing

Technology Services is actively monitoring the situation and working with the vendor, Instructure, to assess specific impacts to Illinois data.

What happened

On May 1, 2026, Instructure disclosed a cybersecurity incident that is currently under investigation. Instructure stated that the information involved consists of certain user data — including names, email addresses, student ID numbers, and messages among users. The company stated that it has found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. The vendor has taken measures to protect the platform and is working with a third-party forensics firm on further investigation.

Instructure is still investigating and has not shared specific information with us regarding Illinois data included in the breach. However, neither Canvas at Illinois nor Canvas Catalog contains dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information.

Which generative AI app should I use?

Author: Maya Mishra
Maya is a student employee with Technology Services.

With the rapid rise of generative AI, it can feel overwhelming to choose the right tool. There are dozens of platforms available, each designed with specific tasks in mind. But it is important to note that not all tools are approved for university use, and not all are appropriate for every type of data.

This is where the AI apps page can come in to help.

This page provides a list of university-approved AI tools, helping you to quickly understand which applications are best for specific tasks. It also outlines how to access each tool (including any eligible educational licenses), so that you don’t have to waste any time figuring out what is available to you.

Just as importantly, this page includes a clear and concise guide of approved data that can be used (utilizing Illinois’ data classification guidance), so that you know what information is safe to input in each tool. The GenAI data handling best practices page also provides important information and guidance about data and AI.

Whether you’re writing, researching, coding, or just getting familiar with AI, the page is designed to help you use these technologies with confidence! As interest in AI continues to grow, keep an eye out for future events, trainings, and resources from the Office of the CIO to stay informed and make the most of what AI has to offer at Illinois.

Visit the AI apps page

Micah Reeley Behind the Screens: Keeping campus systems online

Author: Mazen Morrar
Mazen is a student employee with Technology Services.

When you log into a campus system, access shared files or connect to wireless in a classroom, you probably are not thinking about where that technology lives or who makes sure it stays online. Most of us only notice infrastructure when something goes wrong. But behind those everyday digital moments are the university’s data centers. Inside them are critical systems that power learning, research, communication and security across campus. Keeping those systems stable requires constant monitoring, preparation and attention to detail.

Micah Reeley, Data Center Operations Specialist with Technology Services, plays a key role in maintaining that stability. Since joining Tech Services in May 2023, his responsibilities have expanded to supervising data center maintenance and coordinating work that ensures facilities remain fully operational. From overseeing environmental conditions to scheduling installations and infrastructure needs, his work helps safeguard the systems the campus community relies on every day.

We spoke with Micah about his role, the complexity of data center operations and what it takes to keep critical infrastructure running behind the scenes.

When did you join Tech Services, and how has your role developed since you started?

I joined Tech Services in May of 2023. Since I started, my role has expanded to supervising Data Center Maintenance and scheduling work orders for data center or building needs that may arise.

As a Data Center Operations Specialist, what does your day- to- day work typically involve?

My day-to-day work involves checking each data center to make sure they are operating normally and that there are no issues. I also complete any tickets that come in. These requests can range from users asking to have machines installed at ACB or HAB, machines being removed or additional network connections being added for existing machines.

What do you enjoy most about working in data center operations?

I enjoy the variable complexity of the job. Very few tickets are the same or use the same hardware. It is fun to learn how you have to install or remove the various machines that clients use.

Is there a project, challenge, or accomplishment in this role that you are especially proud of?

I assisted the team with a project to connect our generator to the building and get it operational. It was a project several years in the making, and I am proud to have been able to assist in its completion.

What is something people might not realize about what it takes to keep campus systems running behind the scenes?

Our data centers house many critical university components, and it is the job of the Data Center Operations Team to keep them in operation. That includes maintaining the appropriate temperature and ensuring power is always available, with a backup source if necessary. If maintenance needs to be performed on the rooms or any of their support systems, it must be scheduled months in advance to give all clients time to prepare for any outage.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I am a bit of a homebody. I enjoy working on my personal computer, upgrading and maintaining it. I also enjoy cooking and baking.

What kind of music do you usually listen to?

I listen to all types of music, but I primarily listen to pop, country and folk.

What is a fun fact about yourself that most people would not know?

I do not play anymore, but I am a jazz percussionist.

If you could meet anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?

If I could meet anyone from any time period, I would like to meet Johnny Cash.

Get walk-in tech support at the renovated Illini Union Help Desk

Author: Maya Mishra
Maya is a student employee with Technology Services.

Just in time for upcoming renovations, the Technology Services Help Desk has officially reopened its newly designed location at the Illini Union.

With the DCL Help Desk location set to close for renovations February 10, the Union location will serve as the primary (and ONLY) walk-in Help Desk support from February 10-mid-April 2026. Online Help Desk support via ticket or email (consult@illinois.edu) will still be available.

The new space at the Illini Union features a modern revamp, becoming more than just a place to seek tech help. Designed with students in mind, the updated space is now a collaborative area with easy-to-access campus resources.

At the heart of the space is the Help Desk, where students can get hands-on support for any issues that may come their way. Whether you’re troubleshooting passwords, setting up new software or simply can’t log into your email, the Help Desk is right there when you need it.

Beyond the Help Desk, the renovated Union location offers a variety of other student-centered features:

Comfortable student study areas with chairs
Convenient access to printers
Wi-Fi
The McKinley Health Center Resource Center, which connects students to health-related information and services.

For group projects or meetings, students can also reserve a conference room located within the space.

Whether you’re stopping by for tech support or just settling in for a study session, the newly renovated Technology Services IT Service Desk is here to help you! Visit us at the Illini Union room 187 M-F 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday noon – 5 p.m. You can also request online Help Desk support via ticket or email consult@illinois.edu.

Technology governance at Illinois: Who calls the shots?

At the University of Illinois, technology is central to our work and learning. At a university as large and diverse as ours, guiding technology priorities requires collaboration, transparency and input from across the university community.

As part of the university’s strategic framework and the Boldly IT strategic plan, the Office of the CIO is establishing a new technology governance structure for Illinois to help ensure that major technology decisions are informed by the people who use these tools every day. Establishing new technology governance creates clear pathways for faculty and staff to help guide how technology is implemented while also better aligning technology investments with institutional priorities.

The result? Ensuring tech resources deliver maximum impact, empowering our faculty, staff, researchers and students to reach their highest potential.

What we’ve done so far

We began establishing several connected groups. Together, these groups create a connected technology governance structure: The Technology Governance Executive Committee, content-specific subcommittees, and content-specific Technology Leadership Tables. This model fosters dynamic, multi-directional collaboration across three interconnected bodies. Rather than a top-down or bottom-up flow, insights, ideas and decisions move across all levels-ensuring that ground-level expertise informs leadership priorities while institutional goals shape and support the work happening across campus.

The Teaching and Learning Subcommittee and Teaching and Learning Technology Leadership Table are the first to launch, with additional committees and tables planned to launch later this year. Future plans include creating an AI Infrastructure Subcommittee and Technology Leadership Table, a Research Technology Subcommittee and Technology Leadership Table and more as needs arise. Explore a visual of these groups to see how they fit together.

This governance structure ensures the right representation to offer the best support. Take a closer look at the groups:

Technology Governance Executive Committee – This group provides high-level guidance and oversight for Illinois’ overarching technology strategy and priorities. Made up of executive-level institution leaders such as college deans, vice provosts, vice chancellors, etc., this group helps ensure that tech decisions support the broader mission of the university.
Teaching and Learning Subcommittee – The first of six planned governance subcommittees is focused on helping guide decisions about technologies that impact instruction and the student experience. Made up of key stakeholders, this subcommittee reviews needs, evaluates opportunities and gives recommendations that help guide the campus tech strategy for teaching and learning.
Teaching and Learning Technology Leadership Table – This is a collaborative group of technology leaders in units that provide core and common instructional technology services. This group escalates needs from across campus and provides insights to inform the subcommittee decision-making. The Leadership Table also receives recommendations from the subcommittee for implementation.

Why this new governance model matters

Technology governance is designed to strengthen the university’s community, better align decisions to stakeholder needs and provide transparency into technology services and decisions. By creating clear channels for collaborative decision making, we aim to strengthen our technology decisions by keeping the needs of faculty, staff and students at the very center.

This kind of collaboration also helps reduce fragmentation across campus. Instead of units making technology decisions on their own, technology governance enables more consistent decision making while making sure the faculty and staff closest to the action have a voice in shaping the tools that support their work.

To learn more about Boldly IT priorities and how technology governance supports the university’s mission, visit the Boldly IT website.

U of I’s new Enterprise IT service catalog

Author: Maya Mishra
Maya is a student employee with Technology Services.

The IT Enterprise Service Management Office at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently launched the Enterprise IT Service Catalog, a centralized resource focused on helping students, faculty and staff discover, request and obtain support for IT services all across campus. This initiative represents a significant advancement in the way that technology resources are organized and distributed, improving collaboration across IT teams, improving operational transparency and increasing the university community’s access to IT services. Access the catalog on the Illinois Help Center website.

The service catalog is an online repository which consolidates information about the various IT services available at the U of I. Examples of resources listed in the catalog include email, desktop and mobile device support (including printing and related services), identity and access management for help with passwords, A/V services, cloud storage such as Box, Google Drive and One Drive, research software and more. Users can browse the offerings, submit service requests and locate answers to commonly asked questions through an easy–to–navigate platform. The current release focuses on enterprise level IT services that are broadly accessible across the university.

This project is not simply a redesign of an existing catalog; it’s a new catalog that creates a more transparent method of communicating about IT services, eliminating the need for users to determine which unit they need to contact for assistance. This benefits the Illinois community by providing streamlined access to IT resources, improving organization through standardized service categories and also providing an enhanced user experience with a simplified interface and search functionality.

Future phases will expand the catalog to include unit-specific IT services and non-IT offerings, such as HR and finance, with the goal of creating a comprehensive universitywide catalog. This will further enhance support for the diverse needs of the Illinois community. Explore the catalog today to take full advantage of the many resources that are available.