October 6, 2023
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a dedicated month for the public and private sectors to work together to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. This year’s theme is “Secure Our World,” and four habits are encouraged to help strengthen basic protections for all of us.
- Use strong passwords
- turn on MFA (multi-factor authentication)
- recognize and report phishing attacks
- keep software updated
What does this have to do with data? Data should be as open as possible, but as restricted as necessary. There are numerous ways to transform data to protect sensitive information but it all depends on:
- the form and content of the data itself
- the vulnerability of who or what you are protecting
- who will have access to the data
Transformation Methods:
- De-Identification: Removing or altering identifiers but retaining the ability to reconnect with and re-identify the data by using a code, algorithm, or pseudonym.
- Anonymization: Removing or altering all possible identifiable information so that the data can never be re-identified.
- Aggregation: Replacing specific identifying information with a more general summarized form.
Data Security Resources:
- Cornell Data Services: Listing of campus data-related services, best practices, and consultations
- IRB: Resources, guidance, and training for research involving human participant research
- Research Security: Resources and updates for Cornell faculty, students, and staff on emerging research compliance requirements
- IT Security Office: Resources, guidance, and consultations available to protect your system and Cornell data
- Cornell University Library and the Digital CoLab: Consultations, resources, and workshops on privacy-related topics like targeted digital harassment, surveillance, and datafication of academia
- Certified Desktop: Security and policy compliance package available to faculty and staff for Cornell-owned devices
- Cornell Center for Social Science: Consultations on qualitative and quantitative data anonymization
- Human Subjects Curation Primer: Data Curation Network primer on preparing human subjects data for sharing