The FY 2023 Holiday Schedule has been posted by the Office of Talent & Innovation. The number of annual holidays a state agency is permitted to observe is determined by the national and state holidays referenced in Sec. 662.003 of the Texas Government Code, including where those holidays fall during the calendar week.
Cyber criminals are in full force this tax season. Security researchers have spotted multiple phishing campaigns impersonating the Internal Revenue Service (IRS.gov). These emails pretend to be from the IRS sending the recipient their 2021 Tax Return, W-9 forms, and other tax documents commonly required during the tax season.
Every day, UT System Administration staff use the Phish Alert Button (PAB) to report suspected malicious email. Those reports will now receive a faster response, thanks to a new tool that will automatically scan reported email messages and send an automated response back indicating whether the reported email is legitimate, spam or a threat.
The automated response will only be sent to UT System employees who make the report using the PAB. If your Outlook desktop app does not have the PAB, contact the Help Desk.
The FY 2022 Holiday Schedule has been posted by the Office of Talent & Innovation.
A vulnerability affecting the Microsoft Windows print spooler, which helps your computer interact with printers and orders the print jobs in your queue, was reported July 1. The vulnerability could potentially have allowed attackers to remotely execute code with system-level privileges, so printing to the network printer fleet in the UT System Building was disabled at that time. Microsoft issued a security patch to address the vulnerability on July 7. After working through the night to install the update, OTIS was able to restore printing in the UT System Building.
Users of the business and employment-oriented online service LinkedIn should be aware that the personal profiles of up to 1 billion users have been made available on the underground online market place, also referred to as the dark web.
The database includes full names, email addresses, workplace information, and other data points the account owners publicly listed on their LinkedIn profiles.
There have been reports of employees receiving phone calls from numbers "spoofing" the UT System Administration area code and exchanges.
When you think of words to describe security awareness training, "entertaining" is probably not first. The UT System Office of Information Security is working to change that with a new platform provided by KnowBe4 that offers content that is relevant, engaging and (dare we say it?) fun!
The Cyber Smart! training campaign kicks off with a few episodes from some popular KnowBe4 series, as well as videos and games that reinforce the importance of security practices and how to keep UT System Administration and personal data and systems safe.
The UT System Information Security Office (ISO) will be updating the phish alert button in Outlook during 
the evening of Wednesday, May 5. As part of this process, ISO staff will remove the existing phish alert button and replace it with an updated button.
The UT System OTIS staff will be implementing Microsoft Safe Links to add another layer of protection to System Administration email. Safe Links re-writes links in email messages to apply protection when a link is clicked. If a link is determined to be harmful or suspicious, Microsoft blocks access to that link.
Please join the UT System Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Talent and Innovation on Monday, November 9, at 12 p.m. on Zoom for a conversation with Jesse Byrd, an NPR Foundation board member and award-winning writer and editor.
The State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) offers an easy and convenient way for state employees to contribute to charitable organizations through payroll deduction.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and to celebrate, the UT System Administration Information Security Office is holding its first annual Phishing Tournament.
Effective with the work week beginning August 3, 2020, all UT System Administration timesheets will be submitted and approved directly in PeopleSoft rather than through the Employee Timesheet System (ETS). After taking the following actions, UT System Administration employees and managers will no longer use the ETS:
- Employees must submit all timesheets through the week of 7/27 in ETS by Monday, August 3.
- Managers must approve all timesheets in ETS by Tuesday, August 4.
PeopleSoft Training & Resources
The Office of Talent and Innovation will be holding demo sessions on how to navigate the new My UT Benefits user experience for open enrollment. Learn how to easily enroll in benefits for the upcoming plan year by attending a demo session or following the guide provided:
Beginning June 15, more System Administration staff will return to the UT System Building to continue to serve and support UT institutions and the people of Texas. This guide for returning to the workplace outlines practices and protocol to promote a healthy and safe environment as more employees and tenants return to working in the building.
To offer UT System employees greater peace of mind regarding the security of their mobile devices, the Office of Information Security is turning on a feature in the Duo two-factor authentication app called Security Checkup. This feature checks the security settings of the mobile device and recommends updates to make the phone more secure if needed. If there are no security issues, no messages or recommendations appear. Employees who choose not to make any recommended security updates will not be prevented from accessing UT System information resources.
The FY 2021 Holiday Schedule has been posted by the Office of Talent & Innovation. The number of holidays for all state agencies and institutions of higher education is set by the Texas Legislature, although higher education institutions have flexibility in determining the actual days within that number. The FY 2021 schedule includes 13 designated holidays plus 1 floating holiday (14 total).
The UT System Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Talent and Innovation invite you to a conversation with Dr. Livia Eberlin, an award-winning UT Austin scientist and inventor, on Monday, March 9, 12-1 p.m., in the Multipurpose Room. An assistant professor in UT Austin's Department of Chemistry, Eberlin's awards include a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship--the so-called "genius grant"--for her research on the use of mass spectrometry to detect cancerous tissue. She will be joined by one of her graduate students, Kyana Garza.