Summer tech updates: New AI, email and security tools

Over the summer, University Information Technology Services implemented tech enhancements to keep university systems secure, streamline administrative tasks, and improve overall efficiency. Here are the updates faculty and staff should know about, plus information on a few changes on the horizon. 

AI assistant for productivity

Taking meeting notes just got easier with Zoom AI Companion, which was made available universitywide in June. This artificial intelligence assistant provides new capabilities to enhance collaboration and productivity among Zoom meeting participants. 

"Universities nationwide are embracing Zoom AI. At the University of Arizona, a dedicated working group thoroughly reviewed the service before its rollout to campus to ensure that all potential use cases were evaluated and privacy and security concerns were addressed," said Darcy Van Patten, chief technology officer. 

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When AI Companion is activated by a Zoom meeting host, it generates summaries on key topics and enables participants to ask questions and receive responses based on live transcription. Meeting hosts can edit summaries for accuracy and can designate the people who should revive them. 

AI Companion is available for all employees – and students – using the university's enterprise Zoom account unless their main role is providing health services. Hosts can enable this feature by logging in to their university Zoom account and selecting AI Companion in Settings. 

Zoom's AI Companion, supported by UITS, protects user data based on the university's Zoom enterprise agreement and offers enhanced data security and privacy features. Moving forward, the use of third-party platforms is discouraged, as they often collect participant information without control over its use. The university will likely block third-party AI meeting assistants in the future, however this change will be communicated to the university community in advance. 

For more Zoom AI instructions and tips, read the Zoom-AI Companion knowledge article. Instructors using AI can find syllabus resources on the University Center for Assessment, Teaching and Technology website.

Enhancements to email security

Also in June, the university moved to a new email spam filter system to further strengthen email security.   

"This change is part of a broader effort to secure university data, protect our community against spam and phishing, and align with evolving global email security standards that impact the deliverability of email," Van Patten said. "Email security and deliverability are complex and evolving, so the university must stay current." 

The new system, called Mimecast, allows all university email account holders to individually manage their spam preferences. As a result, account holders now receive digest emails (generated daily, as needed) from postmaster@arizona.edu with the subject line "You have new held messages." The digests summarize the emails sent to an account that have been identified as spam. Account holders can release or block held emails directly from the links within the notification email or visit the Mimecast email security portal to learn more about the held messages. No action is required unless the account holder wants to release emails or block email senders. 

Over time, the system learns to filter email messages bases on an account holder's preferences.

Account holders also can unsubscribe from daily digest emails by selecting the "Email Security Digest Unsubscribe" form link near the top of the daily digest email. Held email messages can then be managed in the email security portal.

Learn more about the new email spam filter by reading this Email Security Portal knowledge article.  

What's ahead

Later this fall, the university will implement Duo's risk-based authentication to strengthen NetID+ two-factor authentication security. This Duo feature detects unusual or high-risk login attempts, such as those from a different location or a new device, and prompts the user to enter a six-digit code in the Duo Mobile app for validation. This feature is currently being tested as part of a pilot program within UITS. More information about Duo RBA will be shared with the university prior to implementation. 

UITS encourages faculty and staff members to explore all of these new features as the fall semester begins. For the latest IT updates, visit it.arizona.edu. 

IT tips for the new semester

• Need IT support? The 24/7 Support Center is available to provide technical support for university system and personal technology issues via phone, chat or online. In-person support is available at one of the Office of Student Computing Resources "tech zone" locations. The university's knowledgebase is another resource. It includes thousands of self-help articles on using online services, from basic setup to troubleshooting.
• Practice cybersecurity safety. The university is targeted by cybercriminals every day, with increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks designed to steal NetIDs and passwords. To protect your personal information, stay alert to these threats. For detailed information and resources, visit the Information Security website and the Phishing Alerts webpage, where you also can view the latest reported phishing scams. If you suspect that an email is a phishing attempt, forward the email as an attachment to phish@arizona.edu.