Following the most recent occurrence of leaked celebrity photos and the controversy surrounding them, people are becoming increasingly concerned about the protection of their sensitive online and mobile information.

In addition to changing the passwords on cellphones and double-checking the privacy settings on their iCloud devices, some students have begun to question how Sacramento State works towards securing students’ information.

“I don’t know how secure things are [at Sac State],” said senior business major Allen Mortensen. “I just don’t have any idea where my information goes, and that makes me not trust the systems.”

Each semester, all students provide private information to the campus’ online system in order to register for classes, access financial aid awards and create important contacts with peers and professors.

While perhaps not as detrimental as a personal photo album being shared over social media, this kind of online content is private and could be damaging to any student whose information were to be leaked or taken.

“I don’t use the school’s wi-fi for anything other than Pandora radio,” said junior dietetics major Alexandria Byrd.

Byrd said she has never willingly used cloud services because she is unsure where that information could be going, and her distrust of those services is similar to her hesitation on Sac State security.

The California Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for security and protection of CSU assets, which includes the sensitive information surrounding students as well as faculty.

Sac State takes its own measures in order to protect students’ private information most notably being a mandatory change of a student’s SacLink password after notifying the student of its coming expiration.

In addition to changing passwords, students must meet security standards in order to connect through to the campus network, which are verified using the Safe Connect system. Most school-provided services that contain sensitive information will close after a set amount of time.

“The two best ways to get help with any technology issue on campus is to contact or stop by the Service Desk and Student Technology Center in the AIRC,” said Information Security Officer and Sac State alumni Jeff Williams.

The Sac State Information Security Office (ISO) on the third floor of the AIRC building,can provide security information and tips to any student who may be concerned with their online and mobile privacy.

“Our job in the ISO is to advise the campus on how to manage information to prevent system intrusions and data breaches,” Williams said.

Despite being the prime spot for information on securing sensitive information, the existence of the ISO comes as a surprise to some students.

“I didn’t know that the ISO was even a thing,” Byrd said. “If they were to explain to me how the campus security works, or if the office was more noticeable, I would be more interested in using it. But I’d still be hesitant.”

Basic information on how a student can protect themselves is available on the ISO website, as well as helpful insight on the different ways Sac State is implementing security measures like the SafeConnect system and by sending out alerts about scam emails.

“Our goal is also to reduce the frequency and scope of system intrusions and data breaches,” Williams said. “The campus is a great place to work because we have such a diverse environment. Our IT systems are no exception.”

If a student feels their account information has been compromised in any way, they are encouraged to report the incident to [email protected] and contact the IRT Service Desk to change their password immediately.