%PDF-1.3 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R ] /Count 1 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 56 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Creator (DOMPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250715185502+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250715185502+00'00') /Title (Report 07-2025) >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 12 0 R 14 0 R 16 0 R 18 0 R 20 0 R 22 0 R 24 0 R 26 0 R 28 0 R 30 0 R 32 0 R 34 0 R 36 0 R 38 0 R 40 0 R 42 0 R 44 0 R 46 0 R 48 0 R 50 0 R 52 0 R 54 0 R ] /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Length 7444 >> stream 0.702 0.800 0.816 rg 34.016 34.016 543.969 723.969 re f 1.000 1.000 1.000 rg 45.266 96.368 521.469 650.366 re f 0.773 0.773 0.773 RG 0.75 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 45.641 96.743 520.719 649.616 re S 0.773 0.773 0.773 rg 61.016 112.118 m 550.984 112.118 l 550.984 112.868 l 61.016 112.868 l f 0.200 0.200 0.200 rg BT 61.016 693.716 Td /F1 14.4 Tf [(THE \(RO\)BOTS ARE HERE)] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 664.909 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted on )] TJ ET BT 104.045 664.909 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(January 01,1970)] TJ ET BT 173.588 664.909 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [( by )] TJ ET BT 188.096 664.909 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(IT Communications)] TJ ET 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 61.016 637.420 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(For decades sci-fi movies have told us robots will take over the world one day. We don't have )] TJ ET BT 61.016 626.431 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(to prepare for a robot war just yet, but they are part ofour lives. We just don't realiseit.)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 61.016 606.442 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Bots)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 RG 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 605.291 m 79.025 605.291 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 79.025 606.442 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( have been in the news recently; some, )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 237.605 606.442 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(like Tay)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 237.605 605.291 m 268.610 605.291 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 268.610 606.442 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(, for the wrong reasons. But why all the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 595.453 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(fuss suddenly?)] TJ ET BT 61.016 575.464 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(One of the reason is the swiftimprovement of the artificial intelligence technology bots are )] TJ ET BT 61.016 564.475 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(powered with.Key Silicon Valley players Facebook, Google and )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 318.128 564.475 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Telegram )] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 318.128 563.324 m 358.637 563.324 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 358.637 564.475 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(have been at the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 553.486 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(forefront of these developments. At Wednesday's F8 conference )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 319.865 553.486 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Facebook)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 319.865 552.335 m 359.384 552.335 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 359.384 553.486 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(announcedthat )] TJ ET BT 61.016 542.497 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(were adding various bots, including a CNN bot, to their )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 281.111 542.497 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Messenger)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 281.111 541.346 m 325.625 541.346 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 325.625 542.497 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( app.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 522.508 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Most of us don't know what a bot is and what it does. Even though it sounds suspicious, a bot )] TJ ET BT 61.016 511.519 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(is merely software designed to automate and complete simple and repetitive tasks you would )] TJ ET BT 61.016 500.530 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(usually perform yourself.For example, adding appointments to your calendar or making )] TJ ET BT 61.016 489.541 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(reservations, ordering food, etc.If you were living in America, you'd be able to use the)] TJ ET 0.980 0.980 0.980 rg 404.897 498.332 0.000 0.000 re f 91.031 477.719 125.559 9.158 re f 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 404.897 489.541 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Taco )] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 404.897 488.390 m 427.406 488.390 l S BT 61.016 478.552 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Bell bot)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 477.401 m 91.031 477.401 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 91.031 478.552 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(to order and pay for your meal.)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 61.016 458.563 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Chatterbots)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 457.412 m 107.537 457.412 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 107.537 458.563 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(or chatbots are used in messaging apps and to simulate conversationsvia )] TJ ET BT 61.016 447.574 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(auditory or textual methods. They are designed to engage in small talk and ideally they should )] TJ ET BT 61.016 436.585 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(convince the person on the other end thatthe program is human.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 416.596 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Large international companies Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Renault and )] TJ ET BT 61.016 405.607 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Citron all use automated chatterbots. They canbe used to answer basic customer enquiries, a function a call centre )] TJ ET BT 61.016 394.618 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(agent might normally deal with, or to acquire information.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 374.629 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Other bots can help you schedule meetings by e-mail. The bot is added to your e-mail thread and continues the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 363.640 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(conversation needed to schedule a meeting.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 343.651 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Unfortunately, bots can be used for malicious purposes. For example, posing as a human in chat rooms to tempt users to )] TJ ET BT 61.016 332.662 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(divulge personal information.They can be found onYahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, AOL Instant )] TJ ET BT 61.016 321.673 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Messenger and other instant messaging protocols.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 301.684 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Next time you send a chat message to someone at a call centre, you might be talking to Amy, the bot, not Amy, the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 290.695 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(human. We can confirm that all our own IT Service desk agents are 100% human.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 270.706 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(More recent articles on bots \(and robots!\):)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 61.016 250.717 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Shopify acquires Kit, the artificially intelligent marketing bot)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 249.566 m 295.106 249.566 l S BT 61.016 239.728 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Hitachis cute new customer service robot seeks out lost customers)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 238.577 m 328.604 238.577 l S BT 61.016 228.739 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Fear the future: Donalddrumpfbot coming to Facebook Messenger)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 227.588 m 324.635 227.588 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 324.635 228.739 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [()] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 61.016 217.750 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Facebook's David Marcus explains how bots are going to change Messenger)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 216.599 m 367.367 216.599 l S BT 61.016 206.761 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(This personal shopping startup just launched one of the first Facebook Messenger bots)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 205.610 m 407.687 205.610 l S BT 61.016 195.772 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Facebook launches Messenger platform withchatbots)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 194.621 m 276.107 194.621 l S BT 61.016 184.783 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Microsoft created a bot to auto-caption photos and it's going hilariously wrong)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 183.632 m 368.879 183.632 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 307.399 164.794 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [([SOURCES:)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 359.410 164.794 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(http://www.recode.net)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 359.410 163.643 m 446.449 163.643 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 446.449 164.794 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(, )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 451.453 164.794 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(http://www.wikipedia.org)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 451.453 163.643 m 548.482 163.643 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 548.482 164.794 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(])] TJ ET BT 545.980 146.305 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [()] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg 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New IT head puts spotlight on cybersecurity at Stellenbosch University

Monday, October 24th, 2022

Paper sheet with cybersecurity plan concept written on it

About six years ago, when Dr Denisha Jairam-Owthar was working as Chief Information Officer for the City of Johannesburg, the city was subjected to a massive cyber-attack which brought the organisation to a grinding halt. Hackers got into the city’s network and demanded money. The metro – the biggest in South Africa – had to switch to disaster recovery mode and all systems had to be shut down.

“That was when I experienced, first hand, the magnitude of a cyber-attack on this scale,” Dr Jairam-Owthar said.  

“When this sort of attack happens, the whole technical team faces a mammoth, urgent task. You have to look at every single system and find out where the vulnerability was. While you’re doing all this, you must ensure the organisation can continue to operate. This must all happen in parallel. There is no level of tracking or planning on paper that can prepare you for that day.”

At the time of the cyber-attack, Dr Jairam-Owthar had a four-month-old son. But that didn’t stop her from joining her team in working a gruelling 90 hours a week. “My staff and I brought sleeping bags so that we could sleep at the office, working shifts, sleeping for three or four hours at a time, manning our nerve centre to technically unravel this cyber-attack.” Her baby became sick from not seeing his mum, and the paediatrician asked what was happening at home. She explained that she was dealing with a crisis – and had no option but to soldier on.

Fast forward to today – and, as Stellenbosch University’s Chief Director: Information Technology Division, Dr Jairam-Owthar is always, on high alert for cyber-attacks on the campus. “Cybersecurity is one of those things that keeps me awake at night,” she said.

In an extensive interview, Dr Jairam-Owthar (39), who took up the position in January this year, was reassuring that SU is in safe hands. But with risks always at play, she stressed that cybersecurity should be “everybody’s business” on campus.

“Cybersecurity is a hot topic, because it is becoming increasingly prevalent. We see cyber-attacks on prominent organisations on a daily basis. They might have all the controls in place, but it just takes that one vulnerability to probe the weakness to come through – and before you know it, the entire network has been permeated.  It is not a matter of if a cyber-attack is going to happen … it’s a matter of when,” she said.

“CIOs have no option but to ensure that their cybersecurity systems are well resourced and resilient. The cost impacts on organisations and on society as a whole can be very difficult to come back from. Every CIO must be ready for when this happens and know how to respond – on a technical level, and on other levels, like how the institution deals with the situation.”

Dr Jairam-Owthar said the Covid-19-driven switch to digital acceleration has contributed hugely to the growth in cybercrime. “So many people suddenly found themselves working from home and depending on digital platforms. Cyber criminals quickly understood they could exploit this situation. Hackers are also highly aware that, in developing economies, many institutions do not update and upgrade their technology and infrastructure, and that’s where the vulnerability sits. These very intelligent hackers know we are challenged with funding, to keep up with technology. This is why countries in Africa become targets.”

Moving to why cybersecurity is so important for SU, she said: “This is an institution of real excellence in academics and research. We have researchers across many faculties, and there is so much research data in the system. Ethics in research is so critical. You cannot release the data unless you have followed all the processes. It is absolutely vital to ensure that the data, network and our online systems is well secured.

“On top of this, the system contains a great deal of students’ personal information – their exam marks, certificates and their whole student life cycle information. This could all be affected in a cyber-attack. When an attack happens, the reputation of the entire university comes into question, and those who fund research could become sceptical.

“I have to be able to say to my bosses at SU, hand on heart, that I’ve done everything I can to protect all our systems, network and information.”

Giving strong reassurance that SU is in safe hands,  Dr Jairam-Owthar said cybersecurity was high on her agenda when she joined the university in January. “With the support of the university’s leadership, we did an assessment of where we stand.  It found that we are well within the industry norm but there’s a lot more to do because, when it comes to cybersecurity, we are faced with a moving target. We cannot be static or complacent about it. So while we are fine in terms of the industry norm, we have to always drive to improve. The most critical challenge for CIOs is to keep up with this moving target of cybersecurity.

“We do have our controls in place as a university, but … even if we put in excellent controls; someone in Amsterdam for example can find a vulnerability. We have to be on the pulse, staying ahead of the target – because it is moving all the time.”

Dr Jairam-Owthar said there is also the issue of balancing costs. “Our partnerships with our vendors, such as Microsoft, become critical. We have to consistently ensure our vendors deliver value. The skill lies in balancing shrinking budgets with moving targets and higher expectations of technology.”

When she was at the City of Johannesburg, Dr Jairam-Owthar played a key role in the institution’s IT Digital Transformation. Passionate about education, she believes her role at SU is to enable education through technology at SU, because IT is a ‘critical enabler’ in the transformation of education”.

“The impact of what we do is to enable students and staff to be educated. That is the part that speaks to me as a person. Education holds a place in my heart.”

Dr Jairam-Owthar said the university recently did an analysis using the National Information Security Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework.

“The NIST is a tool which does a full analysis of the entire IT environment and where the weaknesses lie, and how to prioritise to close the gap. That report has been done, and we are engaging on it in terms of priority and the budget to start implementing it to strengthen our controls and security,” she said.

Turning back to the incident at the City of Johannesburg, Dr Jairam-Owthar said it was “like walking through fire”.

“It’s like having an intruder in your home, and you are standing in the house and you don’t know which door the intruder came in. I never want anyone to go through that again. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. We need to be well prepared.”

Asked what her main message to SU students and staff is when it comes to cybersecurity, she said:

“My main message is that cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of the IT Division. Everyone on campus – staff and students – need to play their role. To stress the importance of this, we will soon launch our cybersecurity training aimed at strengthening our human firewall which is the staff and students. Everyone on the campus, must do their bit to strengthen this human firewall.

“SU has such excellence in academia and research. Let’s work together to find the gaps and strengthen the systems. It’s the simple things like don’t share your passwords, make sure you authenticate when you get on the network, don’t go to sites that look odd; being able identify a phishing email. Check with us if you are not sure. If you get an email that doesn’t sound right, talk to us and we will guide you. Most cyber-attacks come through the human firewall. We cannot work in silos for cybersecurity either. We need a holistic approach for SU for cybersecurity. Lastly, make sure you do the training, it will empower you on what to look out for.”

When Dr Jairam-Owthar looks at her son, now a healthy, happy hi-tech six-year-old, she sees a boy who “handles a phone, an Ipad and a computer all at once”.

“It is for this generation that we need to bring the university into the digital fourth industrial revolution.

“I say to my IT staff that; our primary stakeholders are the 33 000 students and the 3500 staff of this university. I want to know what our primary stakeholders look for in technology so we can meet their demands in a safe and secure way, where we are also implementing a key principle of ‘security by design’ on any technologies we implement”.

Image credit: Formatoriginalphotos

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Something’s Phishy…

Monday, October 24th, 2022

 

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Internet down Sunday morning

Friday, February 25th, 2022

Due to critical maintenance by TENET, our internet service provider, internet services will be down on Sunday, 27 February from 00:00 am to 03:00 am.

During these three hours there will be no access to the internet. We apologise for the inconvenience. Any enquiries can be logged on servicedesk.sun.ac.za.

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Important dates

Tuesday, November 30th, 2021

DELIVERIES:

Last day for deliveries (2021) from suppliers to Information Technology: 21st of December 2021

First day of deliveries (2022) from suppliers to Information Technology: 11th January 2022.

COLLECTIONS:

Last day for collection (2021) from Information Technology  by clients or departments:  23th  December 2021 at 12:00

First day for collection (2022) from Information Technology by clients or departments: 5th January 2022

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Before you leave

Tuesday, November 30th, 2021

The December holiday is almost here and especially this year, we’re all looking forward to escaping for a week or two. But before you leave, there are a few things you can do now to ensure that your return is seamless. Here are a few tips: 

  1. Activate your Out of Office function on your sun.ac.za Outlook mailbox and indicate in the message when you will be available again in case someone needs to contact you. Also, indicate who will be responsible during your time away and add their email address to your Out of Office.
  2. Make sure that your relevant work-related data is accessible for usage by your colleagues while you are away. However, do NOT give your password to colleagues when as this poses a security risk.
  3. If your sun password might expire during your holiday, rather change it before you go. If it expires while you are away you will be locked out of your account and it will cause unnecessary stress to deactivate it in January. 
  4. If you receive a phishing email on your sun account over the holiday and clicked on links or typed in your username and password, your account may be compromised. Immediately change your password at www.sun.ac.za/password and log a service request on the ICT Partner Portal. Your device will then be checked and scanned after the holiday. Remember that you can also report spam directly to Microsoft by using the handy Report Message function in Outlook.
  5. Information Technology will also be closing, like the rest of the University, on 24 December and opening again on 3 January. If possible, please log your IT requests as soon as possible before you leave. If you have a critical problem, it might be difficult to assist you a day before you leave or on the last Friday since suppliers also close over the festive season.
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